Republican South Carolina Senate majority leader Shane Massey speaks during a debate on redistricting on 12 May 2026 in the city of Columbia, South Carolina. Photograph: Jeffrey Collins/AP
As Republicans scramble to redraw congressional maps after the US supreme court rendered ineffective a major section of the civil rights law that prevented racial discrimination, South Carolina state senators have so far defied pressure to do the same.
On Tuesday afternoon, legislators in South Carolina rejected plans to follow the playbook of other Republican-controlled states, with the state’s senate voting 29-17 – two votes short of the two-thirds needed – on the proposal. Five Republicans joined all Democrats in the chamber to reject the proposal.
Trump had urged them to back the redistricting proposal on Monday evening. The US president wrote on social media that he would be “watching closely”, adding: “GET IT DONE!”
Shane Massey, the Republican majority leader in South Carolina’s senate, articulated a different perspective in an address Tuesday.
“Too many people in power want to do whatever it takes to stay in power … I believe the legitimate use of power in this case is to make people safer,” he said, adding: “I don’t seek power to punish. I seek it to uplift.”
The Republican majority leader in South Carolina’s senate acknowledged he may well face intense criticism – not least from Trump – for resisting calls to redraw South Carolina’s congressional map. But he insisted it was the right thing to do.
Other Key US Politics Stories from Tuesday 12 May
US Inflation Jumps to 3.8% in April
US inflation jumped to 3.8% in April as the war in the Middle East continued to drive energy prices and everyday costs for Americans. Prices rose 3.8% over the last year, according to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest jump since 2023. This is the second official measure of the consumer price index since the start of the war with Iran. In March, prices rose 3.3%, up from 2.4% in February.
Marty Makary Departs FDA
Marty Makary resigned from his position as commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday, concluding a 13-month tenure at the regulatory agency that frequently drew the ire of the White House, Congress, industry and the public, Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday.
Kash Patel Denies Excessive Drinking Allegations
Embattled FBI director Kash Patel has denied under oath recent allegations of excessive drinking and unexplained absences on the job, dismissing them as “baseless” during a fiery congressional hearing. Democrats challenged him over the “extremely alarming” reports, first reported in the Atlantic mid-April, which they argued would amount to a “gross dereliction” of duty. The FBI director has sued the magazine and the author, filing a defamation lawsuit in US district court for the District of Columbia that seeks $250m in damages.
Jeffrey Epstein Survivors to Return to Palm Beach
Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein will return to the “scene of the crime” in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday for a shadow congressional hearing into abuses committed by the late sex offender. Several members of the Democratic House oversight caucus are scheduled to join the victims and several expert witnesses at the hearing close to Epstein’s former waterfront mansion where he procured girls as young as 14 to perform sexual services for wealthy guests.
Trump’s Cut in Substance Testing ‘Going to Kill People’
The Trump administration’s decision to restrict use of federal funds for fentanyl test strips, in what officials described as a “clear shift away from harm reduction”, could have fatal consequences, experts and critics have warned.
Trump Nominates Kari Lake as Ambassador to Jamaica
Donald Trump has nominated Kari Lake, a longtime ally and former TV anchor who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor, to serve as the next US ambassador to Jamaica.
What Else Happened Today
The risk of some Gulf states becoming embroiled in a direct war with Iran has risen after it was reported the United Arab Emirates had secretly launched a major attack on Iran during the conflict. Jen Kiggans, a Republican congresswoman, has faced calls from Democrats to resign for agreeing with a radio host after he said top US House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, should get his “cotton-picking hands off of Virginia”. The head of the World Health Organization has told countries to prepare for more hantavirus cases after the outbreak onboard the MV Hondius, and thanked Spain for the “compassion and solidarity” it had shown by taking in the stricken cruise ship and evacuating its passengers and crew. Eileen Wang, the mayor of a southern California city, resigned suddenly on Monday after the US Department of Justice announced she had been charged with acting as an illegal foreign agent of China.
