Trump's R-word slur against Tim Walz costs a crucial GOP vote that could tip DC balance of power
Donald Trump's latest power play may be derailed by a member of his own political party in a vote planned to take place over 500 miles away from Washington, DC.
Indiana State Senator Michael Bohacek, a Republican from the Hoosier State, has pledged to vote against a draft congressional map that would see two Democratic seats eliminated because of the president's inflammatory rhetoric.
The proposed map comes as part of a redistricting effort aimed at keeping a GOP majority in Washington, DC, after the 2026 midterm elections.
As midterm elections typically result in the president's political party losing seats, Trump has pressured Republican-led states to assist him in keeping power after next November's elections, and not spend his last two years in office as a lame duck, or worse, going through another impeachment trial.
Bohacek issued a statement Friday opposing the president not for political reasons, but for one that was more personal.
The Indiana state senator rebuked Trump's recent rhetoric after the president called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz—Kamala Harris' 2024 running mate—a slur for people with intellectual disabilities while criticizing his handling of immigration from Somalia and other countries.
Walz is also a father to his son Gus who has a non-verbal learning disorder, as well as anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
'This is not the first time our president has used these insulting and derogatory references and his choices of words have consequences. I will be voting NO on redistricting, perhaps he can use the next 10 months to convince voters that his policies and behavior deserve a congressional majority,' Bohacek wrote in a Facebook post in which he also explained that he is a father to a daughter with Down syndrome.
While running for president in 2016, Trump was famously accused of mocking a disabled New York Times journalist.
President Donald Trump waves to the media as he holds hands with first lady Melania Trump as they walk on the South Lawn upon his arrival at the White House, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Washington
Republican Indiana State Senator Michael Bohacek, father to a daughter with Down Syndrome plans to vote against a redistricting effort to keep a Republican majority in Congress after recent remarks made by President Donald Trump
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at the 2025 Texas Tribune Festival, the annual gathering of notables from the worlds of politics and public policy on November 13, 2025
The Indiana Senate is scheduled to vote on its proposed congressional district maps as soon as next Monday, December 8th.
Bohacek's protest vote may not be consequential in the long run. Out of 50 seats in the Indiana Senate, 40 are held by Republicans.
Maps must also be first passed in the Indiana House, where they have been initially introduced. Republicans hold 70 of 100 seats in the lower chamber.
Indiana State Representative Kyle Pierce exclusively told the Daily Mail that he feels 'the likelihood is high that we will pass these maps.'
'Nothing is sure until it is passed, but the Indiana House has the votes, and I believe the Senate does as well,' Pierce added.
Congressman Marlin Stutzman, a conservative Republican who represents parts of Northeast Indiana in a district that went for Donald Trump with 65 percent of the vote in 2024 told the Daily Mail that 'redrawing Indiana maps is essential if Republicans are going to answer Democratic gerrymandering that has happened for decades.'
'Conservative Hoosiers and Republicans across the nation are relieved that the Indiana Senate will be voting on these new maps. Now is the time for the Senate to unify behind redistricting so we can defend our country from Democratic Socialists,' Stutzman added.
However, not all in Indiana are thrilled about the proposed changes.
Proponents took the statehouse in Indianapolis on Monday to urge their representatives to reject the mid-decade redistricting push.
A protest held at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis featured multiple groups rallying against mid-decade redistricting push on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025
Multiple groups rally against mid-decade redistricting Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, during a protest held at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis
The looming vote in Indiana comes as courts have halted redistricting efforts in Texas, and as California voters approved a plan to gerrymander the state's congressional seats in a ballot measure, Proposition 50, during last month's off-year election.
Californians approved Proposition 50, the 'Election Rigging Response Act,' which temporarily allows Democrats to gerrymander the state to offset possible Republican gains in the Lone Star State.
Proposition 50 is the brainchild of California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and would take the power of redrawing the map away from the bipartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission until 2030 and return it to the state legislature, which is controlled by the Democrats.
The Texas legislature approved a plan that would eliminate five Democratic seats in the state, but the proposal was struck down by a federal court last month when a three-judge panel ruled that 'substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.'
The proposed map now sits before the Supreme Court of the United States.
