Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, Kristen Welker breaks down her interviews today with Vice President JD Vance and key officials in Russia and Ukraine. Plus, I examine how Democrats face a structural disadvantage in the national redistricting fight in response to this week’s reader question.
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— Adam Wollner
Where the Russia-Ukraine peace talks go from here
By Kristen Welker
On a Friday filled with major developments, I spoke exclusively with Vice President JD Vance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister.
Through it all, one thing struck me: how very far away from each other Vance and Lavrov seemed on talks to end the war in Ukraine.
During my early-morning conversation with Lavrov, the top Russian diplomat repeatedly stressed that the conditions aren’t yet right for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He suggested that it was Ukraine, not Russia, who was blocking progress on a peace deal, and repeatedly chided Zelenskyy for prioritizing theatrics over substance.
“How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?” Lavrov said of Zelenskyy.
Kyslytsya struck a bit of a middle ground. He praised the Trump administration’s work to get the two countries to the table and brushed aside some of Moscow’s fiery rhetoric. But he accused Russia of trying to manipulate the U.S. and said he sees “no signs there is a readiness on Putin’s side to have meaningful conversations.”
As far as a key question — the debate over territorial lines — Kyslytsya added that Ukraine’s “public is categorically against trading our land for peace,” and “when we spoke about territorial issues, I think President Zelenskyy made it very clear he’s ready to sit down with President Putin and discuss it, and the beginning of the conversations on the territorial issue is the contact line that is currently there.”
Vance sported the most optimistic tone of the three leaders.
Even as he conceded that negotiations can be a roller coaster, Vance praised both Russia and Ukraine for making significant concessions. He framed America’s role as one of a mediator, not trying to force one side to take terms they can’t stomach but one that tries to keep the door open to good-faith negotiating. And he framed the administration’s negotiating posture as persistent, willing to press on even if they hit a brick wall.
I hope you’ll join me Sunday morning on “Meet the Press” to watch more from our interviews with Vance and Lavrov.
More from the Vance interview: The VP confirmed the administration is “in the very early stages of an ongoing investigation” into former national security adviser John Bolton, whose house was searched this morning by the FBI. But Vance denied that the investigation was retribution for Bolton’s criticism of Trump. Read more →
✉️ Mailbag: Democrats’ redistricting disadvantage
Thanks to everyone who emailed us! This week’s question is on the national redistricting battle:
“My question is if all the red states and all the blue states follow the redistricting solution, which party comes out on top? Just how many seats would be up for grabs?”
Republicans have a clear advantage in the redistricting arms race simply because there are more states where they have full power. And in the vast majority of those states, lawmakers are in charge of drawing the maps, furthering the GOP’s edge.
In total, Republicans have a trifecta — meaning they control the governor’s office and the Legislature — in 23 states, compared to 15 for Democrats, according to Ballotpedia.
In 18 of the 23 GOP-led states, the state Legislature has at least some role, if not a leading one, in drafting congressional boundaries. And across those 18 states, there are 44 districts represented by Democrats for Republicans to theoretically go after. As for the other five states, Republicans already have full control of their congressional delegations. Three are small states with single at-large districts, and two have independent commissions that draw their lines.
Included in the group of 18 are the states Republicans are currently targeting in their mid-decade redistricting effort: Texas (13 Democratic-held seats), Florida (8), Indiana (2), and Missouri (2). Also included is Ohio (5), where lawmakers are required by law to draw new maps since the last version was passed without bipartisan support.
As for the Democrats, they have far fewer targets as they scramble to counter the GOP’s push ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In the 15 Democratic-controlled states, the Legislature is involved in drawing congressional maps in nine of them. Five of them have independent or political commissions that handle the lines, while the sixth, Delaware, has just one district.
Of the group of nine, Democrats have full control of the congressional delegation in five of them (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Rhode Island). And in two of them (Maryland and Oregon) Republicans hold just one seat in each.
That leaves Illinois and New York. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has left the door open to redrawing the state’s map, but Democrats already represent 14 of 17 districts.
And in New York, where Republicans represent seven districts, the process comes with significant caveats. An independent commission initially draws the maps, which lawmakers can make changes to with supermajority support. Democratic legislators introduced a bill that would allow them to get around the commission and the state constitutional requirement that the maps only be drawn every 10 years. But it would need to pass through two consecutive legislative sessions and be approved by voters, meaning a new map wouldn’t go into effect until the 2028 election at the earliest.
This all explains why Democrats have turned their focus to California, where Republicans hold nine seats but an independent commission typically controls the redistricting process. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday setting up a special election this fall in which voters will be asked to approve a new congressional map that could net Democrats five more seats, potentially offsetting the GOP’s moves in Texas.
— Adam Wollner
Latest from Texas: Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the longest-serving member of the Texas congressional delegation, announced that he will retire if the state’s new map isn’t rejected in court after Republicans carved up his district. Read more →
🗞️ Today’s other top stories
- 📝 Epstein saga: The Justice Department released a transcript of an interview between a senior administration official and Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell insisted she never witnessed Trump or former President Bill Clinton do anything inappropriate. Follow live updates →
- 📝 Epstein saga, cont.: The House Oversight Committee received the first tranche of documents from the Department of Justice related to the Epstein case. Read more →
- 🏦 Fed watch: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared to open the door to the central bank’s first rate cut of Trump’s second term, indicating that current monetary policy may be restricting economic activity. Read more →
- 💼 Down to business: The Trump administration said that it had taken a 10% stake in Intel, the president’s latest extraordinary move to exert federal government control over private business. Read more →
- ⬅️ The purge: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, making him another in a raft of senior officers who have been removed under Hegseth’s watch. Read more →
- ➡️ Deportation agenda: Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from federal custody, months after he was wrongfully deported to an El Salvador prison and accused of being a gang member. Read more →
- ⚖️ In the courts: A federal judge ruled that “Alligator Alcatraz,” the contested migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, can remain operational for now but that it cannot be expanded and no additional detainees can be brought in. Read more →
- ⚖️ In the courts, cont.: The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration’s broad cuts to National Institutes of Health grants as part of the federal government’s campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Read more →
- 📦 Trade wars: Canada removed many of its retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., marking a significant step forward in the two countries’ relationship. Read more →
- 🗳️ 2026 watch: The crowded Republican race to be South Carolina’s next governor has erupted into an early, all-out battle to secure Trump’s support. As one person close to candidate Nancy Mace said: “This is first a race for an endorsement, and second, a race for governor.” Read more →
- 🔴 Florida man: Joe Gruters, a Florida state senator and longtime Trump ally, was elected as chairman of the Republican National Committee. He succeeds Michael Whatley, who is running for Senate in North Carolina. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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