Braun Calls Special Session Amid GOP Split

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has called a special legislative session to convene on Nov. 3, 2025, to pursue a mid‑decade redrawing of the state's nine congressional districts and to conform Indiana's tax code with new federal tax provisions ahead of 2026 filings. The redistricting effort, pushed by President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and national conservative groups, is widely understood to aim at eliminating the state's two Democratic-held U.S. House seats as part of a broader national strategy. Republican support is split: House leaders say they have the votes to pass a map, but Senate Republicans say the chamber may not yet have the 25 votes required, with Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith positioned as a potential tiebreaker. Democrats and other critics — and some Republicans including former Gov. Mitch Daniels — have condemned the plan as a partisan gerrymander and warned it could, for example, push the 1st Congressional District into more rural, Republican areas. Braun's office says the tax conformity item will provide filing certainty, but the plan has drawn substantial public opposition, protests, ad campaigns and legal threats.