Legal Misstep Imperiled Trump’s Midterm Strategy

“When Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s top civil-rights attorney, sent a letter this summer telling Texas officials that their congressional map was unconstitutional, it set off a nationwide battle between the political parties to gain an edge in next year’s elections by redrawing their House districts,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“This past week, that letter created major legal problems for Republicans and a setback for the Trump administration.”

“Dhillon’s warning to Texas was the central evidence a federal court cited in blocking a House district map that could have yielded Republicans as many as five additional seats. The result: President Trump’s push to protect his party’s House majority through gerrymandering is now at risk of costing the GOP seats, rather than producing a net gain.”