Category: Politics

THE EMPIRE STATE STRIKES BACK: New York Democrats are moving full bore ahead with their plans to join the nationwide redistricting war.

And their efforts are more expansive than their constitutional amendment to allow mid-decade changes to congressional maps: Democrats are also moving a measure that would permanently give the Legislature the authority to decide the wording of ballot questions like the expected 2027 redistricting referendum.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said today the decision to take such an aggressive approach — the amendment would eliminate a ban on lines drawn to favor political parties — was based on the Supreme Court decision, which made redistricting “more of a wide-open process.”

“For us here in New York, we want to be able to have as much flexibility in drawing districts as other states,” Heastie said. “Asking New York to play fair while everybody else is playing ruthless, it’s not right to ask us to do that.”

Does that mean the speaker will be “ruthless” when picking up the mapmaking pen in 2028?

“I’m going to play fair based on how other people play,” he said.

Before the Empire State gets to the point where new maps are drawn, voters would need to approve the amendment next November. And the parallel ballot language effort from Democrats stands to increase the chances of that happening.

That bill would strip the bipartisan Board of Elections of its power to decide how constitutional amendments appear on the ballot and let the Legislature determine the wording seen by voters.

The move raised the specter that next year’s referendum won’t highlight its potential to legalize gerrymandering, and instead include platitudes like asking voters if they want to “protect democracy.”

“Clearly, they’re doing this with a purpose,” said state Sen. Jack Martins, a Nassau County Republican. “The last thing we should do is play politics with our state constitution.”

As it now stands, the attorney general’s office makes recommendations on ballot wording to the two Democratic and two Republican commissioners on the Board of Elections. Those commissioners have the final say over what ballot questions look like.

“Having both sides is a strength,” said Peter Kosinski, the board’s Republican co-chair. “Making sure voters see fair language — not just partisan language on the ballot — should be our goal. And I think the Board of Elections achieves that.”

Democrats counter that they’re best suited for determining this language.

“The will of the Legislature is extrapolated from what the people want, as opposed to the evenly-divided Board of Elections,” Senate Deputy Leader Mike Gianaris said. “The voters of this state have elected Democrats to overwhelming majorities in both houses. Why should the Republican party have 50 percent of the say in what legislative proposals look like on the ballot?”

“We just think it’s better to be in our hands,” Heastie said. — Bill Mahoney

From the Capitol

NON-DISCLOSURE PUSH: The advocacy group Lift Our Voices is making a last-minute push for a bill that would place new restrictions on the use of non-disclosure agreements.

The group, co-founded by Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, is pushing to change “toxic workplace cultures.”

“New York should not be in the business of silencing workers,” Carlson and Roginsky said in a joint statement. “California, Washington, and New Jersey have already banned NDAs that keep survivors of workplace abuse from speaking out, and it’s time for New York to do the same.”

The bill, which would prohibit the use of nondisclosure agreements in workplace discrimination cases, is among the hundreds of proposals being considered in the final week of the legislative session. — Nick Reisman

REDISTRICTING RODEO: New York Democrats’ pending redistricting amendment — first reported Monday night by POLITICO — is getting a thumbs up from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“This is just the beginning of our decisive response to the Jim Crow-like tactics unleashed by the Supreme Court when it gutted voting rights in America,” Jeffries said in a statement. “We will ensure that there are free and fair elections moving forward. The Empire State will strike back.”

The proposed changes would enable Democrats to take an aggressive approach redrawing New York’s House lines by 2028.

Jeffries has taken a keen interest in his home state’s efforts to change the redistricting process. He previously appointed Rochester Rep. Joe Morelle, a Democrat who previously served in the state Assembly, to coordinate the effort with Albany lawmakers. — Nick Reisman

PACKAGING FLOPS, DATA CENTER MORATORIUM MOVES: Democratic lawmakers plan to send Gov. Kathy Hochul an omnibus measure on data centers for artificial intelligence, including a one-year moratorium on new projects.

The governor has been hesitant about the prospect of a statewide moratorium, which would be the first in the nation if she signs it.

The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez and Assemblymember Didi Barrett, rolls in several proposals from lawmakers aimed at ensuring data centers don’t lead to higher energy bills for residents. It also includes requirements for a new rate class for data centers and labor standards.

Environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers had initially proposed a three-year moratorium.

“Regulating hyperscale centers and also figuring out how to properly regulate artificial intelligence is an existential question,” Gonzalez said. “We’re taking a first step here as a state, but it also doesn’t mean that we are getting in the way of innovation.”

Meanwhile, in a blow to environmental advocates, Heastie told reporters today that he does not plan to bring the plastics bill up for a vote — saying it doesn’t have the support to pass.

It’s the same line he offered last session, though advocates contend the votes are there and that it’s special interest lobbyists standing in the way.

The extended producer responsibility bill aims to shift the cost of waste management and recycling away from local governments to companies that sell packaged goods. It was one of the most lobbied on pieces of legislation outside of the budget last session.

Supporters of the bill were hoping it gave the state a chance to make up for a budget that rolled back New York’s landmark climate legislation. Opponents, meanwhile, have pointed to cost concerns ahead of an election focused on affordability.

Heastie cited cost as the main reason Democrats in the Assembly are hesitant about the bill. However, the bill has 77 co-sponsors, more than the 76 votes needed to pass. Heastie himself said he was a “yes” on the bill. — Marie J. French and Mona Zhang

FROM CITY HALL

HER VIEWS THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’: Democratic socialist congressional hopeful Darializa Avila Chevalier is under fire for a spray of inflammatory social media posts about former President Joe Biden, police officers and various other individuals and issues.

But Mamdani — who endorsed Avila Chevalier’s insurgent campaign against Rep. Adriano Espaillat last week — waved off concerns about her online outbursts today.

“She said herself that a lot of these [posts] don’t reflect her views today, and I’m incredibly excited to be supporting her today and her vision for not only a New York City but frankly a United States of America that working people can afford,” Mamdani told reporters this morning at a press conference in Queens.

Most of Avila Chevalier’s eyebrow-raising social media missives that have emerged in recent days were posted in 2020, when she was 26. As first reported by Playbook, her expletive-riddled messaging included posts calling Biden “a rapist” and “a war criminal” and one in which she wrote former Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Mamdani ally, “hates Black people.”

More recent tweets have also emerged. CNN reported yesterday that Avila Chevalier posted in 2021 that the “only moral way forward” is to “literally” abolish all police, prisons and borders. She also reposted messages calling for the seizure of “all properties from landlords” and the nationalization of all utilities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.

Avila Chevalier said in a statement that she has “grown considerably” since she thumbed out the tweets. — Chris Sommerfeldt 

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

CHERRY PICKING: It’s been nearly a day since the debate between Rep. Dan Goldman and former city Comptroller Brad Lander — and they’re taking the fight online.

Last night, Lander’s campaign posted a debate clip on social media of Goldman saying, “I do take corporate PAC money” and “I have no problem taking money from anyone who wants to give it to me” — a collage taken from a longer Goldman remark in which he explained that he only accepts corporate PAC money in his leadership PAC in response to a question from Lander about it.

“You are right, I do not take any corporate PAC money in my own campaign account to use on my own campaign, and you also are correct that I do take corporate PAC money in my leadership PAC,” Goldman said at the debate. “That leadership PAC cannot be used for me. It cannot be used for my campaign. It is only used to help my colleagues win back the majority, and I have no problem taking money from anyone who wants to give it to me to help the Democrats take back the majority.”

Goldman responded to Lander on X, writing: “Are you seriously arguing that we shouldn’t do literally everything in our power to win back the majority?” In another post, he charged: “You cannot believe anything he says. If he will edit out the most important part to mislead voters, what else is he lying about?”

Since the beginning of last year, Goldman’s leadership PAC has taken tens of thousands of dollars from corporate PACs and disbursed more than $100,000 to Democratic candidates and organizations, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Lander doubled down Tuesday. “Wow, what Dan Goldman said is he’s perfectly fine taking money from anyone,” he said in a video using the clipped portion of the debate. “This is how we got here, is by a Democratic Party that is backed by billionaires and wealthy special interests … That’s why we need better Democrats, folks who don’t take all that corporate PAC money, who fight for working people.” — Madison Fernandez

IN OTHER NEWS

— PAC MENTALITY: American Priorities, a super PAC formed to counter pro-Israel groups like AIPAC, has pledged to spend $2 million for Democratic primary candidates Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez. (The New York Times)

— TAKE IT FROM ME: Former Mayor Eric Adams met with Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman to offer advice on campaigning in New York City and signaled he may be open to endorsing him. (New York Post)

— CAPITOL LOSS: New data reveals population shifts across upstate New York, with Albany losing residents while Saratoga and Warren gained them based on quality of life, housing and employment considerations. (Times Union)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

​Politics

Rep. Ashley Hinson, the likely GOP nominee in Iowa’s critical Senate race, said last week that the Iran war will become a “political liability” if it extends much longer, according to audio obtained by POLITICO.

Asked in a one-on-one exchange about a timeline for the war, Hinson said, “I’m deferring to the president on the negotiations because he has the team doing it.”

However, she added: “I do hope we can get this done by the next couple of weeks. If it drags on beyond that, it’s a political liability for us too, because we’ve lost Iowa soldiers. I’ve been to four funerals since December, it’s awful.”

It’s a stark acknowledgement for a representative who has positioned herself as a loyal ally of President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill, including on the ongoing war, and repeatedly voted against limiting the president’s military powers.

The candid remarks came during a private conversation during a public meet-and-greet with voters in Webster County last Thursday.

Hinson didn’t go so far last Thursday as to condemn the Iran war, reiterating that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon” and that the families of the fallen Iowa soldiers “all said that we need to finish the job.” But her remarks offer a glimpse into Republicans’ growing concerns that a prolonged conflict, especially with the resulting rise in gas prices and risk of increased American casualties, could become a vulnerability in battleground contests.

“Of course endless wars are unpopular — no one wants them and thankfully President Trump is doing everything he can to prevent one while keeping Americans safe,” a Hinson spokesperson said in a statement. “Ashley fully supports his mission to keep nuclear weapons out of Iran’s hands.”

While some anti-interventionist Republicans have openly criticized the conflict, such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), few Trump-endorsed candidates running in competitive races have publicly acknowledged the political complications of being at war.

Hinson is widely expected to win Tuesday’s GOP primary for Iowa’s open Senate seat and take on the Democratic nominee, either state Sen. Zach Wahls or state Rep. Josh Turek, in November — what will be one of the nation’s most closely watched races as both parties battle to take control of the upper chamber.

Trump endorsed Hinson’s Senate bid last year and reinforced his support for her in a Truth Social post on Monday night.

Early polling of hypothetical head-to-head matchups between Hinson and Wahls or Hinson and Turek show a tight general election, although the race could widen between now and November.

The White House has offered conflicting timelines for when the Iran war may end, frustrating some Republicans strategists and officials. Polling shows that voters are souring on both the president and the war as the weeks go by, especially as cost of living concerns remain a top issue ahead of the midterms.

A May POLITICO Poll found that a majority of Americans — including many Trump voters — said the war has made things more expensive for them and Trump is not doing enough to protect them from high costs.

“The sooner the war winds down … the better off [Trump] is, at least for the midterms,” said one Florida-based Republican strategist who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the midterm landscape.

But the president has continued to insist that deterring Iran from developing a nuclear weapon is a top priority. “I don’t care about the midterms,” he said last week during a Cabinet meeting when discussing why he hasn’t moved faster to end the conflict.

The war in Iran has become a particular concern for Iowans as prices for fertilizer and diesel fuel — both essential for food production — have soared amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. That, combined with Trump’s trade policies from earlier this year, has sent the state’s agriculture sector spiraling. Iowa has also experienced personal toll from the conflict when six Army Reserve soldiers with the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, were killed on March 1 in an Iranian strike on a Kuwait facility.

“Ashley has stood side-by-side with grieving Iowa families whose loved ones paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country,” the Hinson spokesperson said. “She will always honor their service and stand with our men and women in uniform carrying out this critical mission.”

​Politics

SUMMER OF HELL: The NYPD has quite a summer ahead, to hear Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch tell it.

During a four-hour budget hearing this morning (and afternoon), the mayor’s top cop provided new insight into possible threats during the World Cup, hinted at the beef between the police department and the mayor’s office over the scale of celebrations in New York City and ballparked how much police overtime will cost when America’s 250th birthday festivities, the NBA Finals, a large sailing event and annual parades are taken into account.

“Any one of those events on its own would be a major operation in New York City,” Tisch told members of the City Council’s finance and public safety committees. “Taken together, they place extraordinary demands on the NYPD.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has already announced five fan zones where New Yorkers can catch World Cup games for free. Tisch said Monday there would be more.

“My understanding is that the mayor is going to announce a very robust set of watch parties for FIFA around the whole five boroughs, which will run the length of the tournament,” she said.

Yet behind the scenes, as POLITICO has reported, police brass have chafed at the scale of watch parties desired by the mayor, an avid fan, who wants to host novel get-togethers like soccer on the beach. Some of those tensions appeared to seep through Tisch’s comments Monday as she ticked off all the ways the NYPD will be taxed in the coming months.

“I would appreciate it if you could think about the demands on this department in that context,” she said, stressing to lawmakers the NYPD has limited resources. “We would like to facilitate a lot, perhaps we will be able to facilitate everything — but there will be a lot of celebrating in New York City.”

Tisch and her team tried to paint a picture of the scale of the tasks at hand: The department will screen 200 buses arriving from New Jersey on eight days when games are being played at MetLife Stadium. Officers will also secure the staging areas in Midtown where passengers will board those buses before being ferried back across the Hudson River. The NYPD plans to screen an estimated 15,000 rail passengers before they take a train to the Garden State as well.

Tisch has previously expressed her fears about weaponized drones that could be used to launch attacks during the tournament. On Monday, she turned to a more grounded example of why the NYPD needs to be involved in planning.

“We don’t want cars driving into these watch parties, either on purpose or by accident,” she said. “We don’t want to see vehicle ramming attacks across the city.”

All told, Tisch and her team said overtime costs associated with the summer will run approximately $92 million. Officers will be put on mandatory 12-hour shifts from July 1 through July 7, as POLITICO has reported, a run Tisch said Monday may need to be expanded. Around $70 million of that cost is either already accounted for in the city’s budget or is being picked up by the feds, leaving a roughly $20 million shortfall at a time when the city has little money to spare. — Joe Anuta

From the Capitol

SLOP THERE IT IS: Just in time for NBA Finals, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Republican foes are gleefully casting themselves as ballers in AI-produced videos and images dunking on the hapless Democrat.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today posted a photo on X of the Lone Star Republican in a San Antonio Spurs jersey scoring off Hochul kitted out as a Knick. President Donald Trump sitting courtside smiles along in approval.

This follows a video by Hochul’s general election opponent Bruce Blakeman dribbling circles around Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. (In this iteration, Blakeman is on the Knicks and the New York Democrats are on the Cleveland Cavaliers.)

Hochul — a Buffalo native who appears to be much more of a Bills and Sabres fan — scoffed at the Abbott photo this morning, making a reference to controversies over trans people participating in sports.

“I was actually surprised to see the president and Governor Abbott — with their memes of me, they’re dunking me on the court — that they’re supportive of men and women competing in the same sport,” she said. — Nick Reisman 

THE KIDS ARE ALERT: Students are learning more and scrolling less thanks to a statewide cellphone ban, according to research released today by the governor.

Roughly 80 percent of teachers across the state said in a survey that the ban, which went into effect this school year, has resulted in positive outcomes, including better student engagement. Another 60 percent reported a decline in bullying and cyberbullying incidents. And 75 percent said their ability to teach effectively improved.

Hochul, who attended a roundtable discussion with students and teachers at a Brooklyn school today, said she first sought to determine what was causing youth mental health issues more than a year ago.

“I quickly came to the conclusion that there were severely negative impacts on young people’s mental health in classrooms when they could not put down their cellphones,” she said. “Literally, it became an addiction.”

The governor’s office received 585 responses to the survey. Forty-seven percent of the educators polled were from New York City, according to Hochul.

It remains to be seen though whether the policy will have an impact on students’ academic performance.

“Logic would tell us that that is a result we expect to see at some point,” Hochul told reporters after the roundtable. “I don’t know that it follows at the end of any first year, but it is data I’ve asked for. We don’t have the final exams in, for example.” — Madina Touré

FROM CITY HALL

CLASS SIZE DELAY CEMENTED: Mamdani is set to receive two more years to comply with a state law mandating lower class sizes in public schools.

The legislation to allow for that would revise the benchmark for the upcoming school year from 80 percent to 70 percent, according to state Sen. John Liu, who chairs the Senate’s New York City Education Committee.

After that, the city will have to reach 80 percent by the 2027-28 school year, 90 percent by the 2028-29 school year and 100 percent by the 2029-30 school year.

Under the original timeline, the city had to reduce class sizes to between 20 and 25 students, depending on the grade, by September 2028.

“The legal timetable will be extended by two years, empowering the Mamdani administration to at long last bring all NYC class sizes down to state and national norms of teacher-student ratios,” Liu said in a statement. “This amendment to state law is respondent to clear and accountable teacher recruitment and classroom construction plans developed by the Mamdani administration to be fulfilled within the mayor’s current term of office.”

The class size law is a key priority for Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers. He said the union preferred compliance over an extension.

“But the reality is that New York City, up until now, had not done all that was needed to make this law a reality in every classroom,” Mulgrew said in a statement. “If giving this new administration two more years gets us a partner committed to building the necessary seats, then it is the fastest way to turn the law into reality.”

The agreement includes an “accountability incentive” that requires the city to treat space and hard-to-staff exemptions — schools that receive money to hire staff but are unable to fill those positions for the fall — as temporary tools.

The city will have to pay teachers a differential when working at schools that received space or hard-to-staff exemptions to meet the 70 percent benchmark for the upcoming school year. — Madina Touré

IN OTHER NEWS

— NO DICE: Resorts World, New York City’s first casino, is in a tax dispute with the state’s Gaming Commission, which claims the casino must pay an additional $150 million annually to the state’s horseracing industry. (New York Focus)

— AT RISK: The Trump administration is proposing to “optimize self-sufficiency” with cuts to the nation’s largest homeless assistance program that could leave thousands of formerly homeless New Yorkers without shelter. (Gothamist)

— BREAKING BREAD: Competing visions for the left are fueling tensions in the open NY-7 Democratic primary, with tribal politics framing the contest between progressive Antonio Reynoso and democratic socialist Claire Valdez. (The New York Times)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

​Politics

Former first lady Jill Biden waved away Democrats’ concerns that her new memoir is setting off a wave of backward-looking infighting, insisting that the party is moving on from the 2024 election.

“Democrats have a great future,” she said in an interview on Monday on NBC’s “Today,” when asked if she was “reopening old wounds” with her tour. “We’re looking forward to winning the midterms. Things are going to move forward. … And yes, we’re going to look back and learn from the mistakes we made.”

Jill Biden is on tour promoting her new memoir, which has become the latest headache for Democrats. Some Democrats privately say Jill Biden’s return to the public eye is a “distraction” that risks relitigating a painful election for the party when it should instead be focused on winning in the future.

In her book, she opens up about then-President Joe Biden’s disastrous, career-ending debate in 2024. She was “frightened” watching her husband on stage, and feared he was having a medical episode of sorts.

Her confession hasn’t landed well with fellow Democrats and former White House aides, given her relentless defense of Joe Biden at the time.

“I had to lift him up [after the debate]. I’m his wife,” she told NBC. “I’m not going to get out on the stage there and say, ‘Joe, you really screwed that up.’”

The press tour comes as Democrats are still reeling from their long-awaited autopsy of the 2024 presidential election. Its botched, typo-ridden release failed to explain Democrats’ defeat — and skipped over the former president’s age — but did spark a fresh round of party infighting.

​Politics

COLUMBIA, S.C. — President Donald Trump endorsed three Republican gubernatorial candidates Friday, wading into contests in South Carolina, Iowa and Oklahoma that have pitted allies against each other in a fierce competition for their party leader’s blessing.

In a trio of social media posts, Trump gave his backing to South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra and former Oklahoma state senator Mike Mazzei as primary elections approach.

Iowa’s primary is Tuesday, South Carolina’s is on June 9 and Oklahoma’s is on June 16. All three states are having their first competitive Republican gubernatorial primaries in years.

For two terms, Evette has served alongside Gov. Henry McMaster, one of Trump’s earliest backers during his first presidential campaign. Earlier this year, the long-serving governor endorsed his No. 2, telegraphing to some that Trump’s backing could be next.

On Friday, Trump expressed both appreciation for Evette and the state she represents, noting that she stumped for him in 2024. He also said “A BIG added plus” for her campaign is that Henry McMaster Jr. — the sitting governor’s son — may be Evette’s running mate.

In the deep red state of South Carolina, the competition for the president’s support has been the most intense part of the primary race.

In a separate post, Trump described Feenstra as “MAGA all the way” and said he would “fight tirelessly” for the state on issues including the economy, border security and support of law enforcement.

Evette and Feenstra have been vocal about wanting Trump’s endorsement, in the hopes that it would carry weight in states that helped propel Trump’s return to office in 2024. Feenstra said earlier this year that he asked for Trump’s support, and much of Evette’s campaign media has featured photos of her next to Trump.

Along with Feenstra, four other Republicans — state Rep. Eddie Andrews, businessman and former conservative political director Zach Lahn, former state Rep. Brad Sherman and former director of the state Department of Administrative Services Adam Steen — are in the primary to replace outgoing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who opted out of a third bid.

Evette is competing for the South Carolina nomination against Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and state Attorney General Alan Wilson.

Mazzei is running to replace Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is finishing his second term. He’s competing against state Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former state House Speaker Charles McCall and former state public safety secretary Chip Keating.

“Mike Mazzei has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Oklahoma — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote on social media.

​Politics

Louisiana Republicans passed a new gerrymander on Friday that will eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic, majority-Black House districts ahead of the midterms.

The state Senate sent the bill to GOP Gov. Jeff Landry, who is expected to approve it.

The new map was spurred by the Supreme Court’s decision to narrow the Voting Rights Act, which gave Louisiana the greenlight to redraw its majority-minority districts and kicked off new gerrymanders in other GOP-led southern states, like Tennessee.

Friday’s result is a major win for Landry and for President Donald Trump, further extending Republicans’ gains through mid-decade redistricting this cycle.

Rep. Cleo Fields’ (D-La.) district has been completely erased in the new map, while Rep. Troy Carter’s (D-La.) blue-leaning district has been redrawn to mostly mirror the seat he won in 2022.

Fields’ district snaked across the state from Shreveport to Baton Rouge, while Carter’s seat was largely based around New Orleans.

In order to pass the map for this year’s midterms, Landry used his executive authority to declare a state of emergency and canceled May primary elections for House races, something that has cost millions of dollars and led to widespread confusion. Louisiana’s House primaries will now take place on Nov. 3, with any necessary runoffs stretching to December.

Some GOP members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation were not pleased with the new map. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) recently called it a “Frankenstein looking thing” that “was NO DOUBT drawn up by a very small handful of guys in a secret room.”

His post caught the attention of state House lawmakers when their chamber approved the map on Thursday. Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus Chair Edmond Jordan, a Democrat, joked on the House floor that “hell has frozen over” because he agreed with Higgins.

Louisiana’s one-seat gain comes as other states Georgia like and most recently South Carolina declined to pursue redistricting or put it on hold until the 2028 cycle. The redraw spree first kicked off last summer in Texas and has spread to 10 states, some of which are still held up in court.

There will almost certainly be legal challenges in Louisiana, and potentially from the same plaintiffs in Louisiana v. Callais, who have already argued in court filings that the one remaining Black-majority district is unconstitutional.

Aaron Pellish contributed.

​Politics

Americans still aren’t sold on President Donald Trump’s economy — and many say the Iran war is making their financial situation worse.

Six months after The POLITICO Poll first found deep concern among voters, new results show Trump has been unable to improve their perception of the high cost of living and who is to blame.

In November, nearly half of Americans said the cost of living is the worst they can remember — as of May, 53 percent still say the same. In November, 46 percent of Americans said Trump holds full or most of the responsibility for the state of the economy — as of May, that number is virtually unchanged.

Now, a plurality say their finances have only worsened since Trump took office, including 18 percent of the president’s 2024 voters, according to the May survey conducted by Public First.

The findings underscore how Trump has struggled to find a winning midterm message on affordability, even as the economy remains healthy by many indicators. The president’s tendency to go off script, despite his allies’ urging, has further muddied GOP efforts. And the unpopular Iran war has Republicans barrelling toward November with voters’ financial fears remaining a stubborn, lingering political liability.

A majority of Americans say Trump has not done enough to protect them from the economic fallout from the war, which has caused gas, food and flight prices to spike. More than 60 percent — including majorities of both Trump voters and people who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 — say the war has made things more expensive for them overall.

“A major challenge for [Joe] Biden was that, as prices rose and worries about inflation took hold, the response from the Biden administration was that inflation was ‘transitory,’” said Kevin Madden, a longtime GOP communications strategist.

“Trump faces a similar predicament. As prices rise due to tariff and trade policies and global conflict, the response that it’s a hoax or not true is just a very discordant message given that so many voters are feeling a budget pinch right now,” he added.

The Iran war is increasingly overshadowing the Trump administration’s domestic economic messaging, as officials often get peppered with questions about oil and gas prices and battleground Republicans grow anxious that the extended conflict could hurt their chances in key Senate and House races this November.

The survey shows that Republicans’ attempts to place the economic blame on Biden aren’t resonating: Just 28 percent of Americans say the former president holds full or most of the responsibility for the current U.S. economy, compared with nearly half who lay much of the blame at Trump’s feet.

“The sooner the war winds down, the better for Trump when it comes to prospects in the midterms because the price of gas is so intricate in the notion of affordability,” said one Florida-based Republican strategist granted anonymity to speak candidly.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the president “has been clear about short-term disruptions” and is focused on implementing his economic agenda.

“As traffic in the Strait of Hormuz normalizes again, Americans will again see gas prices plummet, real wages grow, inflation cool, and trillions in investments continue pouring in,” Desai said in a statement.

Trump voters are far more likely than Harris voters to say that the president has taken sufficient action to curb costs from the Iran conflict, but even his own supporters are split: 43 percent say he has done enough, while 43 percent say he has not.

It’s a stark sign that mirrors broader divides within the GOP over the war, as some conservatives, such as media personality Tucker Carlson and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have been vocal in their opposition to the conflict.

Still, Trump voters are much more willing than Harris voters — and Americans broadly — to say the U.S. should continue its involvement in Iran even if it increases costs, highlighting the trust they maintain in the president. A 42 percent plurality of Trump voters chose this option, compared with 11 percent of Harris voters and 22 percent of all respondents.

But Thursday brought more disappointing news for the administration: Inflation has climbed to its highest level since Trump returned to office, and the economy grew at a slower pace in the first quarter of the year than previously estimated, the government reported.

Nearly half of Americans still blame inflation for the overall affordability challenges they are facing, the survey finds, even as roughly one-quarter say conflicts overseas are the main reason for their challenges.

Strong majorities of respondents say the prices of everyday items — such as gas, food and medicine — have somewhat or greatly increased in their area since Trump took office, including most of the people who voted for him.

Republican strategists argue that a resolution to the war could improve Americans’ perceptions of the economy, but the longer the conflict drags on, the more difficult it may become for the party to reverse voters’ views. Economic experts have already warned that gas prices will remain elevated for at least several more months as the global economy reels from the conflict.

“If you can get the gas prices back to pre-conflict levels, and the people in those 16 to 18 House districts that are going to decide this race, are feeling good in three or four states, then you’re in a much better shape than a lot of people think,” the GOP strategist said.

​Politics