Indiana law allows the governor to call lawmakers back into special session, but only the Legislature can approve a redistricting plan. Photo from Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Joe Ulery
Indiana News Service

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers remain divided over calls for a special session to redraw congressional maps.

Pres. Donald Trump met with Republican legislators at the White House in late Aug. and Vice President JD Vance also discussed redistricting with Gov. Mike Braun.

Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, is pushing back on the proposal.

“That is a bad idea,” Pryor argued. “They know their policies are failing American people, and they know their policies are failing Hoosiers. So they want to redistrict mid-decade so that they could maintain power in Congress.”

Republicans contended a mid-decade map would better reflect population shifts since the 2020 census and strengthen representation ahead of 2026. The governor has not said whether he will call lawmakers back.

Pryor stressed lawmakers should focus on other priorities such as kitchen-table issues.

“Call us back so that we can make sure that our utility rates don’t go up any higher,” Pryor suggested. “Call us back to make sure that we deal with the Medicaid crisis. The governor can call us back also to deal with the fact that we’ve cut money for mental-health services.”

Democrats will host a town hall Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. Indiana last redrew its map in 2021, leaving Republicans with seven seats and Democrats with two.