Behind the Dem U-turn on redistricting

Politico

6 days ago

IN TODAY'S EDITION:— Dems used to be anti-gerrymandering. Not anymore.— Díaz-Balart confident ahead of funding fight— GOP fears Dem hardball on ACA credits
Democrats are making a full U-turn on redistricting. But they insist they have no choice but to respond in kind when backed into a corner by Republicans, Nicholas Wu and Andrew Howard report.
The last time Democrats were in power, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed a sweeping package of good-government reforms — including attempts to end partisan gerrymandering. Groups like the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, founded by former Attorney General Eric Holder, had long advocated for changing the system that allowed partisan gerrymandering.
Now, Democrats have abandoned their initial hesitation to engage after Texas Republicans — backed by President Donald Trump — launched a mid-decade redrawing to give the GOP five additional seats. Progressives are cheering on leaders like Gov. Gavin Newsom, who triggered the effort to expand the party's advantage in California by sifting away as many as five seats from Republicans — potentially offsetting the Texas redraw.
'Democrats must respond to Republicans' blatant partisan power grab,' Pelosi said in a statement to POLITICO. 'Democrats cannot and will not unilaterally disarm.' She noted the party continues to support laws to create nationwide independent redistricting commissions.
NDRC President John Bisognano said the committee is now 'taking a posture that we're not going to oppose states taking corrective and temporary measures.'
Other Democrats are still aiming for the high road. Rep. Jamie Raskin argued the party should revive its previous efforts — like the For the People Act and a narrower measure aimed at restoring the 1965 Voting Rights Act — and eventually go even further by implementing multi-member congressional districts and ranked-choice voting.
But even he acknowledged their limitations under Republican control.
'I would rather fight fire with water and put gerrymandering out of business,' Raskin said. 'But if the Republicans are going to plunge us into a race to the bottom, then we have to fight back with every means at our disposal.'
TGIF. Email us: [e-mail], [e-mail] and [e-mail].
THE LEADERSHIP SUITE
No. 2 House Appropriator talks fall funding fight
Ahead of the government funding deadline this September, Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, vice chair of House Appropriations, says he's confident that all 12 spending bills will get floor votes — despite the GOP's track record in the previous Congress of having to pull appropriations bills from consideration or watch them collapse.
'The goal is, obviously, to continue to move those bills. We just need floor time,' Díaz-Balart told Mia in an interview Thursday. 'And I'm pretty confident that we will.' The House has passed two appropriations bills so far.
He also said the Senate's ability to pass its three-bill 'minibus' earlier this month on a bipartisan basis is 'really helpful' to the cause of finding common ground on a larger package to avoid a shutdown Oct. 1. But he acknowledged negotiations will come down to congressional leaders and the White House.
'That's really not in the hands of the appropriators,' Díaz-Balart said of shutdown talks. 'That's above our pay grade.'
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, noted in an interview with ABC News Thursday that he has not heard from Republicans after sending a letter to Thune and Johnson earlier this week asking for a meeting on the appropriations process.
What Jeffries has been up to this week
Jeffries was home in New York City this week to mingle with voters and attack the GOP megabill.
Jeffries delivered keynote remarks at a leadership conference, where he panned the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as an attack on health care, organized labor and well-paying jobs. He also appeared at an outdoor office hours event with City Council member Chris Banks, attended events promoting police-community partnerships, met with anti-gun violence organizations and youth in Brownsville and toured medical facilities in Bed-Stuy.
POLICY RUNDOWN
GOP FEARS DEM HARDBALL ON ACA CREDITS — Rumors are spreading on Capitol Hill that Democrats are going to drive a hard bargain when it comes extending enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at year's end.
Members of both parties are eyeing a year-end bipartisan health care package, and Democrats and a handful of Republicans believe that an extension of the sunsetting tax credits should be a part of it. Democrats and Republicans are wary of political fallout if Congress allows the credits to sunset, which could cause millions of people to lose their insurance heading into an election year.
But one person close to House Republican leadership – granted anonymity to speak candidly – tells Benjamin some Republicans suspect that Democrats intend to weaponize this dynamic. They would do so by refusing to shore up the votes for extending the credits in a larger health care package unless Republicans agree to other partisan demands, like approving additional funding for community health centers.
A person close to Senate Democratic leadership insisted Democrats are focused on extending the enhanced credits and that it's too early to be talking strategy for notching that win.
TEXAS REPUBLICANS PRESS SMITHSONIAN ON MEGABILL LOBBYING — Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Randy Weber pressed the chancellor of the Smithsonian in a new letter Thursday about potential violations of anti-lobbying rules with regard to implementation of the GOP's megabill. The lawmakers cite reporting that Smithsonian Institution employees took steps to oppose a provision in the bill that will require the relocation of the NASA space shuttle, Discovery, from the National Air and Space Museum in Washington to the NASA-run Johnson Space Center in Houston.
'We urge your office and the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents to conduct a comprehensive internal review of the Institution's communications, expenditures, and outreach activities related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' the lawmakers write.
A spokesperson for the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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THE CARRYOUT
Welcome back to your Inside Congress hosts' favorite recess activity: sharing lawmakers' Capitol Hill food recommendations.
Sen. Tina Smith is a big fan of Cups (like the rest of us). She said she likes to get the orange chicken from its hot bar.
'It always feels sort of indulgent, like not that healthy,' Smith said. 'But then my fallback is a BLT, so how good is that?'
What's your indulgent Cups order? Email us: [e-mail] and [e-mail].
JOB BOARD
Laura Flores is now digital director for Colin Allred's Texas Senate campaign. She previously was digital comms director at Student Turnout Projects by Strategic Victory Fund and is a David Trone alum.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Ron Klain … Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group … Jay Gertsema … Samantha Cantrell of Rep. David Kustoff's office … JoJo Duchesne of Rep. Adam Gray's office … Catharine Cypher … Mike Dankler … former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard … Bipartisan Policy Center's Joe Walsh … Ted Thompson of Easterseals … American Conservation Coalition's Sarah Rosa
TRIVIA
THURSDAY'S ANSWER: Joan Kleiman correctly answered that the first overnight session in the Senate was in 1915, to debate the Ship Purchase Act.
TODAY'S QUESTION, from Joan: Who was the first president to receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to [e-mail].