The Supreme Court Trigger
The U.S. Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, ruling that the map relied too heavily on race. The decision weakened a major provision of the Voting Rights Act that had protected against racial discrimination in voting and representation for nearly six decades. This ruling prompted Republican governors in Alabama and Tennessee to quickly call special legislative sessions to redraw congressional districts.
Alabama's Redistricting Push
Republican Governor Kay Ivey called lawmakers back to Montgomery starting Monday to approve contingency plans for special primary elections. Republican legislative leaders explicitly stated the move would give their state a fighting chance to send seven Republican members to Congress. Currently, Alabama's seven-member congressional delegation has five Republicans and two Democrats. Ivey hoped the Supreme Court would allow the state to switch congressional maps ahead of the November midterms.
Tennessee's Memphis District Strategy
Republican Governor Bill Lee announced a special session starting Tuesday for the GOP-controlled Legislature to break up the state's one Democratic-held House district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis. Senator Marsha Blackburn presented a map that could give Republicans a 9-0 House delegation, and she urged the legislature to reconvene for redistricting. Lee consulted with the Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Secretary of State before calling the session, citing the need to comply with mandatory election qualifying timelines.
Trump's Role and National Momentum
President Donald Trump encouraged more states to join in redistricting, saying his party could gain 20 House seats nationally. Trump specifically had what he described as a very good conversation with Governor Bill Lee about correcting what he called an unconstitutional flaw in Tennessee's congressional maps. Republicans believe they could gain as many as 13 seats from new congressional districts in five states, while Democrats think they could pick up as many as 10 seats from new districts adopted in three states.
Democratic and Civil Rights Opposition
Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen from Memphis acknowledged the new map might get him voted out of Congress because Memphis' Black voter base would not be isolated from rural surrounding areas. He called the effort transparent and said it would dilute the Black vote in Tennessee to irrelevance. Senator Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, described the court decision and redistricting scramble as an attempt to roll back the Civil Rights Movement. Civil rights groups are challenging redistricting actions in court in multiple states. 
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