Trump Backs Redistricting in South Carolina, Alabama to Boost GOP House Seats

President Donald Trump said he will be "watching closely" as lawmakers in the Republican-dominated South Carolina legislature begin redrawing the state's congressional district map on Tuesday. The move aims to erase the only Democrat-held U.S. House seat.

Republican officials in Alabama are advancing a redrawn map that would likely eliminate one of the state's two Democratic-held House seats before this autumn's midterm elections. The GOP will defend its narrow congressional majority in those races.

These efforts in Alabama and South Carolina, plus similar ones in Louisiana and Tennessee, follow a Supreme Court ruling two weeks ago by its conservative majority. That decision cut a key Voting Rights Act protection.

The actions give Trump and Republicans an edge in battles with Democrats over congressional maps before the midterms. Control of the House during the final two years of Trump's second term is at stake.

In South Carolina, the state Senate plans to vote Tuesday on joining the state House in mid-decade redistricting. Lawmakers would also need to delay U.S. House primaries from early next month to August. Early voting starts in two weeks.

Republicans there are set to propose a map that could end the career of longtime Rep. Jim Clyburn, the delegation's only Democrat among seven members.

Clyburn stayed upbeat last week. "I don’t know why people think I could not get re-elected if they redistrict South Carolina," he said in a CNN interview. "I have a district that’s about 45 percent African-American. I have no idea what the number will be after the legislature finishes, but whatever that number is, I will be running on my record and America’s promise."

Trump posted on social media Monday night: "South Carolina Republicans: BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS. Move the U.S. House Primaries to August, leave the rest on the same schedule. Everything will be fine. GET IT DONE!"

His call came a week after Trump-backed challengers ousted five Indiana Republican state senators. Those senators had blocked congressional redistricting in December.

Alabama's push revives a 2023 Republican map blocked by lower courts. The Supreme Court cleared it in a 6-3 ruling. That decision held race cannot dictate legislative maps and declared Louisiana's map unconstitutional.

Last week, the court made its Louisiana ruling effective right away, skipping the usual one-month wait. GOP legislators started hearings Friday. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, a Trump ally, delayed Louisiana's May 16 House primaries.

Louisiana Republicans seek to remove one or both Black-majority House seats held by Democrats.

Tennessee Republicans acted Thursday. The GOP legislature passed a map eliminating the state's lone Democratic district and securing all nine for Republicans. Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law.

Rep. Steve Cohen, who holds the majority-Black district, promised a court fight. "Trump knows he HAS TO rig the game to keep his majority in November. And the TN GOP was willing to go along with it. It’s shameful," he wrote on social media. "Next stop is the courts."

Trump praised Tennessee and told South Carolina to follow suit.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill last week overhauling congressional districts. It adds four Republican seats by cutting Democratic ones. Republicans now hold Florida's delegation 20-8.

Democrats appealed Monday to the U.S. Supreme Court to block a Virginia state Supreme Court ruling. That decision voided a ballot measure for four more Democratic seats. Virginia's current map gives Democrats a 6-5 edge; the overturned one could have made it 10-1.

The redistricting fight started last spring. Trump proposed mid-decade changes to avoid Democrats retaking the House as in 2018. He targeted states like Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session. Democrats broke quorum to stall it.

California voters passed Proposition 50 in November. It gave the Democratic legislature power over maps, adding five Democratic districts.

Republicans in Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina also redrew maps. But a Utah judge rejected one last year, approving a Democratic-leaning alternative. Indiana senators blocked a bill in December.