White House officials turn up the heat on Indiana redistricting

Pressure is mounting on Republicans in Indiana to take up redistricting ahead of the midterms, with both White House officials privately pressuring lawmakers and a mysterious group urging voters to call their elected officials in support of it.

White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Alex Meyer in his personal capacity has called several lawmakers in the state pressing them to redistrict, according to a person familiar with the calls granted anonymity to discuss them.

One lawmaker said to have received a call declined to comment.

The White House is also inviting Indiana Republicans to a meeting in Washington, according to invitations reviewed by POLITICO. More than four dozen — including the state House speaker and Senate president — have agreed to attend and two have declined, according to a Republican close to the White House.

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

The calls are part of its broader strategy to use redistricting in order to gain an advantage in the midterms and help Republicans cling to their small House majority.

It’s not just the White House that’s amping up the pressure. MAGA faithfuls, like influencer Charlie Kirk, have also been telling Indiana lawmakers to get on board. In a recent post on X, Kirk asked if Indiana state officials are “going to ignore President Trump, the majority of their voters, and the GOP Grassroots across the country by REFUSING to redistrict Indiana’s Congressional Seats? Let’s hope they are better than that!”

At the same time, a recent robocall received by a POLITICO reporter living in Indiana accuses Democratic Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Kathy Hochul of New York of using redistricting with a goal of “ending the Trump presidency” and urges listeners to call GOP state Rep. David Hall and tell him to back the effort.

“We can stop these radicals by doing our own redistricting here in Indiana,” the call said.

The call went to residents of the district of Republican State Rep. Danny Lopez, who came out against redistricting. The narrator identifies the call as paid for by Forward America. There is little public information about the group.

Lopez declined to comment.

The intensive public and private pressure comes as Newsom pushes forward with his plan to offset the potential five-seat gain for Republicans in Texas. The Texas state legislature has been at a standstill since Democratic lawmakers left to prevent the state House from reaching quorum to pass the map. Abbott called a second special session on Friday, and Democratic lawmakers have indicated they are willing to return soon.

“Trump is playing for keeps this time,” said an Indiana GOP official allied with Trump’s efforts granted anonymity to speak freely. “And I don’t think they understand that.”

“Those guys frankly have not felt the slightest iota of the pressure that might be coming down the bend if they oppose Trump on this,” the person added.