Republican said Sikh should not be allowed to deliver House prayer
Why it matters: This is not the first time Miller has fallen into hot water for inflammatory remarks. Shortly before she took office in 2021, she made headlines for saying "Hitler was right about one thing."
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Miller called the decision a "historic victory for white life," which her office later said was based on a misreading of her prepared remarks.
A Miller spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What happened: Giani Singh, a Sikh Granthi from Southern New Jersey, delivered the House's morning prayer on Friday.
Miller responded later in the morning by incorrectly identifying Singh as a Muslim, saying it was "deeply troubling that a Muslim was allowed to lead prayer in the House of Representatives this morning."
"This should have never been allowed to happen. America was founded as a Christian nation, and I believe our government should reflect that truth, not drift further from it. May God have mercy," she added.
Miller quickly edited her post to change "Muslim" to "Sikh," before deleting it altogether minutes later.
What they're saying: " I often say that I serve in Congress with some of the greatest minds of the 18th century. With Rep. Miller I may need to take it back a few more centuries," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said in a post on X.
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Chicago Tribune
39 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Illinois, Texas both need remap reform
Nearly a thousand miles and opposite sides of the political spectrum separate Illinois and Texas. Yet there's one thing Democrats in the Land of Lincoln and Republicans in the Lone Star State can agree on: Gerrymandering works. For political operatives, the crafting of partisan redistricting maps is the miracle elixir that cures party ills and keeps politicians entrenched for generations. Like in Illinois and Texas. Which is why dozens of Texas Democrats have fled Austin, the state capitol, and are glamping in Chicagoland. They do not want to be part of a legislative quorum, which would allow the state's Republicans to redistrict upward of five new bright-red congressional districts. On its face, it seems supremely unfair attempting to wipe out constitutional guarantees of 'one man, one vote,' which is core to our democratic institutions. Instead of redistricting, both Illinois and Texas need remap reform. Under the Texas two-step of Gov. Greg Abbott, he who bused Illinois thousands of asylum seekers in recent years, we are told will give the administration of President Donald Trump additional seats in the U.S. House — Texas currently has 35 — in order to push through any wacky proposals he can come up with. So far, there have been plenty that have squeaked through the House and Senate with the help of Trump-friendly lawmakers. Texas Democrats setting up their rump headquarters in Illinois, at least through Aug. 19, is the latest foray in this battle of political wills. After all, we are a sanctuary state, and all are welcome. Notice these Dems didn't abscond to Oklahoma or Arkansas to boycott their legislative session. They made a beeline here and have been garnering much media play with Illinois Democrats by their side, denouncing Trump and this vote grab. Indeed, lame-duck Sen. Dick Durbin said the other day the opposition to the remap is not alone to Texas: 'This is an American issue, where we have to stand together for the families of this country.' But he would be so eloquent for families in Illinois who have seen their votes diluted over the years through the gerrymandering of congressional and state legislative districts. It's not that this isn't well-known. Gov. JB Pritzker, who signed the 2021 redistricting bill into law which has locked in Democrats' super-majorities in the Legislature, has warned if Texas goes through with this questionable mid-term redistricting, Illinois could do the same. Unsure where those additional blue seats would come from. Of our 17 congressional districts, 14 are ruled by Democrats. That's an 82% majority. Gerrymandering has been around since the nascent days of the republic. The term combines the name of Elbridge Gerry with salamander and is considered anathema to those who seek to keep that elusive 'one man, one vote' in play. Gerry, an early patriot during the American Revolution who eventually became a vice president, was governor of Massachusetts in 1812 when he signed a bill that created a partisan House district in the Boston area that opponents compared to the shape of a salamander. Sort of like the looks of the 5th Congressional District represented by Chicago Democrat Mike Quigley. Quigley's district snakes from deep inside Wrigleyville on Chicago's North Side through Skokie, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, and eventually finding its way into a sliver of Lake County, with 5.62% of its electorate. Lake County towns include Lake Zurich, Buffalo Grove, Long Grove, Barrington, Kildeer, and Deer Park. Besides being potential voters, what those Lake County communities have in common with Chicagoans only Springfield's Democrat political mapmakers know for certain. Perhaps many once lived in the big city and bolted for the suburbs. State Democrats have voiced concerns that the Republican remap of Texas' congressional districts would be unconstitutional for violating federal voting protections in minority-majority districts. They do this while ignoring what has been done in Illinois, where the redistricting maps were drawn after the 2020 census, not in the middle of the decade. To end this political theater in the future and to install fairness back in the process, there needs to be an independent, nationwide mapmaking system to consider congressional and legislative districts every decade. Talk of remap retaliation by elected leaders in Illinois, California, New York and others sounds like we're living in a banana republic instead of a constitutional one.
USA Today
39 minutes ago
- USA Today
Why Democrats have limited power to fight Republican redistricting
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Florida House of Representatives Speaker Daniel Perez has announced a special committee for redistricting that will focus exclusively on the state's congressional map, not state legislative maps. He said there is limited time to handle additional redistricting, and points to a recent state supreme court case that upheld the Republican-friendly congressional map. Gov. Ron DeSantis said Aug. 11 that Florida should have gotten an additional seat during the 2020 census and raised questions about the congressional districts in south Florida. Politico pointed to any of three Democratic-held seats in south Florida as potential targets. The DC-based news outlet Punchbowl reports that Republicans want at least three seats from a new map. Indiana and Missouri consider redrawing, too Additional Republican congressional seats could be drawn in the staunchly Republican states of Indiana and Missouri — one in each state — but the process for doing so is not as far along as in other states. Governors of both states would need to call special legislative sessions to have the legislature redraw the maps. Vice President JD Vance took the unusual step of visiting Indiana to meet with some of the state's top Republican officials Aug. 7 and discuss redistricting. While Republicans already hold seven of the state's nine congressional seats, an expert says they have their eyes on the 1st Congressional District, which covers the northwest corner of Indiana and includes the suburbs of Chicago. It's more moderate than the other Democratic-leaning district, which encompasses Indianapolis, and the Cook Partisan Voting Index currently ranks the district as a slight Democratic lean, so changing the boundary to add GOP voters could tip the balance. Republicans also have targeted the seat in past elections. Republicans hold a super-majority in the state legislature in Missouri. The state has eight congressional seats, and only two are currently held by Democrats. Republicans are eyeing Missouri's 5th District, according to the Missouri Independent. The district encompasses a large portion of the Kansas City area and is currently held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. But even the Republican legislature rejected a similar map in 2022 that gave seven seats to the Republicans, according to St. Louis Public Radio. Democratic states grapple with redistricting reform Democrats who run populous states are considering redistricting, but some of them face a hurdle: Their parties don't have control over drawing legislative maps. Instead, the power is in the hands of independent commissions, something often left-leaning pro-democracy advocates have supported to enact fair maps that reduce gerrymandering. In California, the only state more populous than Texas, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to hold a special election in November so voters can greenlight a one-time redistricting plan to add seats for Democrats, according to ABC 7 News. He wants five to six seats in time for 2026, according to CalMatters. The congressional maps that are drawn every decade are usually completed by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which includes Democrats, Republicans and independents. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote in an Aug. 5 op-ed that she's looking at ways to re-draw the maps. "If Republicans are changing the rules, we'll meet them on the same field," she wrote. That includes asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment to allow for mid-decade redistricting, according to City & State New York. The move would bypass the state's independent redistricting commission, which essentially stops the Democratic-led legislature from drawing its own maps. Change wouldn't come before 2028. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a social media post Aug. 10 that Congress should pass new, fair maps, but said until that happens, "Democratic states must consider all the options to protect our constitutional republic." Common Cause, a left-leaning nonpartisan group that supports redistricting reform, gives Illinois an F for its maps that are drawn by the Democratic-led state legislature. It's not clear how many seats Illinois could gain or when. New Jersey has a redistricting commission that was created by a state constitutional amendment. A change to the process would require a change to the state constitution, according to Politico. Despite the long odds, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries specifically told CNN he'd be interested in redistricting New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy didn't rule it out, but also hasn't taken action, making any seats gained unclear. "Never bring a knife to a gunfight," Murphy told the New Jersey Globe on July 21, quoting a Sean Connery movie. "So if that's the way we're going, we're from Jersey, baby, and we won't be laying down." Contributing: Columbus Dispatch reporter Jesse Balmert; Indianapolis Star reporters Brittany Carloni, Tony Cook, and Kayla Dwyer; and Talahassee Democrat reporter Gray Roher.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Newsom Says California Will Redraw Its ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS' In All-Caps Post Mocking Trump
Finally someone is communicating with President Donald Trump in a language he can understand. On Tuesday night, Newsom (D-Calif.) informed the president that California is going to go ahead and redraw the state's electoral maps after Trump missed a deadline amid the ongoing redistricting battle. The Democratic governor also decided to deliver his message in the funniest way possible — by writing in the same style that Trump writes his social media posts. 'DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, 'MISSED' THE DEADLINE!!!' Newsom's office wrote in a pinned post on his X account. 'CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS,' THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!).' The message continued, 'BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR 'MAGA.' THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN.' Not only does the language itself mock Trump, but the decision to open the announcement by calling Trump 'TACO' — an acronymcoined by Wall Street that stands for 'Trump Always Chickens Out' and that Trump hates — was a great way of needling the president enough that he might actually read the message. The snarky insinuation that Newsom is Trump's 'favorite governor' was a nice touch as well. Although Newsom's announcement is funny, the GOP's shady redistricting efforts are anything but. Last week, several Democratic members of the Texas House fled the state to avoid a vote on a redrawn congressional map that Trump wants, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is more than happy to shove Trump's request down lawmakers' throats. Political maps are typically redraw every 10 years, and Texas' mid-decade redistricting effort has been viewed by Democrats as a shameless gerrymandering scheme that would flip five seats currently held by Democrats from blue to red. The move will essentially help secure Republicans' control in the U.S. House after the midterm elections in 2026. Ever since the Dems in Texas fled, there has been an effort on the left to even the score, with Newsom and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) saying they'd be game to change their state's political maps if Texas does. In a threatening letter to Trumpon Monday, Newsom said he'd 'happily' stand down if Texas doesn't go through with this BS. Newsom followed up his warning with another post on X that Trump can better understand. 'DONALD TRUMP, THE LOWEST POLLING PRESIDENT IN RECENT HISTORY,' the post began. 'THIS IS YOUR SECOND-TO-LAST WARNING!!! (THE NEXT ONE IS THE LAST ONE!). STAND DOWN NOW OR CALIFORNIA WILL COUNTER-STRIKE (LEGALLY!) TO DESTROY YOUR ILLEGAL CROOKED MAPS IN RED STATES. PRESS CONFERENCE COMING — HOSTED BY AMERICA'S FAVORITE GOVERNOR, GAVIN NEWSOM. FINAL WARNING NEXT. YOU WON'T LIKE IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.' Newsom followed that up with another Trump-friendly message on Tuesday. 'FINAL WARNING DONALD TRUMP — MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT WARNING IN HISTORY!' the post began. 'STOP CHEATING OR CALIFORNIA WILL REDRAW THE MAPS. AND GUESS WHO WILL ANNOUNCE IT THIS WEEK?' It continued,'GAVIN NEWSOM (MANY SAY THE MOST LOVED & HANDSOME GOVERNOR) AND A VERY POWERFUL TEAM. DON'T MAKE US DO IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.' But on Tuesday, Texas went ahead with a vote and passed their redrawn maps in a special session, prompting most of Texas' Democrats who remained in the state to storm out of the chamber in protest. The Dallas Morning News reports that despite the vote in the GOP's favor, the new map is 'unlikely to go anywhere' because the Texas Dems that are still MIA deny the chamber a quorum. Lawmakers anticipate there will be another special session on Friday, if Abbott can wrangle his state's wayward Democrats to return. On Friday, Abbot went as far as having the GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives issue civil arrest warrants for the Democrats who fled, and enlisting Texas state troopers to help hunt them down.
