Today is
Thursday June 04, 2026
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) -- The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday effectively killed a proposed congressional map that could have allowed Republicans to flip the seat held by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, a major rebuff to a mid-decade redistricting effort promoted by President Donald Trump.
The Republican-controlled state Senate voted Tuesday afternoon to adjourn their special legislative session until June 10, after the state holds its June 9 primaries, without nearing a final vote on the map.
The adjournment means that possible redistricting in the state before the 2026 midterms appears all but dead.
Early voting in the primaries began Tuesday, which opponents of the map argued meant it was too late to redistrict without running into major legal issues.
Lawmakers adjourned after a procedural vote to limit debate on the map failed, and after multiple Republican state senators spoke out against the map on the Senate floor, with some citing the start of early voting as why it was too late to redistrict.
"The deadline has passed, voting has begun. It is time to conclude the matter," Republican state Sen. Richard Cash said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. "Now I know there is going to be a lot of anger and frustration that we did not get the job done. I get it. Many of us are also frustrated and disappointed at what is a very unsatisfying outcome, but we need to face it. The time clock for getting this done ran out, and the time clock for in-person voting started at 8:30 this morning."
A subsequent statement attributed to the South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus blamed South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, for calling a special session too close to the primaries and cited the possibility that ballots cast today would be thrown out as the reason the legislature adjourned.
The proposed congressional map could've helped the Republican Party flip the state's 6th congressional district, held by Clyburn, the longtime Black representative who is the state's lone Democrat in Congress.
Clyburn slammed the redistricting effort in a press conference earlier Tuesday.
"As I stand here, our state senate is debating whether or not to recreate this congressional district in order to fulfill orders from the White House to say to the 29% of African Americans in South Carolina, the 43% of Democratic voters in South Carolina, irrespective of your presence, you are not deserving of a single member of Congress of the seven that we have," Clyburn said.
"That is a challenge to the goodness of South Carolinians, and nothing has made me more incensed than to see this kind of imposition on the people of South Carolina," Clyburn said.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(WASHINGTON) -- A three-judge panel in a federal court in Alabama ruled unanimously on Tuesday that state Republicans are still blocked from using their 2023 congressional map, which would have potentially helped Republicans in November.
Alabama had moved forward with using the 2023 map after state lawmakers had said the Supreme Court's historic decision in Louisiana v. Callais in late April cleared the way for it.
The judges, including two appointed by President Donald Trump, concluded that the high court's recent ruling on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has no bearing on this case, in which lower courts found the 2023 map represents a constitutional violation.
"Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination," the judges wrote in their ruling.
In 2024, Alabama had been required to use a map with two majority-Black districts, one of which was won by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures. But in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, some state lawmakers and the governor delayed some of Alabama's House elections, although others were held on May 19 as scheduled.
As of now, Alabama must move forward with the 2024 map, unless, the court noted on Tuesday, lawmakers want to attempt to enact a new congressional district plan at this late hour, which it is free to do.
Figures, in a statement to ABC News, said that he also expected further legal battles. The 2023 map was expected to potentially help Republicans flip Figures' seat in November.
"I am pleased with the Court's decision, but this case is still not over," Figures said. "Although we expected the Court to reach this decision given the overwhelming evidence, we fully expect the State to immediately appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. This is a significant step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before this fight is settled."
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he is "disappointed" by the decision and said there will be an appeal effort.
“I am disappointed, but not at all surprised, that the three-judge panel has again struck down Alabama’s blandly unobjectionable congressional map that has been in place for decades. I find nothing in the U.S. Supreme Court’s vacatur order of May 11 that would provide a basis for this outcome; thus, we will immediately appeal this decision to the Supreme Court," Marshall said in a statement.
"This is a very fluid situation, and I will do my best to keep the People of Alabama apprised of our efforts. Know this—in my mind, it is not a matter of whether we win this case, only when.”
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(WASHINGTON) -- Despite facing the 60-day deadline under the War Powers Act, the president is not asking Congress for authorization, rather providing an update to the posture of U.S. forces in the region.
Echoing Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, the president noted that he ordered a two-week ceasefire on April 7 that has since been extended.
"On April 7, 2026, I ordered a 2-week ceasefire. The ceasefire has since been extended," Trump wrote. "There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated."
Trump also stressed that he ordered Operation Epic Fury "consistent with my responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests at home and abroad, and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests."
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