Trump’s plan to control Congress could cost these Black lawmakers their seats

President Trump’s call for Republicans to redraw maps in their favor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections leaves several members of the Congressional Black Caucus vulnerable in a nationwide battle for voting rights.

A modern-day fight for voting rights is escalating in states across the country as Republican-led efforts to redraw congressional maps target Black and Latino voters to maintain President Donald Trump‘s control of Congress in 2027. If successful, several Black members of Congress would lose their seats in the process.

After Trump called on Texas to give his party five more seats in the House, Republicans in the state drafted a new map—an unusual action considering redistricting is typically tied to population counts conducted by the U.S. Census every 10 years (the last Census was in 2020). What’s more, the map dilutes the voting power of Black and Latino voters who typically vote for Democrats, splitting them up to increase the likelihood of districts favoring Republicans.

The Texas map dismantles the 9th Congressional District held by Rep. Al Green and the 33rd Congressional District represented by Rep. Marc Veasey, both Black Democrats, who would have to run in different districts to stay in Congress.

Since Republicans successfully passed their new map in Texas, several lawsuits on behalf of Black and Latino voters have been filed, accusing the state of racial gerrymandering in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Other maps targeting districts represented by Black congressional members are poised to follow as Republicans work to help Trump avoid losing control of Congress–and his ability to continue executing his MAGA agenda–in next year’s 2026 midterm elections.

“These are deliberate, targeted efforts to push people of color out of power. Texas Republicans have already shown what this playbook looks like — and now the GOP is working to replicate it nationwide. When Republicans can’t win fair elections, they rig the system to hold onto power at any cost,” Marcus W. Robinson, a DNC senior spokesperson, told theGrio.

“Across the country, Republicans are waging a calculated campaign to erase Black and Latino political power through extreme gerrymandering. This isn’t just about redrawing maps — it’s about dismantling representation and silencing communities that have fought the hardest to be heard,” said Robinson.

“From the South to the Midwest, GOP lawmakers are targeting districts held by Black and Latino leaders, undermining decades of progress to ensure fair representation.”

This week, the Missouri state legislature passed a voting map similar to Texas’s, targeting the district of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Black Democrat representing Kansas City.

In Ohio, Republicans are aiming to chop up the 13th Congressional District represented by Rep. Emilia Sykes, a Black congresswoman whose district, unlike most members of the Congressional Black Caucus, is majority white.

In August, Vice President JD Vance met with Republican Gov. Mike Braun and state lawmakers to encourage them to call a special session to redraw their maps, like Texas’s. Republicans are reportedly targeting the 7th Congressional District held by Democratic Rep. Andre Carson, the only Black member of the Indiana congressional delegation.

In Alabama and Louisiana, where the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of creating a second majority-Black district to reflect the states’ large Black populations, Republicans are reportedly aiming to do away with what is known as opportunity districts. That would put Rep. Shomari Figures, who represents most of Montgomery, Ala., and Rep. Cleo Fields of Shreveport, La., in jeopardy of losing their seats. Both Rep. Figures and Rep. Fields were elected in the 2024 elections.

In order to remain in Congress, Fields and Figures could have to, though unlikely, run in neighboring districts represented by fellow Black members of Congress: Louisiana Congressman Troy Carter and Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell.

Even longtime 85-year-old Congressman Jim Clyburn is reportedly in the crosshairs of Republicans in South Carolina, as GOP gubernatorial candidate Ralph Norman called on his state to redraw maps, telling Fox News that Clyburn is “not the kind of representation South Carolina needs.”

In response to the alarming number of Black members of Congress in jeopardy of losing their seats, the Congressional Black Caucus held a press conference on Sept. 9, vowing to fight back and assuring that the law is on their side.

“The Republican Party led by Donald Trump’s congressional Republicans and the GOP leaders in state legislatures across this country are systematically working to rig the upcoming election,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

“Their strategy is clear. Dilute the voting power of Black and brown communities to cling to power by any means necessary.”

Clarke, flanked by several CBC members who stand to lose their seats if Republicans are successful, continued, “If these racially gerrymandered maps are upheld in the courts, the Congressional Black Caucus could potentially lose critical seats, which would undermine decades of progress in securing fair representation for our communities.”

The CBC leader said Trump and Republicans are “determined to drag this country back to a time when Black voices were shut out of the democratic process, and we will not allow it.” She added, “This desperate attempt to rig elections and erode Black political power will be met with fierce resistance.”

Political analyst Reecie Colbert said it should be no surprise that so many members of the Congressional Black Caucus are being targeted by Republicans.

“CBC is the conscience of the Congress and they’re a powerful voting block, and they will push and stand their ground against Donald Trump more than anybody else,” Colbert told theGrio. She continued, “They’re not beholden to this so-called mythical white working class voter.”

The host of Sirius XM’s “The Reecie Colbert Show” said plainly that President Trump “does not believe in the citizenship of Black people.”

She explained, “And so if you don’t believe that Black people should even be citizens, then it follows that he doesn’t believe that they should be leaders.”

Colbert added, “I think he really has a deep animus and resentment seeing Black people in positions of power, from President [Barack] Obama to now with Representative Jasmine Crockett.”