INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The White House says President Donald Trump never threatened Indiana lawmakers with a loss of federal funds if they failed to approve new congressional maps.  The Indiana Senate rejected the Trump administration’s calls to create Republican majorities in all nine of the state’s U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections with a 31-19 bipartisan vote.  As lawmakers debated the bill, conservative think tank Heritage Foundation warned “President Trump has made it clear to Indiana leaders: If the Indiana Senate fails to pass the map, all federal funding will be stripped from the state.” Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who supported redistricting, reiterated that claim in a since-deleted post.  While Trump said any Republicans who opposed redistricting “should be ashamed”, “should be primaried,” and called Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray “a total loser,” the White House told News 8 there were never any threats to cut federal funds.  “President Trump loves the great state of Indiana and the nearly 7 million patriotic Hoosiers who live there,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told News 8 in an email. “President Trump has never threatened to cut federal funding and it’s 100% fake news to claim otherwise.”  A post from President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account (@realDonaldTrump) Indiana Gov. Mike Braun raised the specter of “political consequences” from Thursday’s vote. But the only consequence being consistently echoed in public is the promise to back primary opponents. Trump, Braun, and activist group Turning Point USA have promised to support efforts to oust the 21 Senate Republicans who voted against redistricting.  11 of those state senators are not up for reelection until 2028 and three are retiring. Two have announced re-election bids, while five still have yet to make their 2026 plans public. Just ran some numbers on the 21 Republican state senators who voted against redistricting:11 are not up for reelection until 20283 are retiring 2 have announced reelection bids 5 have yet to make their 2026 plans public— Garrett Bergquist (@GarrettBNews) December 12, 2025 ...read more read less