Kansas Republicans punished by House speaker for not supporting redistricting

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita) has removed several of his colleagues from top positions in the Kansas House of Representatives after they did not support his calls for a special session focused on redistricting.

State Reps. Steven Howe (R-Salina), Nathan Butler (R-Junction City) and Jesse Borjon (R-Topeka) were stripped of their committee chair positions by Hawkins, who has full control over committee assignments in the House, according to a report from News From The States. Reps. Clarke Sanders (R-Salina) and Leah Howell (R-Derby) were also stripped of their vice chair assignments.

“Those of us who were chairs and vice chairs … have been relieved because we didn’t agree to sign on for a special session,” Sanders said. “I understand it. I knew that not signing it came with a risk. I just didn’t think it was the right thing to do. I hope to maintain a good relationship with the speaker, but this was something he felt he had to do.”

All five were among the ten Republicans who refused to sign on to a redistricting special session, which Hawkins was spearheading after pressure from the Trump administration in the White House. Hawkins Needed 84 signatures, or two-thirds of the Kansas House’s 125 members, to move the special session forward and gerrymander the seat held by U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS). Davids is the only Democratic representative for Kansas in the U.S. House.

After Hawkins failed to call a special session, Republicans in the Kansas State Legislature reiterated their calls for redistricting when the state’s regular session begins on Jan. 12, 2026.