CNN host Kaitlan Collins pressed GOP analyst Scott Jennings after the Indiana State Senate rejected a Trump-backed redistricting plan 31-19, with a majority of Republicans opposing the proposal. Jennings defended Republicans and claimed Democrats were more practiced at gerrymandering and had even "told the military to stop following orders." Collins clarified that the reference was to refusing illegal orders, and Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross strongly pushed back, accusing Republicans of suppressing Black voters. The heated exchange highlighted the high stakes around redistricting and voting access ahead of the next election cycle.
Scott Jennings Caught Trying to Slip a Claim Past Kaitlan Collins in Heated Redistricting Exchange
On CNN’s The Source, host Kaitlan Collins pressed GOP analyst Scott Jennings after the Indiana State Senate rejected a Trump-backed redistricting plan by a 31-19 vote — a tally that included a majority of Republican senators opposing the measure. The segment, which also featured Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross, turned tense as Jennings broadened his argument about partisan tactics and voting access.
Collins opened the discussion by playing a clip of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez predicting that aggressive redistricting could flip multiple Republican seats to Democrats.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): We’re looking that there could be a cycle where R-plus-10 seats flip to Democrats. And so if Republicans want to draw a map that makes them more vulnerable to that, that’s their decision to do that.
When Collins asked whether Jennings feared a backlash that could hurt Republicans, he dismissed the idea and launched into a wider defense of his party’s record.
SCOTT JENNINGS: No, not really. No one has eradicated anyone’s right to vote. In fact, it’s never been easier in America to vote than it is right now. Many states, red and blue, have made it easier to vote than ever.
JENNINGS: To see Democrats celebrated for redistricting efforts shows Republicans are rookies at this. Gerrymandering, frankly, is a Democratic skillset. Democrats have shut down the government. They’ve told the military to stop following orders. They’re trying to redraw maps — this is ruthless politics, and Republicans better wake up.
Collins interrupted to correct the record: her earlier reference concerned urging service members not to follow illegal orders, not a blanket refusal to obey orders.
Ameshia Cross pushed back sharply on Jennings’s broader claim about voting access.
AMESHIAH CROSS: Absolutely. I was born Black. I’ll be Black all my life. I don’t want to hear anybody say that the Republican Party has not gone out of its way to keep people who look like me away from the ballot box, because it’s painfully untrue.
The exchange underscored how redistricting, allegations about voter access, and charged rhetoric about the military intersect as parties prepare for the next election cycle. The disagreement highlighted both the surprising bipartisan opposition in Indiana’s vote and the heated national debate over how maps are drawn and how voting rights are defended.
Watch the full segment on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins for the complete exchange.
