South Carolina Republicans moved in May 2026 to extend their legislative session for the sole purpose of redrawing the state's congressional map — a maneuver reported by The Hill as occurring under pressure from President Trump, with Rep. Jim Clyburn, the state's lone House Democrat, as the clear target.

Said Clyburn: "Republicans in the South Carolina state legislature began the process of extending their session to allow for the redrawing of the state's congressional map. We cannot let them succeed."

The Founders did not design the constitutional order so that the party in power could engineer its own permanence between census cycles. Redrawing lines to erase a sitting member's seat — whatever one thinks of that member — is the kind of move that corrodes the republic's foundation long after the immediate victor is forgotten. The oath is to the Constitution, not to the map that best serves the party holding the pen.