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Some other news now. Florida lawmakers approved a congressional map that could help Republicans gain four more House seats in the midterm elections. This is the latest state to rewrite the maps in the middle of the decade. Here's Douglas Soule from member station WUSF.
DOUGLAS SOULE, BYLINE: It was only Monday when Republican governor Ron DeSantis rolled out the map he wanted lawmakers to pass during a special session. In the GOP-dominated legislature it moved quickly, with both chambers passing it Wednesday. Republican state Senator Don Gaetz was one of the sponsors of the map proposal. He backs DeSantis' rationale for it.
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DON GAETZ: We have an extraordinarily unique situation in Florida with this tremendous additional number of people who moved to our state and have been disproportionately placed in different parts of the state.
SOULE: For months, DeSantis pointed to an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case out of Louisiana challenging protections for minority voters. That ruling indeed came out Wednesday, prompting DeSantis to post on X that it cleared the way for Florida to redistrict in a way he says is not about race. Here's Gaetz again.
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GAETZ: He doesn't want lines that define or divide us on the basis of race.
SOULE: But Democrats dispute the impact of the Louisiana case. They say the new map undermines minority voting power and divides up Democratic votes, all to help President Trump and the GOP in the midterms. Trump has prompted other Republican-led states, starting with Texas, to redistrict. Democrats countered in California, and most recently, Virginia. Florida's move could put the GOP ahead again. Here's Democratic state Senator LaVon Bracy Davis during the Florida debate.
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LAVON BRACY DAVIS: Let's not pretend that this is happening in a vacuum. This is about power. This is about relinquishing our power and giving it to the president.
SOULE: Democratic state representative Michele Rayner says the redistricting still violates a state ban on gerrymandering voters passed in 2010.
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MICHELE RAYNER: It is illegal. It is a partisan gerrymander. And for those of y'all who say you are in the party of law and order, you should have a problem with this.
SOULE: Voting rights activists threaten court challenges and Democrats have pointed to recent wins in special elections, saying Republicans might lose in their new districts come November.
For NPR News, I'm Douglas Soule in Tallahassee, Florida.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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