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Republicans Deal Blow to Trump’s Power Grab Plot

The president’s call for swift redistricting has fallen flat in one swing state.

Georgia Republicans have thrown a wrench into President Donald Trump’s bid to secure an edge in the battle for control of Congress.

The Peach State’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp had called a special session to redraw Georgia’s congressional maps to favor GOP candidates after the Supreme Court weakened Voting Rights Act protections for Black representation in April.

But less than an hour before the legislative session was set to begin at the Georgia State Capitol, top Republican lawmakers announced that they were calling off the redistricting effort for the time being.

“House Republicans will not be taking up congressional or legislative redistricting maps for the 2028 election cycle during this special session,” Jon Burns, the Republican House speaker, said, drawing cheers from civil rights activists and protesters who had gathered inside the Georgia Capitol, according to The New York Times.

By shelving the effort, Georgia Republicans are defying Trump’s demand following the April Supreme Court ruling that GOP-controlled state legislatures across the country redraw their maps to boost the GOP’s electoral chances.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Burns cited the need for a more deliberate process, including greater input from voters and a better understanding of the ramifications of the Supreme Court ruling, The Guardian reports.

“We believe that it’s important to do things the Georgia way, responsibly, transparently, and with ample opportunity for public input,” he said.

Republicans in the state had sought to erase at least two Democratic seats after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority ruled that many deliberately drawn Black-majority districts were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders, weakening a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Georgia is represented by 14 members in the U.S. House, including four Democrats, all of whom are Black.

“We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done,” wrote Trump, who is facing widespread disapproval of his job performance that Republicans worry could weigh on midterm prospects, after the Supreme Court’s decision. “That is more important than administrative convenience. The byproduct is that the Republicans will receive more than 20 House Seats in the upcoming Midterms!”

Republicans in Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana quickly heeded the 80-year-old president’s call, pushing through new congressional maps for the midterm cycle that erased several districts long held by Democrats.

In Georgia, however, Kemp defied Trump’s push, calling a special session to consider new maps for the 2028 election cycle rather than the 2026 midterms.

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Georgia Republicans’ decision to call off that special session marks the president’s latest setback in the state.

On Tuesday evening, Billionaire Rick Jackson won the Republican runoff to become the nominee for governor, beating the Trump-endorsed candidate, Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones.

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The winner will face off against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who easily won her Democratic primary for governor with the backing of former President Joe Biden.

Georgia is seen as a deeply competitive state with Democrats winning both Senate seats in the most recent statewide elections and President Joe Biden flipping the state blue in 2020 before it swung back for Trump in 2024.

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Erkki ForsterNight News Reporter

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