Indiana Republicans shed some light on a Tuesday White House meeting that was held to persuade some Republican legislators to come out in support of redistricting.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, and House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, issued statements Wednesday stating that redistricting was discussed during the meeting, but did not provide further information or where they stand on the issue.
“While redistricting did come up and members were able to ask questions, we spent the bulk of our afternoon discussing issues like energy, immigration and preventing waste and fraud in government,” Bray said.
Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray speaks in the Senate chamber at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Huston said those in attendance heard from Vice President JD Vance and other officials about the work the administration has been doing.
“A wide range of topics were discussed, including education, energy, immigration, fiscal responsibility and redistricting, and members were able to ask questions and share their thoughts. We look forward to Indiana continuing to have a strong partnership with the Trump Administration,” Huston said.
Gov. Mike Braun told reporters last week that he remained noncommittal on whether to call a special session for redistricting, adding that the decision will depend on consensus within the legislature.
“I’m not going to call one unless there is going to be general agreement that we need to,” Braun told reporters, noting a session could cost taxpayers roughly $150,000. A special session in Indiana in 2022 cost about $240,000.
Braun acknowledged the national political pressure but emphasized that Indiana is already solidly Republican.
“Yes, there will be political pressure put on, and it will be cranked up, probably closer you get to the finish line of when they’d like to get it done,” Braun said.
President Donald Trump and national Republicans have been pressuring red states to change their congressional maps before the 2026 election to increase Republican control of the U.S. House.
Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, speaks in the House chamber at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Last week, Texas lawmakers approved redistricted maps to include five new districts that would favor Republicans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday promised to quickly sign off on the new maps.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved a special election to take place in November for residents to vote on a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more House seats next year.
Meanwhile, Trump has pushed other Republican-controlled states, including Indiana and Missouri, to also revise their maps to add more winnable Republican seats. Ohio Republicans were also already scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan.
Vice President JD Vance listens as President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
It is unusual for redistricting to take place in the middle of the decade and typically occurs once at the beginning of each decade to coincide with the census.
Indiana was last redistricted in 2021, which left Congressional Republicans with seven seats and Democrats two seats. The two Democratic seats are the first district, held by U.S. Rep Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, and the seventh district, held by U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indianapolis.
Vance came to Indianapolis Aug. 7 to talk to Gov. Mike Braun and other Republican state leaders about redistricting. The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs sent an email invitation July 28 — which was before Vance came to Indiana but after the Texas special session started — inviting the state’s entire Republican legislative caucus to the White House.
Politico reported that Vance met with more than 55 Indiana Republican legislators and party leaders to discuss redistricting during a meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Trump then met privately with Huston and Bray, Politico reported.
The majority of Northwest Indiana’s Republican legislators told the Post-Tribune they won’t attend the meeting. State. Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, said Wednesday that he did not attend the White House meeting. Charbonneau said he couldn’t answer if he would support or oppose a special session for redistricting.
“We’re still working through the process,” Charbonneau said. “It’s a serious issue. We need to mull through the pros and cons.”
Sen. Liz Brown posted on Facebook Tuesday a picture of her outside the White House with a caption supporting redistricting. Brown, R-Fort Wayne, said Trump “is well within his bounds to ask states to look at their congressional maps to ensure lines are drawn fairly and constituents are represented as they ought to be.”
Brown said she attended the White House meeting because “Hoosiers know our conservative values could be at stake if states like California are allowed to have a louder liberal voice in Congress.”
“I support President Trump in his efforts, and I look forward to returning to Indiana and discussing (the) next steps to ensure our conservative values are fairly represented in D.C.,” Brown said.
State Rep. Andrew Ireland, R-Indianapolis, posted photos on his X/Twitter account of him visiting the White House Tuesday. Ahead of the visit to D.C., Ireland posted that he supports redistricting in Indiana.
“Democrats haven’t won the support of everyday Hoosier voters for more than a decade, and they have no business representing us in Washington,” Ireland said.
Once a staunch opponent to redistricting, State Rep. Jim Lucas, who posted photos on Facebook of himself in the White House Tuesday, told the Indiana Capitol Chronicle that he hasn’t yet changed his stance on redistricting but that his stance has softened after hearing from Vance.
“I’m open minded to it,” Lucas, R-Seymour, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “We’ve seen what happens when the Democrats have the House. President Trump spent his first four years fighting off attack after attack after attack.”
Indiana Senate and House Democratic members held a press conference Tuesday morning at the Indianapolis International Airport as Indiana Republican legislators flew to Washington D.C.
“They went for one reason: To help a greedy Donald Trump. To help Donald Trump and his allies rig Indiana’s Congressional map because seven out of the nine seats aren’t enough,” said Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington. “This is a blatant attempt to cheat Indiana voters.”
The Indiana Republican supermajority has been following the Trump administration “playbook” around public education, healthcare and tax increases for the poor and tax breaks for the rich, Yoder said.
Now, Yoder said, the state supermajority will look to give Trump two more Republican congressional seats.
“A rigged nine to zero, not because voters asked for it but because they are scared of what happens when voters catch on,” Yoder said, “This isn’t redistricting, this is rigging, this is cheating, this is throwing our most important American value into the garbage. They are running scared – or flying scared – (because) they know Hoosiers are catching on.”
State Rep. Mitch Gore, D-Indianapolis, said to further redistrict Indiana in favor of Republicans would require carving up communities of color, which would further dilute their voices.
“There’s nothing conservative about tearing up 250 years of constitutional practice. There’s nothing patriotic about silencing Black and brown voters,” Gore said.