The son of President Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., responded to Republican State Senators in Indiana voting this week against the President’s push to redraw the Hoosier State’s congressional map designed to give Republicans extra seats in the House.
[Note: The majority of Republican State Senators — 21 out of 40 — voted against the bill, not “a small group,” as MAGA-aligned Governor Mike Braun suggested.]
Trump, Jr., who is not an elected official, wrote on social media: “If Indiana Republicans side with these Never Trumpers to do the dirty work of Democrats, I’ll be spending a lot of time in Indiana next year campaigning against every single one of them. PS: These RINO consultants sabotaging MAGA need to be rooted out of the GOP!!!”
Rod Bray, the Senate leader in Indiana, has consistently told us he wouldn’t fight redistricting while simultaneously whipping his members against it. That level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded, and the Indiana GOP needs to choose a side. https://t.co/63Vg7qkpDg
— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 11, 2025
Vice President JD Vance — who had travelled twice to Indiana to try to persuade the State Senators to vote in favor of redistricting — replied to Trump, Jr.
“Rod Bray, the Senate leader in Indiana, has consistently told us he wouldn’t fight redistricting while simultaneously whipping his members against it,” Vance wrote. “That level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded, and the Indiana GOP needs to choose a side.”
Far-right blogger Charles Haywood of Indiana replied to Vance: “Make me satrap of Indiana in the Vance Imperium, and you will have no further problems from my state.” (A satrap was a governor of provinces of the ancient Median and Persian Empires who “served as a viceroy to the king, though with considerable autonomy.”)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Senate, chose the side of Vance, writing: “The State Senators who opposed redistricting betrayed our nation, our voters, and our party. They must all be kicked out of office.”
But not all Republicans are enraged by the Indiana legislature’s failure to comply with Trump’s wishes.
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), wrote: “Indiana did the right thing. Saying no to partisan gerrymandering and yes to fair competition is how democracy should work. Not just in Indiana, but in every state. Let’s play by the rules, be fair, and move our country forward.”