White House eyes alleged Utah scandal as GOP frets about redistricting loss

Exclusive Politics White House eyes alleged Utah scandal as GOP frets about redistricting loss By Olivia Rinaldi, Olivia Rinaldi White House reporter Olivia Rinaldi is a White House reporter at CBS News. She covered President Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and was previously an associate producer for "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell" and a broadcast associate for "Face the Nation." She is based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Olivia Rinaldi, Jennifer Jacobs Jennifer Jacobs Senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs is a senior White House reporter at CBS News. Read Full Bio Jennifer Jacobs April 17, 2026 / 2:08 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google White House officials are closely monitoring an alleged Utah scandal, leaning on Republicans there to delve further into ethics concerns about a relationship between two key players in a high-profile gerrymandering case, sources told CBS News. It's another twist in an ongoing battle over Utah's court-ordered congressional map that made a GOP-majority district much friendlier for Democrats, and a new tactic in the Trump administration's push to hold Republicans' slim majority in the U.S. House.Lawmakers in the state legislature are asking questions about Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen's relationship with David Reymann, the chief counsel for the League of Women Voters of Utah, who was one of the plaintiff's attorneys asserting Republicans' proposed congressional maps were illegal.Hagen wrote the opinion in a unanimous 2024 ruling that found GOP lawmakers had overstepped by changing Proposition 4, which prohibits gerrymandering. Political reactionIt was unclear if the alleged conflict of interest involving Hagen and Reymann could overturn the new congressional boundaries and help Republicans claw back a GOP-majority district."There's just a lot of unknowns at this point," Kirk Cullimore, the Utah Senate majority leader, told CBS News. Cullimore noted Hagen in a letter recused herself fr...