Republicans in Missouri who are hesitant to pursue a new design that would give the GOP seven of the state’s eight congressional seats are coming under increasing pressure from the Trump White House.
Bowling Green resident Chad Perkins, the speaker pro tem for the Missouri House, claimed that after staff read his remarks that were published in The Independent on Thursday, he got a call from the White House on Friday afternoon.
Perkins stated on Thursday that redistricting is done every ten years. That is what we have already done. It would be inconsistent with Missouri’s operations to repeat the action.
That is what we have already done: Lawmakers in Missouri are not too excited with the new congressional maps.
He claimed that after confirming that he was correctly cited during the Friday call, he was informed that President Donald Trump found it significant.
According to Perkins, they stated, “Well, we’re really going to try to do that and that might change the dynamic of it.”
Democratic U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City, who has served in the 5th District since 2005 and was re-elected in November with 60% of the vote, is the likely target of the move.
An email requesting comment on the White House’s attempt to unseat Cleaver by changing his district was not answered by his office.
The 1st District is represented by U.S. Representative Wesley Bell of St. Louis, Missouri’s other Democrat.
Kansas City would have to be divided into several districts rather than being included in one in order to have a delegation with seven Republicans. The 5th District shares a border with the 6th District, which is represented by Republican U.S. Representative Sam Graves of Tarkio, and the 4th District, which is represented by Republican U.S. Representative Mark Alford of Raymore. These neighborhoods, which are heavily favored by Democrats, would be added to neighboring districts, or they would be combined with enough Republican votes to make the 5th District a safe GOP seat.
According to Perkins, the White House political staff who placed the call informed him that in order to advance the project, they would be contacting Gov. Mike Kehoe and each Republican member of the Missouri House delegation.
A request for response from Kehoe’s office was not answered.
“Democrats are looking at redistricting California and Illinois to their advantage,” Perkins added, citing the push from the White House staff.
Perkins stated, “I don’t like gerrymandering lines, but that might be true.” I prefer things that are compact, simple, and succinct.
Whether Republicans could aim for a 7-1 plan without jeopardizing seats by weakening their vote was the internal dilemma in the 2022 redistricting discussion. Personal conflicts and intraparty strife in the dysfunctional state Senate made it difficult to enact any redistricting plan until the very last minute.
According to Perkins on Friday, the same strong arguments that were used to oppose it two years ago are likely still valid today. However, if someone has a strategy, we will consider it.
The group that frequently disagreed with Senate GOP leadership, the Missouri Freedom Caucus, demanded on Friday that Kehoe summon a special session right away to discuss redistricting and reforms to the initiative petition procedure.
The caucus said on social media that it’s time for Missouri’s super-majority Republican Party to take a stand and produce a congressional map that truly represents the staunchly conservative ideals of this wonderful state.
Other Republican lawmakers, such as state senator Mike Cierpiot of Lee’s Summit and Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O. Laughlin of Shelbina, told The Independent on Thursday that they were not thrilled about another round of redistricting.
Messages asking O Laughlin if she had also received a message from the White House were not answered. According to Cierpiot, he hadn’t.
Kehoe could convene a special session to finish the maps before the start of the next election year if Republicans wish to proceed. If not, the work would be done during the regular period, which runs from January to May.
Any bill that changed the districts might be filibustered by Democrats, and the prior question rule would have to be used to end debate before it could be put to a vote in the state Senate. Democrats have already promised that Republicans will pay a price for the bipartisanship breach, which was exploited twice at the close of this year’s session.
Perkins claimed that retaliation would worsen if it were used in a special session to provide the GOP a political advantage.
According to Perkins, there will be repercussions, so how does that affect how things will function in January?
He claimed that the desire to win over the president will be the main driver behind redistricting.
According to Perkins, if you’re a Republican state senator or congressman, you don’t want to be on this president’s bad side.
Missouri Freedom Caucus remarks were added to this item at 7 p.m. on Friday.
GET THE HEADLINES FOR THE MORNING.
As a 501c(3) public charity, Missouri Independent is a part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network backed by grants and a coalition of donors. The editorial independence of Missouri Independent is upheld. For inquiries, send an email to [email protected] to reach Editor Jason Hancock.
