President Donald Trump unleashed a late-night broadside against Republican state senators in Indiana after they voted down a redistricting plan that could have expanded the GOP’s numbers in the U.S. House. The plan, which Trump strongly supported, failed in the Indiana State Senate by a 31–19 margin — with a majority of Republicans joining Democrats to sink it.
In the immediate aftermath of the vote, Trump initially played down his involvement. Speaking to reporters, he said he had not been “working on it very hard,” but made clear he believed the plan would have benefited Republicans nationally. “Would have been nice,” Trump said, adding that he thought the party “would have picked up two seats” if the proposal had passed. He singled out the Senate leader, Rodric Bray, saying he had heard Bray opposed the map. “He’ll probably lose his next primary, whenever that is. I hope he does, because he’s done a tremendous disservice,” Trump said.
But the issue clearly continued to fester. As the night wore on, Trump’s frustration boiled over. Just before 1 a.m. Saturday, the president posted a fiery message to his Truth Social account, accusing the Indiana Republicans who voted against the plan of sabotaging a chance to secure a House majority.
“Republicans in the Indiana State Senate, who voted against a Majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, should be ashamed of themselves,” Trump wrote. He sharply criticized the group, saying they were “headed by a total loser named Rod Bray,” and vowed political consequences. “Every one of these people should be ‘primaried,’ and I will be there to help!” Trump added. He also underscored Indiana’s importance to him personally, noting that it was the only state to block such an effort and that it was a state he “won big.”
Trump’s late-night rant came just hours after House Speaker Mike Johnson attempted to minimize the political significance of the Indiana vote and to brush aside media speculation that it reflected weakening influence for the president. Speaking with CNN’s Manu Raju on Friday, Johnson rejected the premise outright.
Raju asked Johnson whether he was concerned about Trump’s “grip on power” following the Indiana setback and whether it showed the president was becoming a lame duck. Johnson’s response was emphatic. “Not at all! No, he is not a lame duck!” the speaker said. Johnson described Trump as “the most powerful president of this generation and many others,” insisting that the outcome in Indiana did nothing to diminish Trump’s standing or the party’s broader momentum.
“We have a lot more work to do together,” Johnson said. “The outcome in Indiana is inconsequential to that.”
The episode highlighted ongoing tensions within the Republican Party, particularly between Trump and GOP officials at the state level who are wary of aggressive redistricting battles. For Trump, however, the issue is straightforward: missed opportunities to gain House seats are unacceptable, especially in a state that has reliably backed him at the ballot box.
By threatening primary challenges, Trump signaled he is willing to use his political clout to reshape the party from the ground up, targeting Republicans he believes stand in the way of a stronger GOP majority in Washington. While House leadership is publicly projecting confidence and unity, Trump’s overnight eruption made clear that he views the Indiana vote not as a minor setback, but as a betrayal that demands consequences.
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