
"I hate it": Redistricting arms race gives lawmakers heartburn
Why it matters: It threatens, as one Democratic lawmaker put it, a "race to the bottom" that will encourage both sides to test the limits of gerrymandering and further fan the partisan flames engulfing the country.
But with President Trump bearing down on Texas Republicans to change their maps and California Democrats wanting to respond in political self-defense, members of both parties feel they have little choice.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios of his state's possible redistricting: "How I feel is terribly conflicted. I hate it. I really worry about a race to the bottom on something that I consider pretty despicable."
"But I understand why the governor and others are considering it. The only reason it would even be possible is what Texas and others are doing just stinks so badly that it's pissing people in California off."
State of play: Texas Republicans began a special session Monday, which Gov. Greg Abbott said would include an attempt to redraw the state's U.S. House districts.
Redistricting is normally only done after the decennial census — most recently in 2020 — or in response to a court order. However, Trump has put pressure on Republicans to undertake the unusual effort in the hopes of creating as many as five new GOP-leaning seats.
Republicans in Ohio are also looking to redraw districts to try to unseat several Democrats.
In response, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has threatened to try to revisit his state's districts to create more Democratic-leaning seats.
What we're hearing: Democrats may not stop at California, and are eyeing other blue states, including New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Washington, senior House Democrats told Axios.
Democrats are "definitely looking into what's going on and trying to level the playing field," said one House Democrat. "It's crazy what's happening in Texas."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters Thursday: "It's all options on the table at this moment."
Even though California has a constitutionally mandated independent redistricting commission, several House Democrats from the state told Axios they are confident Newsom could find a legal pathway.
What they're saying: While lawmakers have largely stuck by their parties' plans as a necessary evil in an increasingly existential political environment, others expressed trepidation at the escalating brinksmanship.
"We're only supposed to be redistricting every 10 years," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). "At some point, the partisanship gets too much. ... I just think it goes too far."
A House Democrat from California, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Axios: "It's a difficult conversation, because we're literally doing it to gerrymander — everything that we stood against, and the reason we created the independent redistricting commission."
"If we do it," the lawmaker added, "let's be very upfront and transparent about it. Don't leave it to an independent commission. Everybody knows what we're doing."
Yes, but: Other relative moderates in both parties said they are more than comfortable with mid-decade redistricting, pointing to the other side's actions as justification.
"It's not only Texas," Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), whose own seat could be threatened by the redistricting plan, said, noting Newsom's comments.
Gonzales added that Trump is a "political genius" and that "if we can pull off squeezing five more seats out of Texas, that's a game changer."
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) said if Republicans are "going to stoop to midterm redistricting to politically advantage the party, I think it's certainly something that should be on the table."
The bottom line: Even Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), an arch-centrist who represents the reddest district of any House Democrat, declined to condemn potential redistricting in California — but he did warn Republicans against what is known as a dummymander.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump tariffs weigh on Brazil chemical exporters, spark order cancellations
By Ana Mano SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Chemical products companies in Brazil, which exported $2.4 billion to the U.S. last year, face a slew of contract cancellations as President Donald Trump has threatened a new 50% tariff on the South American nation's exports from August 1. Since Trump's announcement, export orders have been canceled for certain resins and compounds used to make fertilizers, which Brazil supplies to the U.S. agriculture sector, Andre Cordeiro, head of Brazilian chemical lobby Abiquim, said on Friday. "Fundamentally, these decisions are being made because the bet is that he will actually apply the tariff," Cordeiro said. One company in Brazil had all its contracts for exports to the U.S. canceled, Cordeiro said, adding that other businesses have seen some of their contracts canceled. There are also cases where sellers had secured export financing for the order, which was later revoked. He declined to name the affected exporters. Losses associated with the tariffs go beyond direct exports, as almost every industry uses chemicals in manufacturing processes, from oil to steel, from machinery to production of agricultural commodities, he said. "No one produces coffee, even grains, without some kind of chemical product in the process." Cordeiro added that chemical companies are losing export business and also local sales to clients that export goods into the U.S. market. Brazilian plywood exporters, for example, use chemicals for bonding and themselves have faced U.S. order cancellations, he said. Orange juice makers, which sent 42% of their exports to the U.S. last year, also use chemical preservatives. Brazilian companies like Braskem have operations in the U.S. and could be affected. Dow Chemical, which has 10 plants in Brazil and sizeable exports of silicon metal for processing in the U.S., is also at risk. Braskem and Dow did not immediately comment. Exxon Mobil, which declined to comment, operates in Brazil and serves clients in various industries. Tariffs are unjustified because Brazil's chemical sector runs a $7.9 billion trade deficit with the U.S., Abiquim said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


CNN
19 minutes ago
- CNN
TX lawmaker: Redistricting push shows ‘rot at the core' of our political system
The balance of power in Congress is a game of inches, as Texas Republicans consider redrawing the lines to get more seats in the House. Texas state Rep. James Talarico tells CNN's Brianna Keilar how Democrats are planning to fight back against the controversial plan.


Chicago Tribune
20 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Education Department says it will release billions in remaining withheld grant money for schools
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in grants to schools for adult literacy, English language instruction and other programs, the Education Department said Friday. President Donald Trump's administration had withheld more than $6 billion in funding on July 1, as part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House's priorities. The funding freeze had been challenged by several lawsuits as educators, Congress members from both parties and others called for the administration to release money schools rely on for a wide range of programs. Congress had appropriated the money in a bill signed this year by Trump. Last week, the Education Department said it would release $1.3 billion of the money for after-school and summer programming. Without the money, school districts and nonprofits such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of America had said they would have to close or scale back educational offerings this fall. The release of that money came days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the administration to allow frozen education money to be sent to states. Those senators had also called for the rest of the money to be distributed, including funds for adult education and teaching English as a second language. The Education Department said Friday the Office of Management and Budget had completed its review of the programs and will begin sending the money to states next week. U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, was among the Congress members calling for the release of the grants. 'The programs are ones that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support,' she said. She pointed to after-school and summer programs that allow parents to work while their children learn and classes that help adults gain new skills — contributing to local economies. In withholding the funds, the Office of Management and Budget had said some of the programs supported a 'radical leftwing agenda.' 'We share your concern,' the GOP senators had written. 'However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.' School superintendents had warned they would have to eliminate academic services without the money. On Friday, AASA, an association of superintendents, thanked members of Congress for pressing to release the money. In Harford County, Maryland, some of the withheld federal money made up more than half the budget for the district's annual summer camp for kids learning English. The money helps the district hire certified teachers to staff the camp, incorporating learning into children's play for four weeks during the summer. The program helps kids keep their English and academic momentum over the summer. The district serves roughly 1,100 students who are non-native English speakers. Many of them are born in the U.S. to parents who came to the area seeking job opportunities, often in the restaurants and warehouses that have popped up in the past decades in the region northeast of Baltimore. During the school year, the soon-to-be-released federal money pays for tutors for kids learning English. On Thursday, more than 350 children filled the second floor of Bel Air High School for the second-to-last day of summer camp. Young learners crowded around an alphabet wheel, jostling with each other to push each letter button as they thought of foods starting with letters from A to Z. Middle school students watched a robotics team demonstration, and a few sheepishly raised their hands when asked if they would be interested in joining. High school student volunteers, some of whom had been campers learning English themselves not many years ago, helped the youngest children with art projects.