Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, Matt Dixon and Jane C. Timm wrap up two new developments in the nationwide redistricting fight. Plus, we have the latest on the fallout from this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting.
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— Adam Wollner
The redistricting battle rages on
We are about to enter the thick of primary season and the general election is just over six months away, but the fight over the maps that will shape the House battlefield is still being waged.
In particular, there were two big redistricting developments in Florida and Virginia today.
Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis released a long-awaited proposal that’s designed to create four new Republican-leaning seats, Matt Dixon reports.
Florida’s GOP-led Legislature is set to begin a special session tomorrow to consider the map, which is overwhelmingly expected to pass, even as some Republicans have expressed annoyance about how DeSantis has handled the process.
The map was first released to Fox News, before Florida lawmakers had a chance to see it, coming in the form of a graphic that clearly outlined the political leaning of each seat in blue and red. That could cause legal heartburn because the Florida constitution includes anti-gerrymandering language, known as Fair Districts, that prevents the use of partisan “intent” in map-drawing. In a memo to lawmakers, DeSantis signaled his new map will be an attempt to force reconsideration of the Fair Districts provisions in the state constitution.
The aggressive political gains the new map seeks have some Republicans questioning whether the governor has misread the current political atmosphere. Democrats across the country, including in Florida, have flipped GOP-held seats in special and regular elections amid President Donald Trump’s low approval ratings.
Virginia: The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the legality of a constitutional amendment voters approved last week allowing Democrats to implement a congressional map that could net the party up to four seats, Jane C. Timm reports.
Attorneys for the Democrats in the case were peppered with tough questions by the justices, signaling some skepticism of their arguments. Republicans have challenged the process in several court cases, arguing that the Democratic-controlled Legislature made procedural errors in putting the amendment on the ballot.
To amend the constitution, lawmakers must pass an amendment in two consecutive legislative sessions with an election in between. Republicans have argued that Democrats first passed the amendment when early voting had already begun ahead of Virginia’s 2025 elections, meaning they failed to meet that requirement.
Democrats have said that Election Day itself, not the start of early voting, is the key date and that voters had plenty of time to educate themselves on the issue.
The outcomes in both states will determine whether Republicans are able to emerge with an edge in the redistricting battle as they aim to maintain their narrow House majority this fall, or whether it winds up closer to a wash.
For subscribers: Why Trump's winning streak at the Supreme Court came to an abrupt end
By Lawrence Hurley, Katherine Doyle and Gary Grumbach
The Trump administration won a series of high-profile victories last year. But in 2026, the president has made fewer emergency appeals and is facing losses on his signature policies.
False flag conspiracy theories swirl around White House correspondents’ dinner attack
By Jason Abbruzzese, Gibran Caroline Boyce and Julie Tsirkin
A flood of misinformation, conspiracy theories and false claims about the shooting at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner spread online at a notable and concerningly speedy rate, mostly about the baseless theory that the incident had been staged.
The speculation on social media began to swirl within minutes of the first reports of shots fired, picking up steam throughout Sunday despite journalists — the vast majority of the gala’s attendees — and authorities quickly releasing verified and evidence-backed information about the suspected shooter.
There is no evidence that Saturday night’s incident was staged. Authorities have released ample evidence that Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, rushed the event while armed and was stopped by law enforcement. A senior administration official said Allen’s brother told authorities that Cole Allen had sent him and other family members writings displaying anti-Trump sentiment prior to incident.
Even the president, long known for distributing conspiracy theories online, took note of the speed.
“Usually it takes a little bit longer,” President Donald Trump said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday. “Usually they wait about two or three months to start saying that.”
This time, it was less than two or three hours. The response highlights how conspiracy theories and a knee-jerk skepticism of current events have become the default response for a growing number of Americans, deepened by the loss of trust in institutions and supercharged by starkly partisan politics.
More on the shooting:
- Allen appeared in court this afternoon to face charges of attempting to assassinate the president, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted. He was also charged with transportation of a firearm and ammunition through interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
- Trump has seized on the incident to gin up support for a White House ballroom that has faced legal challenges that threaten to shut down the project. But the National Trust for Historic Preservation said that it will not drop its lawsuit to halt construction of the ballroom.
- Trump said ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel should be fired after saying first lady Melania Trump has “a glow like an expectant widow” during his show last Thursday.
- Follow live updates →
🗞️ Today's other top stories
- 👑 Royal visit: During his visit to America this week, King Charles will seek to repair what’s known in Britain as the “special relationship” with the United States, ties that have been significantly tested under Trump. Follow live updates →
- ➡️ Iran war: Trump urged Tehran to call him when it wants a deal, after scrapping a planned trip by his envoys that has left face-to-face diplomacy at an impasse. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flew to Russia today to meet with President Vladimir Putin. Read more →
- 🏦 Fed fight: Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he’ll vote to confirm Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve after blocking his nomination for weeks over the Justice Department’s investigation into the current Fed chair, Jerome Powell. Read more →
- 🗳️ Ballot battles: In California, a voter ID and proof-of-citizenship measure was certified for the November ballot, while supporters of a billionaire tax submitted signatures to qualify their measure.
- ⚖️ SCOTUS watch: The Supreme Court considered whether law enforcement violated a convicted armed robber’s constitutional rights by identifying him via a broad search of cellphone users at the scene. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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