Trump's redistricting push hits setbacks in South Carolina and Alabama

President Trump's push to redraw congressional districts in favor of the Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections faced a double setback today, as South Carolina lawmakers blocked a new map and a court halted Alabama's redistricting plan. AFP reported that as Republicans try to defend their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, these two blows have slowed a broader effort by the GOP, urged by Trump, to reshape districts in conservative-led states. In South Carolina, some Republican state senators joined forces with Democrats to block a last-minute plan that would have allowed them to control all seven of the state's House seats. The proposal would have targeted the district of Representative James Clyburn, the only Democrat in the South Carolina delegation and one of the most influential Black lawmakers in U.S. history. The state House had already approved the new district boundaries, but the state Senate rejected the blueprint on the day early voting for the June primary was scheduled to begin. Republican state Senator Richard Cash said in a statement published in U.S. media, 'My conscience and common sense will not allow me to stop an election that has already begun.' This move effectively blocked the new map before the November midterms, although Republicans may revisit the effort in future sessions. Hours earlier, a three-judge federal panel blocked Alabama from using a map drawn by Republicans that would have given the party an advantage in six of the state's seven congressional districts. The court said Alabama's plan intentionally discriminated against Black voters, dispersing them across districts 'to dilute their votes, at least in part because they are Black.' Currently, Alabama must use the map implemented during the last election, under which the state sent five white Republicans and two Black Democrats to Congress. Alabama Republicans said they would appeal the ruling.