Politics

BEIJING, May 7 (Reuters) – A delegation of U.S. senators visiting Beijing has called for stability and peaceful cooperation between the world’s two largest economies a week before the countries’ leaders meet.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to the Chinese capital to meet President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15.

“I strongly believe that we want to de-escalate, not decouple. We want stability, we want mutual respect,” Senator Steve Daines, who is leading the bipartisan delegation, said in opening remarks at a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday.

The Republican senator said he hoped the leaders’ meeting would result in Boeing jet orders, even as he warned of both countries facing trade issues.

“It’s been about nine years since there was a purchase made of Boeing aircraft here,” he said, according to a media pool report.

China has yet to announce Trump’s visit, saying the two sides maintain communication regarding the trip. Relations between the two powers remain generally stable after striking an uneasy trade truce last October following their leaders’ meeting in South Korea.

Speaking to Daines, Wang said China and the U.S. should be partners rather than rivals, despite their differences, and called on Washington to view Beijing objectively and establish a rational understanding.

“It is hoped that the U.S. could truly respect China’s core interests, properly manage differences, join hands to do more major, practical and good things that are beneficial to the two countries and the world,” Wang was quoted in a statement by his ministry.

In a separate meeting with the U.S. delegation in Beijing, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said China stood ready to enhance exchanges and cooperation with the U.S. side in various areas and expand practical cooperation, according to a pool report.

A stable and predictable China-U.S. economic and trade relationship was in line with the fundamental interests of both countries, Li told Daines, according to state broadcaster CCTV, while also warning that the Taiwan issue was “the first red line in China–U.S. relations that must not be crossed”.

The issue of Taiwan will top Beijing’s agenda for the expected leaders’ meeting this month, a stark departure from the South Korean meeting last year.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and regularly describes it as the most sensitive and important issue in its relations ​with Washington. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

(Reporting by Liz Lee, Shi Bu and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Sonali Paul, Alison Williams and Alex Richardson)

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ATLANTA (AP) — The federal government doesn’t have to return the 2020 election ballots from Georgia’s Fulton County that were seized by the FBI from a warehouse near Atlanta, a judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee’s decision came after lawyers for the county had argued that the ballots and other election materials, as well as any electronic copies the Justice Department has made, should be returned because the seizure was improper and unconstitutional.

The Jan. 28 seizure by the FBI targeted the elections hub in Georgia’s most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and includes most of the city of Atlanta. Fulton County has been at the center of unfounded claims by President Donald Trump and his allies that widespread election fraud cost him the 2020 election.

The Justice Department has said it is investigating “irregularities that occurred during the 2020 presidential election in the County” and identified two laws that might have been violated. One requires election records to be maintained for 22 months, while the other prohibits procuring, casting or tabulating false, fictitious or fraudulent ballots.

Georgia’s votes in the 2020 presidential race were counted three times, including once by hand, and each count affirmed Democrat Joe Biden’s win.

Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts said he strongly disagrees with the judge’s denial of the county’s request to return the election records.

“We will continue, as always, to stand by our election workers and the voters of Fulton County,” he said in an emailed statement. “We intend to vigorously pursue all available legal options.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the ruling Wednesday evening.

“The seizure in this case was certainly not perfect,” Boulee wrote in his 68-page ruling. But he went on to say that Fulton County did not establish that its rights were callously disregarded “either through the lack of probable cause, omissions in the Affidavit or by the manner of the execution of the seizure.”

The county also failed to show that it needs the documents or will be irreparably harmed if they are not returned, he wrote, noting this is particularly true because the Justice Department has given the county copies of the documents.

Months after the January seizure of ballots and other election materials, the Justice Department in April obtained a grand jury subpoena for the names and personal contact information of Fulton County employees and volunteers involved in the 2020 election. Fulton County filed a motion Monday to quash that subpoena, arguing that it is overly broad and meant to harass the president’s political opponents.

The Trump administration has also taken moves to obtain past election records from other critical swing states. The FBI used a subpoena in March to get records related to an audit of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County in Arizona. And in April, the Justice Department demanded that Michigan’s Wayne County turn over its 2024 election ballots.

The Justice Department is also fighting numerous states in court for access to voter data that includes sensitive personal information. Election officials, including some Republicans, have said handing over the information would violate state and federal privacy laws.

Democrats have raised concerns that the Trump administration is weaponizing federal law enforcement to pursue the president’s personal grievances and is planning ways to interfere in this year’s midterm elections. The administration has said it is looking into allegations of past problems and seeking to protect future elections.

During a March 27 hearing on Fulton County’s demand that the FBI return its ballots and other materials, lawyers for the county argued that the seizure was improper and unjustified and demonstrated “callous disregard” for the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. They suggested that the Trump administration decided to use a criminal search warrant to obtain the materials because it had grown tired of waiting for the outcome of the civil litigation the Justice Department had filed last year to obtain them.

Justice Department attorneys argued that they took the appropriate steps to get a warrant and then take the documents. They said it is not uncommon for parallel civil and criminal investigations to be going on at the same time.

The judge agreed that the affidavit was “defective in some respects” and that some of the statements included in it were “troubling.” But he noted that the FBI agent who wrote it also included “facts that both hurt and helped him.” He concluded that the document’s shortcomings don’t amount to callous disregard.

He also agreed that the government can pursue civil and criminal proceedings on the same matter and said the timeline of the investigation weighs against the county’s theory that the Justice Department “created an ‘ongoing investigation’ to sidestep procedural hurdles” in civil cases.=

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By Andrew Chung

HERSHEY, Pennsylvania, May 6 (Reuters) – U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern on Wednesday about the public perception of the Supreme Court as an institution driven primarily by political outcomes rather than the law at a time when some prominent voices have raised questions about the top U.S. judicial body’s legitimacy. 

Roberts, who has led the court since 2005, appeared to acknowledge dimming public approval of the court, shown in opinion polls over the past few years, as its conservative majority continues to push American law dramatically rightward.

“At a very basic level people think we’re making policy decisions,” Roberts told an audience of judges, attorneys and law students in Hershey, Pennsylvania. 

“I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do,” Roberts said.

Roberts, appointed as chief justice by Republican former President George W. Bush, is seen as deeply conservative but also concerned about the court’s institutional credibility and public perception. 

Its current 6-3 conservative majority was established in 2020 when Republican President Donald Trump made a third appointment of a justice to a lifetime position on the bench. Since then, it has delivered landmark rulings rolling back abortion rights and race-conscious affirmative action practices, expanding gun rights, expanding religious rights, limiting transgender rights and restricting federal regulatory power. 

In another landmark ruling last week, it gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, making it harder for minorities to challenge electoral maps as racially discriminatory under this civil rights law. The ruling was a victory for Louisiana Republicans and Trump’s administration.

A ruling authored by Roberts in 2024 granted Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution over his efforts to undo his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, bolstering his bid to regain the presidency by effectively delaying a trial that ultimately never took place.

Since Trump returned to the presidency last year, the court has repeatedly taken emergency actions to let his far-reaching executive actions take effect pending legal challenges. In one setback for Trump, the court in another ruling authored by Roberts in February struck down Trump’s signature global tariffs issued under a law meant for use in national emergencies.

Interviewed on stage by a federal judge on Wednesday, Roberts was asked how the court is misunderstood. Roberts said that the justices are “not simply part of the political process,” adding: “I’m not sure the people grasp that as much as is appropriate.” 

KAGAN’S CONCERNS

In 2022, Justice Elena Kagan, one of the court’s three liberal members, said its legitimacy could be imperiled if Americans come to view the justices as trying to impose personal preferences on society. Kagan said that a “court is legitimate when it’s acting like a court,” by respecting past precedents and not asserting authority to make political or policy decisions.

“When courts become extensions of the political process, when people see them as extensions of the political process, once people see them as trying just to impose personal preferences on a society, irrespective of the law, that’s when there’s a problem,” Kagan said.

Biden, whose administration was on the losing side of some key Supreme Court rulings, in 2024 proposed sweeping changes for the court including term limits of 18 years for the justices and a binding code of conduct. 

“We need these reforms to restore trust in the court,” Biden said, adding that it “has been weaponized by those seeking to carry out an extreme agenda for decades to come.”

Amid Republican opposition, Biden’s proposals went nowhere in Congress. 

Other Democrats and some legal scholars have indicated similar concerns. Referring to the conservative justices, Senator Edward Markey in 2024 criticized the “illegitimate, extremist U.S. Supreme Court majority.”

PERSONAL ATTACKS

Roberts on Wednesday repeated his concerns about personal attacks and hostility toward judges. Criticism of rulings is legitimate, Roberts said, but criticism of the judges themselves is not. 

“As soon as that happens, that’s not appropriate and it can lead to very serious problems,” Roberts said. 

Roberts did not name Trump, who has launched verbal attacks on the judiciary after rulings impeding his agenda. 

The Supreme Court repeatedly has been called upon to rule in cases involving Trump’s expansive view of presidential powers. It is expected by the end of June to rule in more major cases involving Trump including his efforts to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and restrict birthright citizenship.

Trump condemned Roberts and the five other justices who ruled against him on tariffs and made an unsubstantiated claim that the court was swayed by foreign interests. Trump called out two of the three conservative justices he appointed during his first term in office, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, calling the decision “an embarrassment to their families.”

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

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By Christian Martinez

LOS ANGELES, May 6 (Reuters) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was released from the intensive care unit but will remain in the hospital for recovery, his spokesperson Ted Goodman said Wednesday.

• Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized in critical condition and was recovering from pneumonia, Goodman said.

• “The mayor and his family appreciate the outpouring of love and prayers sent his way,” Goodman said.

• Giuliani came to global prominence in 2001 as he led New York’s recovery from the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers, which his spokesperson said led to him developing restrictive airway disease.

• Giuliani’s later failed quest to overturn President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat tarnished his image as “America’s Mayor”, earned for his 2001 response to the al Qaeda attack.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Christian Martinez; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The leading candidates for California governor clashed in a lively debate Tuesday on everything from a proposed tax on billionaires to state-funded healthcare for immigrants in the country illegally.

The debate, broadcast on CNN, was one of their last chances to pitch themselves to voters and stand out from the pack in their primary election bids to succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who terms out in January. Mail voting is already underway, and voters have until June 2 to cast their ballots. The top-two vote getters will advance to the general election in November, regardless of party.

Though California hasn’t had a Republican governor in more than a decade, the specter hangs over the race as the field is still crowded with less than a month to go.

Candidates who took part in the debate include Democrats Xavier Becerra, a former health secretary for the Biden administration; Katie Porter, a former congresswoman; Tom Steyer, a billionaire climate activist; Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose; and Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles; as well as Republicans Steve Hilton, a conservative commentator; and Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff.

Here’s how they responded on some of the key issues:

The candidates sparred over whether they’d eliminate private health insurance in favor of a state-run system, an idea that has failed repeatedly in Sacramento.

Porter, who backs a government-run healthcare system, pressed Becerra on his stance since he’s wavered on the issue recently.

“Do you support CalCare — California having its own state-run, single-payer system, yes or no?” Porter asked.

Becerra gave a vague answer.

“The most important thing about having a Medicare for All plan is that it includes everyone,” he said. “What we have to do is get to the point where we are covering everyone with something like Medicare for All.”

Mahan, who opposes a state-run system, later chimed in and said Becerra “was unable to clearly answer the most important question on healthcare.”

Becerra contested: “I did answer that question.”

Steyer joined Porter in saying he’d support it, while Bianco, Hilton, and Villaraigosa said it wasn’t practical or would cost too much.

When the debate turned to healthcare access for immigrants, the candidates were divided.

Steyer, Porter and Becerra said they supported state-funded healthcare coverage for low-income immigrants without legal status, which Newsom passed then pared back. Bianco called the policy “ridiculous.”

Other arguments about immigration fell largely along party lines.

The Democrats sharply rebuked the Trump administration’s immigration raids.

Steyer said the state should prosecute federal agents and immigration enforcement leaders who racially profile or use violence against Californians. Mahan said business owners in San Jose have lost customers because many immigrants are afraid to leave their house.

But Bianco said he supported Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, saying agents were enforcing the law and working to deport people he referred to as “criminals” in the country illegally.

Hilton, who’s from England, pointed out that he was the only immigrant on stage. The candidates shouldn’t conflate legal and illegal immigration, he said.

“Although it is the federal government’s responsibility to determine and implement immigration policy, I think it’s important that all the laws are peacefully enforced,” Hilton said. “As governor, I would make sure that we work with the federal government to enforce our laws.”

The Democrats each emphasized they would fight Trump on immigration policy in particular.

Neither Hilton, whom Trump has endorsed, nor Bianco, invoked him much except to say that Democrats unfairly blame him for the state’s woes.

Becerra mentioned Trump the most, noting he sued the administration many times while serving as state attorney general from 2017 to 2021, when he was appointed health secretary under then-President Joe Biden.

“I’m going to repeat Donald Trump as often as I have because he’s the menace,” Becerra declared.

When Villaraigosa pressed Hilton to acknowledge Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, Hilton refused to answer.

“Endlessly going on about Donald Trump doesn’t serve the needs of the struggling families and small businesses,” Hilton said.

Mahan sought to find middle ground. He said Becerra was wrong to blame high gas prices solely on Trump, but also noted that San Jose has sued the Trump administration over immigration policy. He said it was disqualifying for the Republican candidates to support Trump’s “cruel and ineffective policies.”

Porter, meanwhile, put it simply: “Donald Trump sucks.”

Steyer was the only candidate on stage to say he’d vote for a proposed billionaires tax expected to appear before voters in November. The one-time tax proposal aims to backfill funding cuts signed into law by Trump that reduced healthcare access for low-income people.

Porter also supports some increased taxes on California’s ultrawealthy but called the proposed tax a temporary fix to a long-term problem.

Meanwhile Mahan said he would suspend the gas tax because it unfairly burdens working families.

Hilton would make people’s first $100,000 free of income tax.

Mahan and Steyer said they’d tax artificial intelligence companies and use the money to support workers, for example through workforce development training.

“The answer is to tax these companies, not to regulate them to the point that they simply go to other places,” Mahan said.

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May 6 (Reuters) – U.S. media mogul Ted Turner, who has died, CNN reported on Wednesday, had an inclination to speak his mind that earned him the nickname “The Mouth of the South.” Here are some of his colorful quotes:

* “If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.”

* “This is America. You can do anything here.”

* “The United States has got some of the dumbest people in the world.”

* “We won’t be signing off until the world ends. We’ll be on and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event.” – At the launch of CNN

* “War has been good to me from a financial standpoint but I don’t want to make money that way. I don’t want blood money.” – During his days with CNN

* “Life is a game. Money is how we keep score.”

* “Over a three-year period, I gave away half of what I had. To be honest, my hands shook as I signed it away.”

* “That was probably my most unfortunate comment. I apologized for it. I apologized for a lot of things that I’ve said.” – After calling Christianity a “religion for losers.”

* “Men should be barred from public office for 100 years in every part of the world… It would be a much kinder, gentler, more intelligently run world. The men have had millions of years where we’ve been running things. We’ve screwed it up hopelessly. Let’s give it to the women.”

* “I know what I’m having ’em put on my tombstone: ‘I have nothing more to say.’”

(Compiled by Bill Trott; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

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By David Morgan

WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) – Vivek Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire former biotech executive and erstwhile presidential hopeful, won the Republican primary for governor of Ohio on Tuesday and now faces a November general election contest against Democrat Amy Acton, a physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health.

The Midwestern state last elected a Democratic governor in 2006 but is the site of a highly competitive U.S. Senate race in this year’s midterm elections, which could also put the governorship into play. Here are some facts about Ramaswamy’s life and career:

A HINDU RAISED IN THE AMERICAN MIDWEST

Ramaswamy, 40, was born in Cincinnati to immigrant parents from southern India. He was raised in the Hindu faith of his parents but went to a Roman Catholic high school. He earned a biology degree at Harvard University before attending Yale Law School.

Ramaswamy worked as a hedge fund investor and says he had already made several million dollars before graduating from Yale. In 2014, he founded his own biotech company, Roivant Sciences, which bought patents from larger companies for drugs not yet fully developed and marketed. He resigned as CEO in 2021. In 2023, the business magazine Forbes estimated Ramaswamy’s wealth at $630 million.

A FORMER LIBERTARIAN RAPPER WITH A PATCHY VOTING RECORD        Ramaswamy says he was a libertarian during college. While at Harvard, he would perform libertarian-themed rap songs under the stage name Da Vek. He reprised some of his rap skills as a 2024 presidential candidate, with an Iowa State Fair performance of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” that went viral on social media.

Ramaswamy says he voted for a libertarian in the 2004 presidential election, but did not vote in 2008, 2012, or 2016.

He has contributed to Republican and Democratic candidates. He says he voted in 2020 for President Donald Trump.

AN ‘ANTI-WOKE’ CRUSADER

In recent years, Ramaswamy has become a fierce conservative. In his 2021 bestseller “Woke, Inc.,” Ramaswamy decries decisions by some big companies to base business strategy around social justice and climate change concerns and assails “wokeism” as an insidious influence on hard work, capitalism, religious faith and patriotism. The book raised his profile among conservatives, and he began his rapid ascent as a right-wing star.

2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN AND BRIEF DOGE ROLE

Ramaswamy was a long shot for president in the 2024 campaign but drew attention with his aggressive debate performances and deeply conservative policy positions, including an agenda that was further to the right of Trump’s on some issues. He ended his campaign after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses and endorsed Trump.

A week after the election, Trump named Ramaswamy to lead the group dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, with billionaire businessman Elon Musk. But he dropped out on Inauguration Day to focus on his gubernatorial ambitions in Ohio.  

RACISM ON THE RIGHT

Ramaswamy in December denounced a rising tide of racism and antisemitism on the political right before a group of conservative activists, singling out racial slurs about second lady Usha Vance, who was born in San Diego to Indian immigrants.    

“If you believe in normalizing hatred towards any ethnic group: toward whites, towards Blacks, towards Hispanics, towards Jews, towards Indians, you have no place in the future of the conservative movement. Period,” Ramaswamy said at AmericaFest, a conservative conference organized by Turning Point USA, the organization founded by slain activist Charlie Kirk.  

“And if you can’t say those things without stuttering, then you have no place as a leader at any level in the conservative movement either – certainly not in my state of Ohio,” he said.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Tim Reid; editing by Scott Malone, Rod Nickel)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker Wednesday as President Donald Trump sought to pressure Tehran into reaching a deal to end the war. The Islamic Republic said it was reviewing the latest American proposals.

A fighter jet shot out the rudder of the tanker in the Gulf of Oman as it tried to breach the American blockade of Iran’s ports, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.

The attack occurred as Iran and the U.S. are officially in a ceasefire. Trump threatened Tehran with a new wave of bombing if a deal is not reached that includes opening the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Trump posted on social media that the two-month war could soon end and that oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict could restart. But he said that depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the president did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump wrote.

Meanwhile, Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time since a ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group was announced April 17. Fighting has continued since then in southern Lebanon.

The last strikes in Beirut were on April 8, when a series of massive Israeli attacks killed more than 350 people. More than 2,500 have died in Lebanon since fighting began March 2, two days after Israel and the U.S. launched the war on Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday’s strike, which came without warning, targeted a commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force. Hezbollah did not immediately comment.

Trump insisted Wednesday that Iranian officials want to end the war.

“We’re dealing with people that want to make a deal very much, and we’ll see whether or not they can make a deal that’s satisfactory to us,” the president said.

He suggested, both at the White House and on social media, that the U.S. could ultimately force a settlement.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump said on social media, “and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”

The White House believes it is near an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by Axios. There is no deal yet, but provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, lifting of U.S. sanctions, distribution of frozen Iranian funds and opening the strait for ships.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the possible agreement.

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, told state TV that Tehran had “strongly rejected” U.S. proposals reported by Axios, but that it was still examining the latest proposed agreement.

A shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Tehran has largely held since it began April 8. Pakistan hosted in-person talks last month between the two countries, but they failed to reach an agreement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to China came ahead of a planned trip by Trump to Beijing.

Trump is scheduled to attend a high-profile summit on May 14 and 15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump was the last U.S. president to visit China in 2017.

“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable,” Wang said in a video of the meeting.

The Chinese foreign minister said the conflict “has not only caused serious losses to the Iranian people, but also had a severe impact on regional and global peace.”

Araghchi told Iranian state TV that his visit included discussions of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions imposed on Tehran.

Trump has demanded a major rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

A statement published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website said China values Iran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons while affirming its “legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

AP PHOTO

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republicans in several Southern states pressed ahead with an aggressive election-year redistricting effort Wednesday to their plans to reshape congressional districts that have suddenly become vulnerable because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. 

In Tennessee, protesters repeatedly interrupted legislative hearings on the redistricting plans. Undeterred Republicans advanced them for a potential final vote Thursday. 

Republicans in the Alabama House approved a measure to upend the state’s congressional primaries if courts allow them to switch their U.S. House districts. 

The Supreme Court ruled last week that Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Black-majority House district as it attempted to comply with the Voting Rights Act. The ruling gives Republicans in Louisiana and elsewhere grounds to try to eliminate majority-Black districts that have elected Democrats. 

The ruling intensified an already fierce national redistricting battle ahead of a November midterm election that will determine control of the closely divided House. 

Texas was first to redraw its U.S. House districts last year, eight states have adopted new congressional districts. From that, Republicans think they could gain as many as 13 seats while Democrats think they could gain up to 10. But some of the new districts could be competitive in November, meaning the parties may not get all they sought. 

Tennessee plan splits up Memphis district 

Republicans on Wednesday proposed a new U.S. House map that would split Memphis’ home of Shelby County into three districts, instead of the current two. The map would break up Tennessee’s lone Democratic-held district, centered on the majority-Black city, creating a ripple effect of alterations to districts throughout the western and central parts of the state. 

“Tennessee is a conservative state, and our congressional delegation should reflect that. This bill ensures it does,” Republican state Sen. John Stevens said. 

Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said the proposed districts were drawn based on population and politics, not racial data. 

Alabama House backs a new primary 

The Republican-led Alabama House on Wednesday passed legislation authorizing special congressional primaries as Republicans eye the possibility of getting a different congressional map in place for the November elections. The bill now moves to the state Senate. 

Alabama is seeking to lift a federal court order that created a second congressional district with a near-majority of Black voters. That map led to the 2024 election of Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. Republicans want instead to use a 2023 map drawn by state lawmakers that would give the GOP an opportunity to reclaim Figures’ south Alabama district. 

South Carolina moves toward redistricting 

The South Carolina House on Wednesday approved a resolution giving lawmakers permission to return later, after their regular work ends, to redraw congressional districts that could eliminate the state’s only Democratic-held district. The proposal now goes to the Senate, where it would need a two-thirds vote. 

Republican House leaders said after the vote that they plan to introduce a new map Thursday and hold committee meetings on Friday. But during debate Wednesday.

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Five months ago, President Donald Trump was stinging from one of the first political defeats of his second term as Republican state senators defied him on redistricting in Indiana. Now he has proved he can still punish wayward party members after he endorsed a slate of challengers who defeated almost every one of the lawmakers he wanted to dislodge.

But that success may not help Republicans’ odds in November’s midterm elections, when Trump’s sagging poll numbers, lingering inflation and frustration over the war with Iran have boosted Democrats’ chance of retaking control of Congress. Some Republicans are worried that intraparty fights are costing time and money that should be focused on defending their majorities in Washington.

“Every dollar going toward keeping seats we already have, and not winning ones we don’t, really matters,” said Rick Tyler, a Republican strategist who has been critical of the president.

However, Trump doesn’t seem to have any second thoughts about purging his party of dissenters. Indiana’s primary will likely bolster his confidence in other primaries this month, as he tries to oust U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

It also ratchets up the pressure on Republican lawmakers in other states to move aggressively to redraw congressional district boundaries this year. Alabama and Tennessee have already begun special sessions that could limit Black voters’ strength in Democratic-leaning districts, and some of Trump’s allies in South Carolina want to follow suit.

State Sen. Linda Rogers, one of the Indiana lawmakers who voted against redistricting and lost her seat Tuesday, said the outcome of this week’s primary “will probably discourage others in other states.”

“If someone is going to ask you to take a tough vote, you may think twice about your conscience and what’s best for your community and instead what’s best for you and your career,” she said.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, who sided with Trump, said it was a “historic night” and he thanked Republican voters who “stood with me and President Trump to nominate some great America First conservatives.”

Redistricting efforts began last year when Trump saw an opportunity to give Republicans an additional edge. Indiana stood out as a Republican-run state that declined to give Trump what he wanted, even as GOP- and Democratic-led states traded gerrymandering maneuvers in a national competition.

After the Indiana Senate rejected the redistricting plan in December, Trump pledged to punish defiant lawmakers. His allies spent more than $8.3 million on races that usually see very little spending.

Andy Zay, a state senator who voted for redistricting, resigned in January to become chair of a state utility commission. He was a target of harassment and threats in the months leading up to the vote, and he said Trump’s influence and heavy spending made it tough for incumbents to hang on in the primaries.

“Trump matters and money matters,” he said.

Five of Trump’s targets lost their races. One won. One race was too close to call.

Trump allies celebrated the results and warned other Republicans who might be thinking of opposing the president.

“Redistrict ASAP for the November election or you face a real risk of losing your seat. No excuses,” Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist, wrote on social media. “Reschedule primaries if you must but redraw the map. Voters demand action NOW, not weakness.”

Redistricting efforts were supercharged last week when the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a provision of the Voting Rights Act that influenced how political lines are drawn in areas with large nonwhite populations.

James Blair, one of Trump’s top political advisers, posted an image from the movie “Gladiator” depicting Russell Crowe’s ancient Roman character Maximus exulting after a combat victory.

Trump himself was relatively restrained on social media. He shared a series of photos celebrating the victories of candidates he endorsed in Indiana and Ohio, which also held primaries Tuesday. But he otherwise passed on boasting or renewing his attacks on Massie or Cassidy.

Massie has been among the members of Congress who frustrated the president by pressing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files, challenging Trump for taking military action in Iran without congressional approval, and voting against the party’s sweeping tax-and-budget bill last year.

“I vote with the Republican Party and this president 90% of the time, and the 10% of the time that I’m not voting with the party or the president, I’m keeping the promises that the president and I campaigned on,” Massie recently told Kentucky’s PBS affiliate.

Explaining his vote against Trump’s signature domestic achievement, Massie called it “a big spending bill” and said he has voted consistently “not to bankrupt this country.”

Trump has endorsed Massie’s challenger, retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, and campaigned for him before the May 19 primary. In Louisiana, Trump backs Rep. Julie Letlow over Cassidy in their May 16 primary, which includes a third candidate, state Treasurer John Fleming.

Cassidy was among the Republican senators who voted to convict Trump on 2021 impeachment charges after the Jan. 6 riot. But he also has given Trump consistent support. Most notably, the Baton Rouge physician advanced Robert Kennedy Jr.’s controversial nomination as Trump’s health secretary.

The two-term incumbent is campaigning aggressively against Trump’s chosen candidate without mentioning the president in his attacks on Letlow.

“Sen. Cassidy is running like he’s 10 points down and is pounding the pavement every day,” Cassidy campaign manager Katie Larkin said in a statement.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., noted Wednesday that Trump has gone after Massie before, only for the congressman to win reelection.

“Thomas Massie has been very popular in his district,” McCarthy said during a “Fox & Friends” interview. Still, he warned, it is not an ideal situation for any Republican to run without Trump’s backing.

It is unusual for a sitting president to be focused on attacking and defeating his own party members this deep into a midterm election year. And it’s yielded notable spending that is not directed at Democrats. In Louisiana, Letlow, Cassidy, and other campaign organizations have plowed more than $28 million into attack ads.

“It’s a lot of dollars spent on taking on fellow Republicans,” said Marc Short, who worked for former Vice President Mike Pence, a onetime Indiana governor.

Short said it wasn’t clear that Trump’s involvement would help Republicans’ chances in November.

“There’ve been questions before, when he engages in these inner-party contests, will they work out as well when we get to the general election?”

Rogers, the Indiana state senator, faced almost $670,000 in television ads against her, funded by political action committees associated with Braun and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.

Yet even in defeat, she said she does not regret her vote against redistricting.

“It would have been easy for me to hit that ‘yes’ button,” she said. “To hear the number of people who asked me not to, then the number of people who thanked me, would mean I wasn’t representing them.”

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Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa, and Barrow from Atlanta.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that Andy Zay, while in the Indiana state Senate, had voted for redistricting.

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