Rep. Ireland Details D.C. Trip, Redistricting Discussions
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana State Representative Andrew Ireland said he and other state Republicans briefly discussed redistricting when they met with members of the Trump administration in Washington D.C. earlier this week.
Rep. Ireland, one of about 50 Republicans who flew to D.C. for the visit, told “The Kendall and Casey Show” on WIBC Thursday that they spent much of the day at the White House and only discussed redistricting for “a very small piece of it.”
“We were there for the entire day and did the normal tour that everybody else in the world can take and then the afternoon was all policy-focused,” Ireland said. “We met with people throughout the White House who gave very specific proposals on what they’re doing and things that Indiana can do to help them.”
According to Ireland, Indiana Republicans had an invite from the White House to visit since about mid-July, before Vice President JD Vance came to the Hoosier State in early August. He said the goal of the Trump administration with having these meetings with various states who could end up redrawing their congressional maps is to give more power back to the states.
“The whole point is trying to push some power back down to the states where it belongs, but I think we have a long way to go,” said Ireland.
Rep. Ireland said he was a “yes” on redistricting in Indiana even before they met with the Vice President and other Trump team officials.
The state of Indiana voted about 58% Republican and 38% Democrat in the 2024 election. Seven of the nine congressional seats are held by Republicans with over 70% of House and Senate seats also being red. While Ireland admitted there is a partisan slant in the state’s maps, he believes Indiana Republicans have a chance to “fight fire with fire” and play the game that Democrats have been playing.
“I would prefer to see a world where Congress steps up, does it’s job, and creates very clean and clear rules that all states have to play by, but the reality is that the other side has been doing this for a long time and Republicans have been doing it too but certainly not as hard as Democrats have,” Ireland explained.
To him, Indiana Republicans could “even the playing field” against heavily-gerrymandered Democrat states like Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts.
“For the longest time, I think Republicans chose the map where ‘we’re going to do it the right way, we’re going to rest on our laurels,” Ireland added. “This is an opportunity now where you have somebody at the top, the leader of your party, that says ‘I’m willing to take that fight on.'”
Rep. Ireland also said he’s hoping there will be a special session called in Indiana and that state Republicans can figure out a way to create a map that “generally reflects the population of Indiana.” States Democrats have been upset with the redistricting talks. Some flew to Chicago to join Texas Democrats to protest the idea.
Rep. Ireland Details D.C. Trip, Redistricting Discussions was originally published on wibc.com
