Trump says Tennessee will redraw congressional map after Supreme Court weakens Voting Rights Act

U.S. President Donald Trump said on April 30 that Tennessee will redraw its congressional map after a Supreme Court ruling weakened a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court's ruling, which concerned Louisiana's congressional map, has nationwide implications, particularly ahead of the November midterm elections. The decision removed certain race-based restrictions on drawing congressional districts, opening the door for Republicans to push for redistricting in several states.

This move is part of an unprecedented wave of redistricting that began last year, when Trump pressured Texas to redraw its congressional map in favor of Republicans. Both parties have since sought to gain seats through redistricting in seven states: Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, California, Utah, and Virginia.

Most recently, on April 29, the Florida legislature approved a new congressional map that would create 24 districts expected to lean Republican, up from 20 currently.

On Truth Social on April 30, Trump wrote that he spoke with Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who "declared he will work hard to remedy the unconstitutional Defect in the Congressional Map of the great State of Tennessee." Lee has not confirmed this statement.

A new map in Tennessee is expected to add another solidly Republican district, boosting the party's chances of retaining control of the U.S. House in November.

Louisiana to redraw map

The Supreme Court's April 29 ruling centered on Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was considered a tool to prevent state officials and lawmakers from diluting the voting power of racial minority groups when drawing maps. The ruling raised the standard for a map to be deemed illegal, requiring challengers to prove discriminatory intent behind the map's design.

The court declared Louisiana's current map, which includes two majority-black districts, unconstitutional. This is expected to endanger other majority-black districts nationwide, as Black voters tend to lean heavily Democratic.

On April 30, Louisiana's governor announced the state would postpone its primary election while it redraws the map, likely creating an additional Republican-leaning district. Beyond Louisiana and Tennessee, Republican Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia also said his state will consider whether to redraw its map before the midterms.

The Supreme Court's ruling may ultimately lead other states to pursue redistricting, including Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina, though due to various reasons, they may struggle to do so in this election season.

Concerns about gerrymandering

Redistricting typically occurs every decade after the U.S. census to account for population shifts. The process has long been criticized for gerrymandering — drawing electoral districts to favor one political party. In most cases, state legislatures and officials oversee the process, while some states rely on independent commissions.

Critics argue that the latest redistricting campaign has escalated gerrymandering to a high degree, as both parties hope to shift electoral advantages ahead of the midterms. Political analysts often predict Democrats will retake the House as Trump's approval ratings decline, but the margin is expected to be very tight, just a few seats apart.