Clyburn's Seat Safe, for Now, After Republicans Balk

South Carolina Republicans have slammed on the brakes on redistricting. On Tuesday, GOP legislators blocked an effort to redraw the congressional map in a way that likely would have dismantled Rep. James Clyburn's long-held Democratic seat in an attempt to deliver a win in President Trump's push for more Republican-leaning districts, per the Washington Post. Republicans already control six of South Carolina's seven House seats. State Senate Majority Leader A. Shane Massey warned colleagues, however, that trying to squeeze out an extra seat could backfire and cost them one instead, urging them not to let greed drive their moves.

A vote to extend the legislative session, needed to move a new map, fell two votes short of the required two-thirds. Trump had publicly pressed lawmakers to "be bold and courageous" and personally spoke with Massey before the vote. Massey, however, said he needed to stand on principle to do what's best for his state, not give in to political strong-arming, per the AP. "I got too much Southern in my blood," Massey said. "I've got too much resistance in my heritage." Trump political adviser James Blair, however, wrote online on Tuesday that "South Carolina isn't done," and GOP Gov. Henry McMaster hasn't ruled out a special session to attempt to push the map through.

The setback comes as Republicans gain ground in redistricting battles nationwide, aided by a recent Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act, even as Democrats notch smaller wins in states like California and Utah. Thanks to that SCOTUS ruling, "Republicans have been given an opportunity and we should maximize it," Drew McKissick, who heads up the South Carolina's GOP, said in a statement later Tuesday, per the New York Times. For now, at any rate, Clyburn—a key Biden ally and South Carolina's first Black member of Congress since Reconstruction—keeps his seat.