Redistricting battles reach fever pitch

The Hill

4 hours ago

Evening Report
Wednesday, Aug. 6
Redistricting battles reach fever pitch
THE REDISTRICTING WARS raging across the U.S. took an ugly turn on Wednesday after a bomb threat forced Texas Democrats from a hotel in Illinois.
The St. Charles Police Department responded to a report of a bomb threat this morning at the hotel where the Democrats were staying after having fled from Texas to thwart a vote on a new congressional map that will be more favorable to Republicans.
No explosive devices were found but 400 people were evacuated as a bomb squad unit searched the building.
'Threats of violence will be investigated and those responsible will be held accountable,' Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) posted on the social media platform X.
About 50 Texas Democrats fled the state over the weekend to deny the state legislature the quorum needed to vote on the newly redrawn maps, which could help the GOP pick up five House seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Redistricting typically takes place at the end of the decade when new census data is released.
'Donald Trump is trying to steal five seats from the people — frankly, of the country, not just the people of Texas — and disenfranchise people,' Pritzker said Tuesday on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.' 'We're talking about violating the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution.'
Texas's move is unusual but legal under state and federal law.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday ordered the arrest of missing Democrats, saying they'd 'abandoned their duty to Texans.'
In a Tuesday filing seeking to oust Texas Democratic Caucus Leader Gene Wu, Abbott's lawyers argued:
'If a small fraction of recalcitrant lawmakers choose to run out the clock today, they can do so for any, and every, Regular or Special Session, potentially bankrupting the State in an attempt to get their way.'
The redistricting wars have consumed the political landscape since Texas initiated the special legislative session to approve their new maps.
Democratic leaders in California, New York and other blue states are promising to retaliate by redrawing their own maps, although they're in some instances restricted from doing so by laws that have handed that power to independent commissions.
Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) say they're looking for legal workarounds to redistrict this year if Texas moves ahead.
The Texas Democrats are smothering the airwaves, giving daily press conferences alongside blue state leaders such as Pritzker and Hochul, as they hope to run out the clock on the Texas legislature's special session.
Republicans are crying foul, citing Illinois as having one of the worst gerrymanders in the country, according to a Princeton University analysis. New York, meanwhile, implemented new pro-Democratic maps ahead of the 2024 election.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said he thinks Texas's mid-decade redistricting efforts are 'wrong.'
But he also blasted Hochul for threatening to retaliate.
'A reminder that @GovKathyHochul and New York tried to rig our elections and pull off a blatant partisan power grab in 2022 and 2024 DESPITE the constitution preventing gerrymandering, mid-decade redistricting, & requiring an independent commission. Now they want to do it again!'
Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, cheekily defended his state's gerrymander Tuesday on CBS's 'Late Night with Stephen Colbert.'
Colbert called the Illinois map 'crazy' and described one district as being shaped like a 'scorpion's tail.'
'We handed it over to a kindergarten class and let them decide,' Pritzker quipped.
Still, Pritzker argued that Texas is breaking with tradition by implementing a new gerrymander ahead of a mid-decade midterm election.
'Every 10 years we do a census in this country and right after the census we redraw district in every state,' Pritzker said. 'But what the Republicans are trying to do in the Texas Republicans frankly at the behest of Donald Trump are doing it mid-decade. That is extraordinarily rare.'
Meanwhile, the missing Texas Democrats are being fined $500 a day and could end up facing $400,000 in fees for fleeing the state, according to a Politico analysis.
The Texas Tribune reported that former Rep. Beto O'Rourke 's (D-Texas) political group has been a top fundraiser for the Texas Democrats, putting its $3.5 million war chest toward covering their costs.
Texas issued arrest warrants for the missing Democrats and Abbott has warned that they'd be in violation of federal election laws if they fundraise to cover their expenses.
TEXAS GOP POLITICS AT PLAY
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who are locked in a nasty primary race, have found openings to attack one another over how to deal with the missing Democrats.
Cornyn asked the FBI to intervene to assist in returning the lawmakers to Texas.
'This is a state issue, I don't know what the FBI would have to do with this,' Paxton said on Steve Bannon 's 'War Room' podcast.
Cornyn laid into Paxton for his recent trip to Europe, saying Abbott had to use his own lawyers to sue the Democrats because his rival was missing in action.
'Guess the Attorney General was too busy doing who knows what overseas so the Governor had to use his own lawyers,' Cornyn posted on X.
💡 Perspectives:
• USA Today: I'm a Democrat who left Texas. This is why.
• New York Post: Dems howling at Texas redistrict push are hypocrites.
• Wall Street Journal: The Democratic protectorate of Illinois.
• The Hill: It's Pritzker's party. Hell yes, he's messing with Texas.
• The Hill: Democrats see opportunity in a wide open 2028 primary.
CATCH UP QUICK
Trump to announce $100B Apple investment in US manufacturing
President Trump will announce that Apple plans to invest $100 billion in manufacturing in the U.S. in an effort to increase domestic production and avoid tariffs.
The announcement will come at a 4:30 p.m. EDT event in the Oval Office.
The Hill's Alex Gangitano reports:
'The announcement includes the launch of the American Manufacturing Program, which would be dedicated to bringing more of Apple's supply chain to the U.S. and involves the tech giant incentivizing other companies to manufacture more critical components domestically, the official said.'
The $100 billion investment increases Apple's overall U.S. commitment to $600 billion. Apple claims to support more then 450,000 jobs through their thousands of suppliers and partners across the U.S.
The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for Trump's trade war.
Trump on Wednesday announced he would increase tariffs on India by 25 percent over its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total tariffs he has imposed on New Delhi to 50 percent.
India is furious, with the Ministry of External Affairs arguing that the purchase of Russian oil is a 'necessity' to 'ensure predictable and affordable energy costs' and was once 'encouraged' by the U.S. 'for strengthening global energy markets stability.'
The Hill's Laura Kelly and Alex Gangitano report that the trade war has soured the bromance between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'During his first term, President Trump struck up an exuberant bromance with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, holding joint rallies in Texas and India and calling Modi one of 'America's greatest, most devoted, and most loyal friends.'…The tensions are straining a partnership that both Republicans and Democrats view as essential in challenging China.'
The move against India is meant to ramp up pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for three hours on Wednesday ahead of Trump's looming ceasefire deadline.
Trump has said if Russia does not move to end the war by Friday, the U.S. will slap new economic sanctions on Moscow meant to isolate them.
Putin's representative Kirill Dmitriev described the conversation with Witkoff as 'constructive' and said dialogue 'continues and is critical for global security and peace.'
A senior U.S. official said sanctions on Russia's key trading partners are still expected to go into effect on Friday.
MEANWHILE…
Trump's tariffs have domestic and foreign leaders making the trek to Washington to seek common ground.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), a potential 2028 presidential contender, met with Trump on Tuesday at the White House to raise concerns about the effects the president's tariff policy is having on her state.
'I will always do whatever I can to make life a little easier for Michiganders and strengthen our economy,' Whitmer said. 'We should do everything in our power to lower costs and grow more good-paying jobs in Michigan. I appreciate the president's time and attention to the matters we discussed.'
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter was in Washington on Wednesday to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as she seeks to soften Trump's 39 percent tariff, according to Bloomberg.
ELSEWHERE…
Trump is narrowing down a group of candidates to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term ends early next year.
Trump says he has four people in mind to be the next Fed chief, led by Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump might announce Powell's successor early in a bid to undermine him, as the president fumes over the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates.
Trump will have an opportunity before then to influence Fed policy when he appoints a replacement for one of the Fed's governors, Adriana Kugler, who announced her retirement last week.
Two Fed governors dissented from Powell in last week's 9-2 vote to keep interest rates steady, the first time that's happened in more than 30 years.
💡 Perspectives:
• The American Prospect: The bleak future of Trumponomics.
• American Greatness: Trump's calculated disruption.
• The Atlantic: What exactly is the Russia 'hoax'?
• RCP: Media functions as propaganda arm for Intelligence Community.
Roundup: Trump turns focus to law and order
The Trump administration is turning its attention to law and order after a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee was attacked in Washington.
The victim, Edward Coristine, was assaulted early Sunday morning with his girlfriend by a group of teens who attempted to steal his car.
Two 15-year-olds were arrested in connection with the attack.
Coristine gained notoriety as DOGE's 19-year-old software engineer nicknamed 'Big Balls'.
Trump on Tuesday railed against violent crime committed by 'youths' in the nation's capital and called for the District of Columbia to change its laws to allow for teenagers to be prosecuted as adults.
The president also threatened to a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.
'If D.C. doesn't get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they're not going to get away with it anymore,' Trump posted on TruthSocial.
The FBI released a new report finding violent crime fell by 4.5 percent in 2024, continuing a downward trend since peaking at the height of the COVID pandemic.
MEANWHILE…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it signed another state partnership to house migrant detainees.
Indiana's 'Speedway Slammer,' a nod to the state's car race tracks, will expand an existing prison by 1,000 beds, DHS said.
It's the second such state partnership to feature an alliterative name, following Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
IndyCar didn't approve of the government co-opting their racing imagery as part of the announcement.
'We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of yesterday's announcement,' IndyCar said in a statement. 'Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our [intellectual property] not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter.'
On Wednesday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem touted recruitment efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying they've received 80,000 applications for 10,000 open jobs.
💡 Perspectives:
• The Liberal Patriot: Governing is tough when few agree on basic facts.
• Freddie DeBoer: Dems have no plan for Trump's immigration nightmare.
• The Free Press: Autoworkers want their unions back.
• Sasha Stone: Democrats are trapped in a hell of their own making.