Business

General Motors says it expects $500 million tariff refund after SCOTUS ruling

A General Motors Co. Chevrolet dealership in Colma, California, US, on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — General Motors said on Monday it expects to receive $500 million in refunds from tariffs that were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.

The automaker is now boosting its full-year profit forecast by $500 million, GM CEO Mary Barra said in a letter to shareholders as the company announced its Q1 results. Barra also cited strong sales of its full-size pickup trucks, despite rising gas prices. 

The federal government opened last week its refund portal to allow companies to apply to get tariff money back. The Supreme Court ruled in February that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not give President Donald Trump the power to unilaterally impose tariffs.

GM is one of more than 330,000 importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs that were invalidated, totaling $166 billion.

The IEEPA tariffs alone cost the typical American household $700 last year, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

In brief: ‘Pop Culture Jeopardy!’ season 2 trailer and more

Hudson Williams is staying booked and busy. Deadline reports that the Heated Rivalry breakout star has joined the cast of the upcoming culinary thriller film Tyrant. Other new additions to the cast include Paapa Essiedu, Omar Apollo and Nara Smith. They join the previously announced cast of Charlize Theron, Julia Garner and Demi Moore …

Alice and Steve now has a release date. Hulu has announced that the complete first season of the new comedy series starring Jemaine Clement and Nicola Walker will arrive to the streaming service on June 8. All six episodes for the show, which finds friends turning into foes, will be available to watch internationally …

The trailer for the new season of Pop Culture Jeopardy! has arrived. It stars Colin Jost back as host of the program, which moves to Netflix for season 2 after streaming its first season on Prime Video. This new season premieres May 11, with new episodes debuting every weekday through June 5 …

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

National

‘America is my home’: TPS holders face high stakes Supreme Court battle

Vilbrun Dorsainvil told ABC News he is “scared” of going back to Haiti. (Courtesy of Vilbrun Dorsainvil)

(NEW YORK) — Marlene Noble, 35, has lived more than 30 years of her life in the United States.

After being abandoned by her biological family after a hurricane hit her home country of Haiti, she was brought by Catholic Charities to the United States, where she was later adopted.

But when she turned 18, she learned that her adoptive family had not properly submitted the adoption and immigration paperwork, leaving her in legal limbo. 

She spent years trying to fix her status — including filing for citizenship on her own in her mid‑20s and consulting multiple lawyers — before eventually applying in 2020 for Temporary Protected Status, which she was granted in 2023.

But now, Noble finds herself again facing uncertainty as the Trump administration’s move to end TPS — which provides work authorization and protection from deportation to people whose home countries are deemed unsafe — faces a high‑stakes test at the Supreme Court amid the administration’s immigration crackdown.

“America is my home, and it has been for 31 years,” Noble told ABC News. “It took three years for me to get granted TPS. So a lot of hard work went into this, just to have it potentially ripped away from me … It’s kind of cruel and inhumane to rip that away from us.”

Noble says she is “scared” about Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing, where the justices will consider whether the administration acted unlawfully in seeking to terminate TPS for Haitians and other groups.

The outcome could directly affect the futures of tens of thousands of TPS holders from Haiti and Syria.

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said TPS was “never intended to be a de facto asylum program, yet that’s how previous administrations have used it for decades.”

“The Trump administration is restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us in this,” the spokesperson said. “We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side.”

In previous statements, DHS has also argued that, after reviewing country conditions and consulting with other U.S. government agencies, the DHS secretary determined that Haiti no longer meets the conditions for TPS designation.

But immigrant advocates and plaintiffs in the case argue that Haiti is not safe. They point to the State Department’s “do not travel” advisory that warns Americans not to go to Haiti because of gang violence, kidnapping and political instability. And just last week, the Federal Aviation Administration extended its ban on U.S. aircraft operating in and near Haiti due to safety concerns.

“T​​he State Department advises people to do not go there,” said Vilbrun Dorsainvil, the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case. “They know for sure that if we get back we will get killed, kidnapped.” 

Dorsainvil, a former doctor in Haiti and currently a registered nurse in Springfield, Ohio, told ABC News that when he found out the Trump administration canceled TPS, he “stayed home for, like, for more than two weeks without going outside.”

“I was very scared of what might happen to me,” he said. “I didn’t go to work, I didn’t go to church, you know, visit any friends. I just stayed home because I was very scared that they would take me.”

Dorsainvil said he arrived in the U.S. in March 2021 on a tourist visa and then later was approved for TPS status.

“I bought a house. I have a mortgage,” he said. “I help a lot of people getting better in the hospital. I love the job I’m doing. I am useful here.”

“The idea of going back there right now is scaring me, it’s killing me inside,” Dorsainvil said. “I hope they will see the good we are bringing to the community. I hope they will see the situation in Haiti right now … it’s not safe for anyone … and I pray they would let us stay here.”

While Wednesday’s arguments will focus on the TPS status of Haitians and Syrians, the high-profile case has cast a ripple across other communities who fear they might be the next population to lose their status.

Anil Shahi, a TPS holder from Nepal, said he plans to protest outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday on behalf of the 1.3 million people who rely on TPS. A founding coordinator for United for TPS Nepal — an organization that represents more than 1,400 TPS holders from that country — Shahi said that the Trump administration’s revocation of TPS status has forced TPS holders to live in a state of uncertainty about their legal status. 

“The uncertainty is a huge killer. It’s very painful. You don’t know what’s going to happen … you’re scared,” he told ABC News. “You cannot just pick up and leave.”

DHS designated Nepal for TPS in 2015 following a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the country that resulted in more than 8,800 deaths. The Trump administration sought to terminate the country’s TPS status in June 2025, though the change is the subject of an ongoing legal challenge.

According to Shahi, many Nepali TPS holders fear what might come next, in part because their personal information is readily available to authorities. With TPS recipients being vetted every 18 months, their addresses and personal data are known to the federal government. 

“The government knows where we live. They know where we work. They have everything documented, right?” Shahi said. “So we are like a low-hanging fruit for them. It’s really easy for them to come after us if they really wanted to. And that’s what makes people really scared.”

Shahi said that Nepali TPS holders will be anxiously awaiting news from the Supreme Court, believing the outcome of Wednesday’s oral argument could indicate how their own legal fight will end.

At 56 years old, Shahi has lived the majority of his life in the United States and said he can’t imagine relocating to Nepal. He said that many Nepali TPS holders have U.S.-born children, and more than a hundred members of United for TPS Nepal own small businesses like restaurants, convenient stores, and beauty salons.

“I felt like I was a foreigner in my own country,” Shahi said about the last time he visited Nepal. “That was the point I realized I’m like really American, more than Nepali.” 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sports

Scoreboard roundup — 4/27/26

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Pistons 88, Magic 94
Thunder 131, Suns 122
Timberwolves 113, Nuggets 125

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Flyers 2, Penguins 3
Golden Knights 5, Mammoth 4

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Rays 3, Guardians 2
Cardinals 4, Pirates 2
Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0
Angels 7, White Sox 8
Mariners 4, Twins 11
Yankees 4, Rangers 2
Cubs 7, Padres 9
Marlins 4, Dodgers 5

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

‘The Big Bang Theory’ spinoff ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ sets release

Lauren Lapkus, Kevin Sussman, John Ross Bowie and Brian Posehn in ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.’ (Colin Remas Brown/HBO Max)

Are you ready for the next The Big Bang Theory spinoff?

HBO Max has announced that the series Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will be available to stream in July.

The new series stars Kevin Sussman as Stuart, Lauren Lapkus as Denise, Brian Posehn as Bert and John Ross Bowie as Barry.

“Comic book store owner Stuart Bloom is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon,” according to its official logline. “Along the way, they meet alternate-universe versions of characters we’ve come to know and love from The Big Bang Theory. As the title implies, things don’t go well.”

Additionally, HBO has announced that the series’ original theme music will be created by Emmy and Grammy winner Danny Elfman.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe comes from Chuck Lorre Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. It is created, written and executive produced by Lorre, Zak Penn and Bill Prady.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is not the first Big Bang Theory spinoff. Young Sheldon, which followed the origins of the original show’s protagonist, Sheldon Cooper, aired on CBS from 2017 to 2024. A spinoff of Young Sheldon, titled Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, currently airs on CBS. It premiered in October 2024 and is now in the middle of its second season.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

National

Man accused of killing USF doctoral students allegedly asked ChatGPT about disposing of body: Court filing

In this booking photo released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Hisham Abugharbieh is shown. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

(FLORIDA) — The man accused of killing two University of South Florida doctoral students allegedly asked ChatGPT about disposing of a body three days before the victims were last seen alive, according to court filings.

Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon in the deaths of his roommate, Zamil Limon, and Nahida Bristy, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said. The two 27-year-old students were last seen alive on April 16, and a mutual friend reported them missing the following day after being unable to reach them both, authorities said.

Detectives located Limon’s remains on the side of a Tampa bridge on Friday, according to the motion. His naked body was in “numerous black utility trash bags and was in advanced stages of decomposition,” according to a motion for pretrial detention filed by prosecutors. There were deep cuts at his hips “to permit folding of the legs into the bag,” and his wrists and ankles appeared to be bound, according to the filing. 

The Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Limon had sustained numerous lacerations and stab wounds to his abdomen and lower back and his cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries,” the filing stated.

Human remains were recovered from waterways near the bridge on Sunday amid a search for Bristy, 27, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Positive identification has not been determined at this time, authorities said.

Bristy is “believed to have been disposed of in a similar way’ to Limon, the motion stated.

Motion outlines evidence of alleged premeditated murder

The 23-page motion detailed digital and physical evidence — including phone, shopping and other activity — that prosecutors allege show Abugharbieh committed premeditated murder.

On April 13, three days before the two students were last seen alive, the suspect allegedly asked ChatGPT, “What happens if a human has a put in a black garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster,” according to the motion. 

Prosecutors noted that ChatGPT answered “that it sounds dangerous,” and then Abugharbieh allegedly asked, “How would they find out.”

Two days later, he allegedly asked, “Can a VIN number on a car be changed,” according to the filing.

On the day the two students were last seen alive, detectives determined Abugharbieh’s vehicle was in the same area in Clearwater Beach, around the same time of the last pinged location of Limon’s phone, it noted.

Shortly before 11 p.m. that night, Abugharbieh allegedly received a Doordash delivery at the apartment of items purchased from CVS — “trashbags, Lysol wipes, Febreze, Funyuns, and Irish Spring Body Wash” — according to the motion. He had also allegedly ordered duct tape, fire starter, charcoal, trash bags and lighter fuel from Amazon earlier in the month, according to the motion. 

Around 12:26 a.m. on April 17, he allegedly asked ChatGPT, “are cars checked at the Hillsborough River state park.”

About an hour later, around 1:30 a.m., his phone stopped on the Howard Frankland Bridge, according to the filing. It was on the bridge again nearly three hours later, including in the exact location where Limon’s body was found a week later, according to the filing.

A third roommate in the apartment reported seeing Abugharbieh dispose of multiple cardboard boxes from his room to a compactor dumpster on site sometime late on April 16 or early on the morning of April 17, according to the motion. Limon’s wallet and glasses, bloodied clothing and Bristy’s iPhone case were among the items located in trash bags in the compactor, according to the filing. 

On April 19, the suspect allegedly asked ChatGPT, “will Apple know who is the new iPhone user after the previous user,” according to the filing.

On April 23, he asked, “What does missing endangered adult mean,” according to the filing. That day, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced it had elevated the status of the two missing USF students to endangered. 

Other ChatGPT messages noted in the filing focused on firearms, according to the motion. Abugharbieh allegedly asked on April 15 if you can “keep a gun at home with out a license,” and, on April 19, “will my neighbors hear my gun” and “Has there been someone who survived a sniper bullet to the head,” according to the motion.

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Suspect denies any role in disappearance

Blood evidence was uncovered in the apartment, including the suspect’s room, where there were two “distinct patterns on the floor which appeared to have a relatively humansized shape,” the filing stated.

Trash bags found under the suspect’s bed were similar to the ones located in the compactor and on the bridge, according to the filing.

Abugharbieh was interviewed by detectives multiple times and denied having anything to do with their disappearance, according to the motion.

When asked about his vehicle being in Clearwater Beach on April 16, he allegedly initially said he was fishing, according to the filing. When confronted about Limon’s phone also being in the area, he allegedly said he drove Limon and Bristy to Clearwater Beach at Limon’s request, and said that they were “both alive when he dropped them off,” the filing stated. 

When asked about the boxes in the compactor, Abugharbieh “advised he removed old clothing he no longer wanted,” the filing stated.

He had lacerations on his left pinky, which he allegedly told detectives were from cutting onions, as well as his upper tricep area and left and right legs, according to the filing.

“Based on the totality of the circumstances, interviews, evidence, and data, evidence would show Hisham Abugharbieh utilized a bladed instrument to fatally wound Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy multiple times which caused their deaths,” the filing stated.   

The motion does not state an alleged motive in the crime.

Prosecutors seek no bond

Abugharbieh is being held without bond and his next detention hearing is set for Tuesday morning.

The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said prosecutors “will argue that Abugharbieh remains a danger to our community and should be held without bond until trial.”

“Our hearts are with both students’ families during this incredibly difficult time, and we are keeping them in our thoughts as they await answers,” State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a statement.

The suspect has been assigned a public defender. The public defender for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Abugharbieh was arrested on Friday. He had barricaded himself at a residence and surrendered following a brief standoff, authorities said. He was seen exiting the home with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

The suspect is not a current USF student or employee, school officials said.

A family member told investigators that Abugharbieh “was known to struggle with managing his anger and was violent with family in the past,” according to the motion.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

National

Strained US-UK alliance in spotlight as King Charles makes state visit

 United States President Donald Trump, right, speaks to Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a North Atlantic Council plenary meeting during the the NATO summit on June 25, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands. (Photo by Kin Cheung – Pool/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump will host King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the White House for a highly anticipated state visit this week as the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom is under a microscope amid the war with Iran.

“I look forward to the dinner. We’re having King Charles come; he’s a friend of mine. We’re really looking forward to it, we’ve spoken, and we’re going to have a great time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week. 

While Trump has repeatedly praised King Charles as a “friend” whom he’s known for years, his relationship with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been another story as the president has repeatedly assailed the U.K. and other NATO allies over the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran.

“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said of Starmer in March as he criticized the U.K. for not doing more to support the war.

Starmer has waved off concerns about the relationship between the two countries.

“The special relationship is in operation right now,” Starmer said in the wake of Trump’s comments last month. “We are working together in the region, the U.S. and the British working together to protect both the U.S. and the British in joint bases, where we’re jointly located and we’re sharing intelligence on a 24/7 basis in the usual way.”

Trump says visit could help repair damage

Amid his criticism of the U.K.’s support of the war with Iran, Trump said the Charles’ visit — the U.K.’s constitutional and ceremonial head of state — may help restore any damaged ties between the two allies.  

“Absolutely. He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes,” Trump told the BBC in a phone interview on Thursday when asked if the visit could help repair the relationship.

But whether pomp and circumstance with the king will translate into real geopolitical gains remains to be seen. Trump told Reuters in a phone interview on Friday that he was “going to talk about everything” with the king, including Iran, NATO and the U.K.’s digital services tax.

“I like Starmer, but…”

While Charles will officially represent the U.K. on the visit, Trump has repeatedly attacked Starmer, the U.K.’s top elected official, since the start of the war with Iran on issues both foreign and domestic. 

Amid rising global oil prices, Trump has renewed his call for Starmer to begin drilling for oil in the North Sea and criticized the prime minister for his handling of immigration. 

“I like Starmer, but I think he’s made a tragic mistake in closing the North Sea oil. You see, your energy prices are the highest in the world. And I think he’s made a tragic mistake on immigration,” Trump told the U.K.’s Sky News on April 14.

The president has even gone as far as to compare Starmer to Neville Chamberlain — the British prime minister infamous for his appeasement policy towards Nazi Germany before World War II — over Starmer’s purported refusal to send the U.K.’s navy to the Middle East at the start of the war.

“He made a public statement that we will send equipment after the war is over. It was a — well, you know, that’s a Neville — Neville Chamberlain-type statement, and Germany, the same thing. He said, ‘We didn’t start this war.’ Well, we helped them with Ukraine,” Trump told Fox News on April 12 about efforts to arm Ukraine in its war with Russia. 

I response to Trump’s comments, Starmer said, “We do have mine-sweeping capability, I won’t go into operational matters, but we do have that capability — that’s all focused, from our point of view, on getting the strait fully open.”

But he reiterated his position that the U.K. would not join the conflict.

“My decision has been very clearly that whatever the pressure — and there’s been some considerable pressure — we’re not getting dragged into the war. The U.K. is not getting dragged in,” he said. “That’s not in our national interest, because I’m not going to act unless there’s a clear, lawful basis and a clear thought-through plan.”

Trump expressed surprise in a meeting with his Cabinet on March 26 that Starmer did not do more to send support to the U.S. amid the war.

“I think he’s [Starmer] a lovely man, I do. I think he’s a lovely man, but I think he did something that was shocking; he didn’t want to help us. And maybe in particular that country, you know, the longest bond, the longest ally, Australia, too. Australia was not great,” he said.

Moments later, Trump questioned whether the U.S. would be there for the U.K. and NATO in the future. 

“I mean, we’re always going to be there — at least we were, I don’t know about it anymore, to be honest with you, I have to be honest. We were always there when they needed help, we always would have been there when they needed help,” Trump said. 

But asked whether the political fallout from the war would impact his visit with Charles, Trump said no.

“No, he’s a friend of mine. He’s a great gentleman. As you know, he honored me and our country; he really honored our country. But we had an amazing time. I’ve known him as Prince Charles; I know him as King Charles,” Trump said.

“I’m proud of him. He’s fighting a tough battle. He’s tough,” Trump added. “He’s going to be here very soon, as you know, we’re going to have a state dinner, it’s going to be great.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

National

FBI searching for truck driver who went missing in possible hijacking

Alejandro Jacomino Gonzalez is seen circa October 2024 in a photo released by the FBI. (FBI)

(FLORIDA) — A truck driver went missing while transporting vehicles from Georgia to Florida in a possible hijacking, according to the FBI, which is investigating his “suspicious disappearance.”

Alejandro Jacomino Gonzalez, 41, was last seen on April 17 at a rest stop on I-95 south in Brevard County, Florida, according to the FBI’s Tampa field office. 

He arrived at the truck stop in Grant-Valkaria at approximately 1:21 a.m. and rested for several hours, the FBI said. At 7:49 a.m., the truck drove south one exit and then turned north, according to the FBI.

“Soon after, Gonzalez became unreachable and the truck was reported missing,” the FBI stated in a missing person bulletin.

The truck was located in Port Wentworth, Georgia, on April 17, though Gonzalez was not there, according to the FBI. Several vehicles were also missing.

“Since the discovery of the truck, three vehicles have been located in Florida,” the FBI said. “Others are still missing, along with Gonzalez.”

Gonzalez, a CDL driver for an unidentified trucking company, had picked up multiple vehicles from the Port of Brunswick in Georgia on April 16 and was supposed to drop them off in Miami, the FBI said.

The FBI described Gonzalez as being 5’11” and weighing 200 pounds. He is bald and has a brown beard and moustache, brown eyes and multiple tattoos, including a tattoo of the word “Elisia” on his right forearm. 

Anyone with videos or photographs taken in and around the area of the Grant-Valkaria rest stop between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. on April 17 are asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

National

Secret Service security review underway to examine possible lapses following White House Correspondents’ dinner

Armed Secret Service agents stand on stage during a shooting incident at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton, April 25, 2026, in Washington. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) – A Secret Service after-action review is underway to examine the security and possible lapses from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in the wake of Saturday’s shooting, according to officials briefed on internal procedures at the agency.

The review is being conducted as a matter of standard procedure, which requires that such a probe be conducted whenever there is an “attack on a protectee.”

The review will go step-by-step through security planning and preparation, the deployment and assignment of personnel, and what occurred once the suspect rushed the Secret Service checkpoint in a failed effort to access the Washington Hilton ballroom, where the dinner was being held.

The Secret Service declined to comment to ABC News on the after-action review.  

“The Secret Service is constantly looking to improve its protective methods and learn from both successes and failure, like what happened at the Washington Hilton,” said retired senior Secret Service official Don Mihalek, an ABC News contributor. “Those lessons often translate to better protective tools, training and tactics to make the agency better.”

The White House also plans to meet with Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security leadership early this week “to discuss protocol and practices for major events” involving President Donald Trump, according to a senior White House official. 

“The meeting will discuss the processes and procedures that worked to stop Saturday’s attempt, while exploring additional options to ensure all relevant components are doing everything possible to secure the many major events planned for President Trump in the months ahead as he gears up to celebrate America 250,” the official said.

The White House emphasized its confidence in Secret Service leadership and praised the agents for intercepting the attacker and preventing further harm.

Trump has also repeatedly praised the Secret Service since Saturday’s shooting. He told Fox News on Sunday, “They were strong, relatively speaking, compared to what the potential threat was — the Secret Service and all law enforcement was … I thought they were outstanding.”

The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Allen, was tackled by law enforcement after gunfire inside the Hilton, where thousands of journalists as well as Trump and members of his Cabinet were gathered for the annual dinner, officials said.

Allen was detained near the main magnetometer area for the event, with surveillance video showing him running past security officials. Allen — who is a trained mechanical engineer working as a tutor in California — was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, police said.

A Secret Service member was shot, but the bullet hit the agent’s protective vest, Trump said.

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said Monday that the suspect’s “intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could.”

Allen appeared in court on Monday to face three felony counts of attempted assassination of the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition over state lines with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. 

Allen did not enter a plea.

The judge scheduled a detention hearing for Thursday and ordered Allen to be temporarily detained until then. Allen’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 11. 

ABC News’ Emily Chang contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Politics

Florida Gov. DeSantis unveils proposed congressional map that could let GOP flip up to 4 seats

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attends the Boom Belt: A Return to First Principles in Public Markets conference on April 7, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday unveiled a proposed new congressional map for the Sunshine State that his office indicates could let Republicans flip up to four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

It’s a move that could help the party gain seats and counter Democrats’ recent redistricting victory in Virginia, if the map passes the Legislature and survives likely legal challenges. But some in the state are concerned about how a new map might backfire on the GOP. It is also another volley in mid-decade redistricting around the country, as another state starts the process usually only done once a decade in the wake of Texas, California and other states doing so.

The new map, provided to ABC News by the governor’s office, appears to aim to allow Republicans to flip up to four seats in the U.S. House, leaving just four Democratic-held districts in the state.

The office did not provide any details on how it conducted its analysis, and DeSantis said the redraw is about representation. “Florida got shortchanged in the 2020 Census, and we’ve been fighting for fair representation ever since. … Our new map for 2026 makes good on my promise to conduct mid-decade redistricting, and it more fairly represents the makeup of Florida today,” DeSantis told Fox News Digital, which was first to report on the new map being unveiled.

Dave Wasserman, senior editor and elections analyst for The Cook Political Report, wrote on Monday that the map appears to target Democratic Reps. Darren Soto, Kathy Castor, Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Soto wrote on X, “Gerrymander or Dummymander? This map is an absolutely unlawful violation of the Florida Constitution. The Legislature should reject it. The courts should strike it down. That being said, there are 12+ seats that Democrats could still win under this map in this cycle.”

Florida currently has 20 Republican U.S. House members and 7 Democratic ones, as well as one vacant Democratic-leaning district.

The speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Daniel Perez, confirmed in a memo on Monday that the state House had received the new map and would begin considering it on Tuesday.

An aggressive approach

DeSantis has said Florida’s potential redistricting has nothing to do with Virginia’s efforts to redraw its congressional map, which passed last week and could net Democrats four congressional seats if it survives court challenges.

Some within the Republican Party have said Florida should aggressively redraw its map to counter Virginia, although others have hedged.

President Donald Trump, for instance, was asked by Fox News in an interview on Sunday about his reaction to Virginia’s redistricting and if Florida should ‘make a go at it.’ (Florida is Trump’s home state.) “I do, but that Virginia case is terrible,” Trump responded. 

A Republican strategist in Florida told ABC News, “I think the people who are interested in taking the most aggressive, fighteresque approach … feel a bit emboldened” by what happened in Virginia. “The people taking a more strategic, long-term take on this whole process — I don’t think what happened in Virginia changes their opinion at all.”

Democrats ready to counter

DeSantis had called a special session that’s currently set to begin Tuesday that will include considering mid-decade redistricting, although he had previously delayed the initial date of the session by a week and expanded it to add other issues.

The Legislature also has a complex relationship with the governor, and legislators have been relatively tight-lipped over how it will vote.

The governor has spoken often about mid-decade redistricting in Florida in recent months, but framed his thoughts in terms of Florida needing to redraw its maps due to population reasons — not for political gain.

But Democrats, flush off of a victory in Virginia, say that they’re ready to counter GOP moves. The Virginia election’s certification is currently being litigated in courts.

Could it backfire?

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, during a press conference last Wednesday, called potential redistricting in Florida a “DeSantis dummymander” that would backfire on the GOP by weakening seats they currently hold. 

“Our message to Florida Republicans is, ‘F around and find out’,” Jeffries said. “If they go down the road of a ‘DeSantis Dummymander’, the Florida Republicans are going to find themselves in the same situation as Texas Republicans who are on the run right now.”

DeSantis, responding to Jeffries on Wednesday without bringing up redistricting, taunted, “There’s nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Hakeem Jeffries everywhere around this state … please, be my guest to come down in Florida. We would love to have you.” 

Some Republicans, however, have openly expressed concerns that any new map in Florida would endanger GOP-held districts because it would weaken those districts politically as it tries to flip other ones, due to how voters could be moved around or respond to redistricting. It’s a key concern in Florida for the GOP, where Hispanic voters — a major bloc — who had moved towards the GOP in 2024’s elections now appear to be moving towards Democrats.

Democrats have also overperformed in Republican-held districts or even flipped seats in recent Florida special legislative elections, including one held in the district that includes Trump’s home of Mar-a-Lago.

“Don’t do it. I’ve said it from the beginning. I’ve been around enough reapportionments to know it’s a slippery slope,” Florida Rep. Daniel Webster told Punchbowl News last week.

And Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar told NBC News last week, “Look, I may be at a disadvantage, because my lines in district number 27 in the state of Florida may be moved, but there’s nothing I can do about it. And I always look at the bright side. This is American democracy. This is the American electoral system.” 

The law and Florida’s Constitution

There are legal considerations at play as well that were not the case in other states such as Texas, California and Missouri that redistricted — as Florida’s state Constitution also has strict restrictions on redrawing constitutional maps for political gain, thanks to provisions known as the Fair Districts Amendments that voters approved in 2010. 

The state’s Constitution says that “In establishing congressional district boundaries … No apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.” 

“It imposes an explicit prohibition on intentionally redrawing districts to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent,” Jonathan Marshfield, a state constitutional law expert at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, told ABC News.  

“And so this is significant in Florida, because the United States Supreme Court has held … that these were sort of partisan gerrymandering claims are not justiciable in federal court; [there’s] essentially no recourse in the same way in federal court as there is in a state court. One of the challenges, I can imagine, is that these new congressional maps are going to be challenged as not complying with the Fair District Amendment of 2010.”

Marshfield added that “the law is structured such that challenges will, in fact, focus on their actual intent in drawing the lines where they draw them. And so that is a legally relevant inquiry that will be investigated in the course of the litigation.

DeSantis did not address the amendments in his comments to Fox News. But his general counsel, David Axelman, in a letter sent to the Florida Legislature along with the proposed map, argued that the amendments themselves may be unconstitutional.

“Florida’s representation in the U.S. House has also been distorted by considerations of race. Passed in 2010, the Fair Districts Amendments (FDA) to the Florida Constitution require the Legislature to account for race when drawing congressional districts … This requires the use of race in redistricting-something that the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled is unconstitutional.”

A strategist working with Florida House Democrats told ABC News that Democrats in the Legislature don’t have procedural mechanisms or leeway to slow down the process of passing a map, unlike in Texas in 2025 where Democrats were able to depart the state and break “quorum” in order to hold up legislation. But the strategist said that won’t matter, and that it doesn’t matter if the new map benefits Republicans or not.

A strategist working with Florida House Democrats told ABC News that Democrats in the Legislature don’t have the same procedural mechanism or leeway to slow down the process of passing a map, unlike in Texas in 2025 where Democrats were able to depart the state and break “quorum” in order to hold up legislation. But the strategist said that won’t matter, and that it doesn’t matter if the new map benefits Republicans or not.

“Regardless of if it backfires or not, it’s still illegal,” the strategist argued.

But Marshfield said that those drawing the map will likely have taken the amendment into account: “I’m sure in light of that, that the people drawing the lines, I would assume — I think the courts assume — that they have taken care to comply with the law, so that they are taking care to draw the lines in ways that comply with that amendment.”

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