Trump's redistricting fight mushrooms with Vance in Indiana and Florida joining the fray

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AP) — As President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Republican-run states to redraw congressional boundaries, he has dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Indiana and called for a new federal census — moves reflecting his intent to maximize the GOP's partisan advantages in coming elections.

Separately, a top Republican leader in Florida announced plans Thursday to begin redistricting efforts in the president's adopted home state. And U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said FBI Director Kash Patel had granted his request for the agency to get involved in corralling Texas Democratic lawmakers who left the state to deny the Republican majority a quorum necessary to vote on a U.S. House redistricting plan at the forefront of Trump's initiative.

The FBI has not detailed what role it might attempt to play. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun was mum after a private Thursday morning session with Vance. And Florida's plans are in their opening phase.

The developments reflect rising intensity in a fight that began in GOP-dominated Texas, spread to Democratic-run California and now seems to be mushrooming. The dynamics could embroil the 2026 midterm campaign in legislative and court battles testing Trump's power over the Republican Party, Democrats' ability to mount opposition and the durability of the U.S. system of federalism that balances power between Washington and individual states.

Texas has been the epicenter of Trump's push to gerrymander congressional maps to shore up Republicans' narrow House majority in 2026. At a time when competitive House districts number just several dozen, Democrats are three seats short of a House majority under the current maps. Trump wants five more seats out of Texas to potentially avoid a repeat of the 2018 midterms, when Democrats reclaimed the House and proceeded to thwart his agenda and impeach him twice.

Braun has seemingly affirmed Democrats’ warnings that Texas is a test case for the GOP to scale nationally. “It looks like it’s going to happen across many Republican states,” he told reporters ahead of Vance's visit, though he's made no promises about his own state.

Vance met privately with Braun and others at the Indiana Capitol on Thursday.

Afterward, Braun sidestepped redistricting — contrasting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's enthusiastic embrace of Trump's demands. “We discussed a number of issues, and I was pleased to highlight some of the great things happening in Indiana,” Braun said via his official social media account.

Around 100 people protested at the Capitol.

“I’m 75, and I never, never thought I had to worry about our democracy being taken apart from the inside,” said Linda Linn of Indianapolis, as she held a sign warning Braun not to disenfranchise her.

Braun would have to call a special session to start the redistricting process, but lawmakers have sole power to draw new maps.

Republican U.S. representatives outnumber Democrats in Indiana 7-2, limiting possibilities of squeezing out another seat.

While Braun is a staunch Trump ally in a state the president won by 19 percentage points in 2024, Indiana lawmakers have avoided the national spotlight in recent years — especially after a 2022 special session that yielded a strict abortion ban. Former Vice President Mike Pence, a past Indiana governor, also holds sway over many state lawmakers and has a more measured approach to partisan politics than Trump.

Indiana's Republican legislative leaders praised existing boundaries after adopting them four years ago. “I believe these maps reflect feedback from the public and will serve Hoosiers well for the next decade,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said at the time.

Rep. André Carson, one of two Indiana Democrats in the U.S. House, said he has not seen any alternate maps, calling them theoretical for now.

“If Republicans get too cute, they may hurt themselves,” he warned.

Still, Republicans hold a supermajority in the General Assembly, meaning Democrats could not thwart a special session by refusing to attend, as Texas Democrats are doing.

“Statehouse Dems will do everything within our power to work with Hoosiers to make sure the checks and balances remain and we remain to be the firewall not just for Indiana but for the entire country,” said state Senate minority leader Shelli Yoder, though she acknowledged there is little the party could do to stop redistricting if Republicans choose to please Trump.

Trump already is flouting U.S. political traditions with such a widespread, aggressive push for mid-decade redistricting. He added another variable with a social media post on Thursday calling for “new and highly accurate CENSUS” that does not count U.S. residents who are not citizens, permanent residents or otherwise legal immigrants.

He did not offer any timeline or details for such a massive undertaking, and his post raises constitutional questions about the once-a-decade process that apportions the U.S. House of Representatives among the states and sets distribution formulas for nearly $3 trillion in federal spending programs. The Constitution's 14th Amendment declares that House seats “shall be” established based on “the whole number of persons in each state,” and during Trump's first term, the Supreme Court effectively blocked him from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

Still, Trump has, in his second presidency, pushed the boundaries of executive action, even amid ongoing legal disputes or court orders, and the Census Bureau is under the direction of his Commerce Department, led by Secretary Howard Lutnick.

In Florida, the third most populous state, state House Speaker Daniel Perez said his chamber will take up redistricting this fall through a special committee. State Senate leaders have not yet followed Perez's lead. Gov. Ron DeSantis, an erstwhile Trump rival-turned-ally, previously told the public to “stay tuned.”

Pressure has intensified on Texas Democratic lawmakers — dozens of whom remain in other states and outside the jurisdiction of civil warrants issued by the Republican majority for their return. Besides Sen. Cornyn trying to engage the FBI, state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday filed a new request asking an Illinois state court to rule that the Texas warrants are enforceable in Illinois under the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Under Texas legislative rules, face $500 daily fines that exceed their compensation and cannot be paid, legally, by their campaign accounts. Political contributions are being used to cover some costs of their travel, lodging and meals while they are outside the state.

Texas Democrats hope to run out the clock on a special session that would end Aug. 19. But Abbott could call another session, increasing prospects for an extended stalemate.

While their minority status allows them only to delay, the Texas holdout has inspired Democrats and progressives around the country.

California's Gavin Newsom wants Democratic gerrymandering in his state if Texas proceeds, though voters would have to bypass an independent redistricting commission. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, both of whom have appeared alongside Texas Democrats who relocated to their states, have also declared their intent to push new maps if they are necessary to neutralize Republican maneuvers.

CORRECTS PARTY AFFILIATION - Sen Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, speaks at a rally protesting redistricting at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy). party affiliation

Protestors cheer during a really against redistricting at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Sen Shelli Yoder, R-Bloomington, speaks at a rally protesting redistricting at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

A curtain covers the entrance to the Governor's office ahead of a visit for Vice President JD Vance at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Protestors cheer during a really against redistricting at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Protestors, including Linda Lynn, Cent, of Indianapolis, cheer during a really against redistricting at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

FILE - Rep. André Carson, D-Ind., questions witnesses during on Capitol Hill, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., talks to supporters during an election night party, Nov. 8, 2022, in Merrillville, Ind. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

FILE - Indiana Governor Mike Braun is joined by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, right, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz during a news conference in Indianapolis, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

FILE -Vice President JD Vance listens as President Donald Trump speaks, Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Marco Odermatt already has no equals on the World Cup skiing circuit.

Now the Swiss star is unmatched in the biggest event on home snow, too.

Odermatt dominated a shortened race Saturday to set up his fourth career downhill victory in Wengen — breaking a tie for the most downhill victories on the famed Lauberhorn course with Franz Klammer and Beat Feuz.

Austrian standout Klammer claimed his three Wengen downhill wins in the 1970s while Feuz, another Swiss skier, claimed his third victory in 2020.

What’s more is that Odermatt’s four wins have come in succession.

Odermatt finished a massive 0.79 seconds ahead of Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr and 0.90 ahead of Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, who claimed his first career victory in Friday's super-G.

Strong winds prompted organizers to drastically shorten the course — making the narrow and tactical “Kernen S” section the key to the race. Odermatt mastered the section perfectly and carried away a faster speed on the exit than anyone else.

Franjo von Allmen and Alexis Money, two other Swiss skiers, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Von Allmen, the world champion in downhill last season, took a riskier approach and skied into a television camera lining the course inside the “S” section. Then he crashed in the finish area — although appeared unhurt.

Dominik Paris of Italy was sixth after registering the top speed at 151.57 kph (94 kph).

It’s the first of the two weekends at the circuit’s classic venues, with Kitzbuehel, Austria, up next. Then the focus will switch to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy — with the men to ski in Bormio.

Odermatt won gold in giant slalom at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and will be favored to win multiple medals at the upcoming Games.

Overall, it was Odermatt’s 52nd World Cup victory, moving him within two wins of matching Hermann Maier for third place on the all-time men’s list. He's also got a massive lead in the standings as he chases a fifth consecutive overall World Cup title.

Odermatt immediately knew he had done something special again, screaming with delight in the finish area and waving to the crowd, which was made up almost entirely of fans waving Swiss flags.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen crashes at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Spectators gather to follow an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts in the finish area during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts in the finish area during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)