Gov. Mike Braun on Wednesday praised the selection of Sen. Chris Garten as the likely next leader of the Indiana Senate, with President Donald Trump celebrating the pick as completing his political retribution campaign.
Braun, however, said he has priorities for next year’s legislative session ahead of the congressional redistricting fight that has upended the state Senate’s leadership.
The reactions followed Tuesday’s announcement from the Senate Republican caucus, which has supermajority control of the chamber, that its senators had “endorsed” Garten during a private meeting to replace current President Pro Tem Rodric Bray.
Trump used a social media post to congratulate Garten while continuing to bash Bray over the Senate’s defeat in December of a congressional redistricting plan that aimed to give Republicans control of all nine of Indiana’s U.S. House seats.
“This finishes off my working against Political Leaders in the State Senate who let our Country down,” Trump’s post said. “If they did what they should have done, and what every other State did, as requested, we would have had two more seats in the House of Representatives!”
Bray said last month he would give up the Senate president pro tem position that he’s held for eight years.
His decision followed Trump-endorsed challengers winning primaries over at least six current Republican senators who defied Trump over congressional redistricting.
Braun said in an interview that he was “definitely” pleased with Garten’s selection.
“He sounds to me like he’ll be an entrepreneurial senator,” Braun told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “In other words, thinking out of the box in ways to run government more efficiently, but yet get extra normal results.”
Garten is a favorite of many strident Trump supporters and backed the redistricting push. That split Garten from Bray and other top Senate Republicans on the issue.
Redistricting supporters could make a new attempt at redrawing the state’s congressional map during the 2027 legislative session.
Braun worked in support of last year’s redistricting plan, but indicated Wednesday that it was not a priority for him going into next year.
“That’ll be up to the Legislature to see if they want to take that on or focus on policy,” he said.
The governor pointed to more work on property tax reductions, utility cost containment and the gas tax that he has suspended for several months.
Braun conflicted at times with the Senate under Bray’s leadership on some issues, particularly over the 2025 property tax bill that did not cut homeowner bills as much as the governor proposed.
“I think there are too many other issues that I’ve talked about that state government needs to keep moving in the right direction,” Braun said Wednesday. “… There’s a lot of congealing now, and with the good news in the Senate leadership, that sets the stage for an unbelievable session of getting things done for Hoosiers.”
Braun joined Trump in endorsing the Republican primary challengers who defeated the senators who opposed redistricting.
The governor said it was clear those senators would face political “consequences” for their redistricting stances.
“I said that right after it occurred,” Braun said. “I think that’s all been checked off.”
Bray, who will remain a senator with two years left on his term, still faced Trump’s animosity in the Tuesday social media post.
“Rod Bray should resign from Office because he has no chance of winning,” the post said. “Indiana was the only State this happened with, and I won it six times, in LANDSLIDES, including with the Highest Vote in the History of the State. Remember, Bray was responsible for us not having TWO additional Seats, for the Republican Party, in the House of Representatives.”
Originally published on indianacapitalchronicle.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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