President Donald Trump called Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday and pressed him to redraw the state’s congressional maps, a move that could eliminate the state’s only Democratic House seat, held by Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis.
Trump announced the conversation on Truth Social.
“I had a very good conversation with Governor Bill Lee, of Tennessee, this morning, wherein he stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee,” Trump wrote. “This should give us one extra seat, and help Save our Country from the Radical Left Democrats, and their Country destroying Policies of High Tax, Open Borders, Transgender Mutilization, Defunding the Police, ICE, and Border Patrol, No Voter ID, Soft on Crime, and so much more. Thank you Governor Lee — PUSH HARD!”
The push comes one day after the Supreme Court issued a major ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, narrowing the scope of the Voting Rights Act and striking down a majority-minority congressional district in Louisiana as “an unconstitutional racial gerrymander,” in the words of Justice Samuel Alito. The ruling opens the door for states with similar race-based districts to redraw their maps.
Tennessee has one such district: Cohen’s 9th Congressional District, centered in Memphis, which was drawn to create a majority-Black constituency under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Republicans have long argued the district packed Democratic voters into one seat while surrounding areas went Republican.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor as Lee is term-limited, was among the first to call for action.
“I urge our state legislature to reconvene to redistrict another Republican seat in Memphis,” Blackburn wrote on X. “It’s essential to cement [Trump’s] agenda and the Golden Age of America.”
After Trump’s Truth Social post, Blackburn replied: “Fantastic news. Thank you, [Trump] and [Lee]!”
Louisiana moved Thursday to suspend its May congressional primaries while its maps are redrawn under the court’s ruling. Tennessee has not yet called a special legislative session, though Republican leaders signaled they are prepared to act quickly.
Mississippi also has majority-minority districts created under the same section of the Voting Rights Act, and it may face similar pressure to redraw.
Gov. Lee has not issued a public statement on redistricting since Trump’s post Thursday morning, but Trump characterized their conversation as productive.
