Republicans poised to vote on new House map that would erase Democratic seat in Tennessee – US politics live

Tennessee poised to vote today on new US House map Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are poised to push through a plan later today that would carve up a majority-Black congressional district. The move would reshape the electoral map to the GOP’s advantage as part of president Donald Trump’s strategy to try to hold on to a slim House majority in the November midterm elections. The redistricting effort in Tennessee is one of several rapidly advancing plans in Southern states as Republicans try to leverage a US Supreme Court ruling that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act, AP reports. The court ruled that Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Black-majority House district as it attempted to comply with the federal law. The high court’s decision altered a decades-old understanding of the law, giving Republicans grounds to try to eliminate majority-Black districts that have elected Democrats. Louisiana has postponed its congressional primary to give time for state lawmakers to craft a new House map. Legislation awaiting a final vote in Alabama also would upend the state’s congressional primaries if courts allow the state to change its US House districts. In South Carolina, meanwhile, Republican lawmakers urged on by Trump have taken initial steps to add congressional redistricting to their agenda. The states are the latest to join an already fierce national redistricting battle. …