Indiana's State Senate voted 29-19 to adjourn until Jan. 5, rejecting a push from Donald Trump and Governor Mike Braun to call a special session on congressional redistricting. Senators, citing strong constituent opposition, resisted threats of primary challenges and a promise from the governor to "compel" a vote. Senate leaders said they remain committed to protecting a Republican U.S. House majority but maintain redistricting is not the only path to that goal. The dispute drew national attention after a federal court struck down a Republican map in Texas, raising the stakes for GOP map strategy elsewhere.
Indiana Senate Rejects Trump and Governor Push for Redistricting, Adjourns Until January
Indiana's State Senate voted 29-19 to adjourn until Jan. 5, rejecting a push from Donald Trump and Governor Mike Braun to call a special session on congressional redistricting. Senators, citing strong constituent opposition, resisted threats of primary challenges and a promise from the governor to "compel" a vote. Senate leaders said they remain committed to protecting a Republican U.S. House majority but maintain redistricting is not the only path to that goal. The dispute drew national attention after a federal court struck down a Republican map in Texas, raising the stakes for GOP map strategy elsewhere.
05:21 AM, 11/19/2025Politics
Senate adjourns; GOP resist national pressure
The Indiana State Senate voted Tuesday to adjourn until January 5, rejecting calls from former President Donald Trump and Governor Mike Braun to convene a special session and redraw the state's congressional maps. The chamber's decision — a 29-19 vote — signals sustained resistance within the Republican supermajority to outside pressure to alter district lines ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Governor Braun responded to the adjournment by threatening to "compel" the Senate into a special session and endorsing plans to support primary challengers against senators who oppose new maps. Trump has publicly urged changes that he says would increase Republican chances of winning all nine Indiana U.S. House seats.
Lawmakers cite constituent opposition
Veteran state Senator Vaneta Becker of Evansville — a Republican lawmaker with 42 years of service — said her office has logged roughly 750 calls opposing redistricting and only 37 in favor. "I'm not going to change my vote," Becker said, adding that constituents resent what she described as attempts to strong-arm lawmakers: "Hoosiers are not used to being sort of in a blackmail position. It does not bode well."
"I've been a legislator 42 years. I'm not going to change my vote." — Sen. Vaneta Becker
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray of Martinsville, who previously said the Senate lacks the votes to pass new maps, told reporters the adjournment result was "fairly indicative" of how senators would have voted on proposed congressional maps. Bray said he has discussed the issue with Trump and framed the Senate's position as an effort to pursue the most effective path to retain a Republican House majority.
National stakes and political fallout
The dispute in Indiana gained added urgency after a federal court struck down a Republican-drawn congressional map in Texas that could have helped GOP chances there. With that potential gain in limbo, Indiana has become more prominent in national Republican calculations.
Trump has threatened to back primary opponents to lawmakers who oppose redistricting and called Bray a "RINO" on social media. Governor Braun said he would explore all options to compel a vote and pledged to support recruitment, endorsements, and financing for primary challengers to senators who refuse to back new maps.
Not all Indiana Republicans supported resisting the governor. State Senator Mike Young criticized Bray on the Senate floor, calling the decision to adjourn "a slap in the face of the governor of the state of Indiana" and warning that failing to act could risk losing the party's House majority by a narrow margin next November.
For now, Senate leaders maintain they want to protect a Republican advantage in the U.S. House but argue redistricting is not the only route. Bray and other senators point to competitive opportunities under the current map, including a possible pickup in the historically Democratic 1st District in northwest Indiana.
The fight underscores a growing national pattern: tensions between local GOP officials who answer first to state voters and national figures pressing for rapid, strategic map changes to benefit party control in Congress.