Trump Urges Republicans to Fight Pennsylvania’s New Congressional Map

By Belen Dumont 2/21/2018

State and national Republican officials said on Tuesday they will file a federal lawsuit as soon as Wednesday seeking to block a new Pennsylvania congressional map released this week as part of a gerrymandering case.

On Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court redrew the state’s congressional district map, saying that the original Republican-drawn version gave the GOP party an unfair advantage in the 2018 elections. The court’s new map is expected to give Democrats an opportunity to win additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The ruling prompted a tweet from President Trump on Tuesday, encouraging Pennsylvanian Republicans to bring the case all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary. “Your Original was correct! Don’t let the Dems take elections away from you so that they can raise taxes & waste money!” Trump tweeted.

Representatives from the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan group that filed the initial lawsuit, said any new litigation would waste taxpayer dollars.