Jeffries says all options on the table as Democrats push back against redistricting
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a media conference Tuesday, joined by senior members of House leadership and the Texas Democratic congressional delegation, answering questions about how Democrats may counter this effort to redistrict mid-decade.
Jeffries made clear that this effort to redraw the maps amidst the state's recovery from devastating July Fourth weekend flooding, which killed over 130 people, is something Democrats should push back against 'aggressively.'
'Instead of addressing the serious crisis that has affected tens of thousands of lives in unthinkable Ways, Donald Trump, House Republicans here in Washington and Gov. Abbott are conspiring to rig the Texas congressional map as part of an effort to disenfranchise millions of people in Texas,' Jeffries said.
The redistricting plan initially broke in June, after reports that President Donald Trump was pushing congressional Republicans to have the Texas Legislature redraw the state's districts. The move is intended to counter expected GOP losses in the 2026 midterm elections.
Reports from after the news broke of a meeting at the White House said that GOP congressmen from Texas were reluctant to move forward.
'This was an order from Donald Trump. You didn't hear the people of Texas saying, 'Please redraw the maps, wanting to see big change,' especially right now, what you're seeing is Republicans scared that they're going to lose the majority,' said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Washington, and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
Gov. Greg Abbott added redistricting to the special session agenda July 9, though no bills on the matter have yet been filed. New reporting from Punchbowl News Tuesday morning said Trump was reportedly pushing the GOP to draw five new Republican seats, which was corroborated by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin. The governor's office did not answer whether Abbott would move forward with that suggestion.
'While partisan activists focus solely on political issues, Gov. Abbott is dedicated to delivering results on issues important to Texans, such as flood relief, property tax cuts, and the elimination of the STAAR test,' Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said.
Drawing five additional seats on top of the 25 Republicans already control would be a tall order. Republicans currently represent nearly two-thirds of Texas' congressional seats, despite Trump receiving just 56% of the vote in 2024. Five additional GOP districts would bring the share of seats Republicans control to nearly 80%.
If Texas does draw those additional seats, it could potentially endanger Republican incumbents whose districts may become less Republican as the maps draw out Democrats. Michael Li, senior counsel in the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice, previously told KXAN this move might backfire if the GOP goes too far.
'The question really is … are [Republicans] really willing to have a much more competitive map for the rest of the decade,' Li said.
DelBene said the DCCC will go after GOP incumbents who might become vulnerable under new maps.
'This scheme to rig the maps is hardly going to shore up their majority; it's going to expand the battleground in the race for the majority,' DelBene said. 'Make no mistake, the DCCC will recruit aggressively to unseat any and all newly vulnerable Texas Republicans that go along with this corrupt ploy.'
But before Democrats let new maps take effect, they are reportedly considering options to stop the Republican redistricting plan. The Quorum Report reported Tuesday that Jeffries was encouraging Democrats to flee the state and break quorum, preventing the legislature from meeting and passing new maps. Democrats did so back in 2003, when Republicans last redrew the maps mid-decade.
Attorney General Ken Paxton posted to X Tuesday, saying Democratic lawmakers who fled the state should be arrested.
'If Democrats ignore their duty to their constituents by breaking quorum, they should be found and arrested no matter where they go,' Paxton wrote. 'My office stands ready to assist local, state and federal authorities in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office and their constituents for cheap political theater.'
One other possible hurdle for new maps is legal challenges. Most of the Democratic seats that could be redrawn are in Black or Latino communities, and breaking up those districts could violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, leaving the maps tied up in court. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, and chair of the Texas Democratic delegation, said Democrats will bring legal challenges to new maps.
'We will fight this redistricting effort in every way we can,' Fletcher said. 'We will fight it in the halls of Congress … we will fight this in the courts as we can and we will fight it in our communities across Texas.'
One other way Democrats could counter attempts to redraw maps in Texas is by redrawing maps in large states of their own, like New York or California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has floated the idea in recent days, even suggesting in a post on X Tuesday that he could move forward with the plan, replying 'Two can play this game' to the Punchbowl News report.
Jeffries would not comment on suggestions to redraw maps in those states, saying he would leave it up to their governors.
'With respect to what happens in other states, I think that I'll let Gov. Gavin Newsom, Gov. Hochul and others continue to speak for themselves on this issue,' Jeffries said. 'Stay tuned.'
It is not immediately clear how California would redraw its maps mid-decade. The state is only allowed to draw maps every 10 years, after the Census is released, and they are drawn by a bipartisan independent commission. New York also has a commission draw its maps, and they were already redrawn mid-decade, ahead of the 2024 election. The legislature could order the commission to redraw the maps at any time, however.
But as national Democrats encourage partisan gerrymandering on their side in response, Texas Democrats maintained that they care about fairness.
'I won't be asking them to protect my seat, nor should any member of this delegation,' Doggett said. 'What we will be doing is asking them to protect democracy, because that's what's at stake.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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