Texas Gov. Abbott Calls for Immediate Second Special Session on Redistricting
In a press release, the governor cited the departure of state House Democrats as the reason for the second special session. The lawmakers left the state, citing frustration over mid-decade redistricting, which was part of both the first and second session agendas.
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Chicago Tribune
10 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Texas House Democrats join Chicago anti-Trump protest in Loop
Hundreds of protesters gathered at Millennium Park Saturday afternoon to rally against redistricting efforts in Texas that could give Republicans five additional U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections. They were joined by more than a dozen Texas House Democrats who have stayed in Illinois since Aug. 3 to block the gerrymandering. The legislators urged their supporters across the country to continue opposing the Texas Republicans' efforts. 'Our plan was to wake up the nation,' Texas State Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, D-San Antonio, told the crowd. 'Our plan is to fight in the courts. We hope they're fair this time. Our plan is to make sure our messaging gets to you.' The Texas Democrats intend to return to the Lone Star State Monday, according to a Texas House Democrats spokesperson and Texas State Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston. Saturday's protesters directed much of their frustration at President Donald Trump, who has supported Texas Republicans' proposed map. The rally was one of more than 200 similar protests planned across the country, and follows other coordinated anti-Trump events like the No Kings protest in June and Good Trouble Lives On protest in July. 'I think Trump is genuinely eroding away at our basic democratic freedoms, crippling the legal system, attempting to violate separation of powers,' said Sophia Liu, a student at the University of Chicago who attended the protest Saturday. Protesters heard from members of the Texas delegation and local leaders, including U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez and Chicago Federation of Labor secretary and treasurer Don Villar. Then, they marched down Michigan Avenue and Adams Street to Federal Plaza, chanting 'Whose house? Our house' and 'immigrants are here to stay.' Democrats around the country have attacked the Texas gerrymandering plan for its timing, saying redistricting shouldn't happen in the middle of the decade. As the Texas controversy moved further into the national spotlight, several other states have considered upping their own partisan gerrymandering efforts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, proposed a ballot initiative Thursday to give Democrats five more U.S. House seats, the AP reported. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said earlier this month that though he doesn't want to, he hasn't taken redistricting off the table. Other Republican-controlled states, including Missouri, are also considering, or at least not opposed to, mid-decade partisan redistricting as well. Some protesters were uneasy at the prospect of back-and-forth partisan redistricting. Luke Hopkins, a current graduate student and former U.S. Marine who lives in North Center, said he thinks Texas' redistricting efforts 'are a clear abuse of power' and 'not what democracy is about.' Still, California's response was somewhat 'troubling,' he said shortly after writing 'veterans against Trump' in blue chalk at Federal Plaza. 'You have to fight fire with fire sometimes,' he said. 'I don't think either is very good for democracy overall.' But for Liu, California's pushback is necessary to make sure there's still meaningful opposition to Trump after the midterm elections. 'I can imagine, if another thing like the 'Big Beautiful Bill part two' came out,' it would harm millions of Americans,' she said, referencing the Republican-led federal legislation that heavily cut social services while increasing funding for immigration enforcement. 'And I think that's a greater harm than gerrymandering in the moment.' In the long term, Liu said she would support efforts to end all partisan gerrymandering. But Texas House Democrat leader, State Rep. Gene Wu, said the escalations between Texas, California and other states aren't simply a tit-for-tat political battle. Instead, he said, there was a clear 'attacking' and 'defending' force — comparing the situation to 'Russia invading Ukraine.' 'What California is proposing would only happen if Texas chose to do the wrong thing,' Wu said. With California and other Democratic states' gerrymandering threats in place, Wu said he and his colleagues have a safety net to return to the state, where they are likely to lose the redistricting fight in the Republican-controlled Texas legislature. They look to legally challenge the Republican-drawn maps next, Wu said. 'Our chances in court I think are good,' he said. 'I know we don't trust the courts, but I think this is something that is so racist, so unconstitutional, that the courts cannot look away.'
The Hill
40 minutes ago
- The Hill
Amid bitter partisanship, permitting reform is a golden opportunity for bipartisanship
With states now fighting over redistricting maps, America's two political parties will need an opportunity to work together again. Permitting reform is one issue that is just right for this, even amidst an apparent trifecta. Strengthening American energy production has long been a bipartisan issue, as it fosters economic growth, protects national security, and increases the energy supply to drive down or stabilize utility costs for U.S. households in the face of growing demand. There has never been a better time for it. Done right, it secures American global leadership for another century. While recent debates around tax credits have made this issue seem increasingly partisan, reforming our existing energy permitting process is something on which lawmakers on both sides of the aisle largely already agree. Congress should capitalize on consensus to pass comprehensive permitting reform legislation. Debates surrounding energy tax credits in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, in particular, brought energy production back into the spotlight this year. Reconciliation can leave bitter feelings, but permitting reform has a chance to offer both parties something they dearly want — energy dominance, reduced emissions, fewer arcane rules, and less back and forth political games undermining the development of new energy projects. All energy production would benefit from permitting reform. America's permitting system should be a gateway for energy projects. Right now, it's a bottleneck. Unpredictable processes and delays in approval are bringing new developments to a grinding halt. With the rise of AI and a digital world that increasingly relies on data centers, global energy demand has spiked. Congress is now tasked with ensuring that American energy production can keep pace with this demand and not fall behind foreign adversaries vying for our position as the global leader in innovation and technology. But as of late, lawmakers have remained stagnant on addressing permitting reform. Yet, while demand for all energy production is on the rise, Democrats have a lot less to fear from loosening rules than they may think. The vast majority of projects stuck in grid connection queues are renewable — over 95 percent of proposed new generation capacity is solar or wind. Much-needed reform to the approval process could free up all new projects, strengthen American energy dominance and unleash clean energy all at once. Permitting reform has long been a bipartisan issue. Last year, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), then-ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and then-Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin ( introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 aimed at streamlining and expediting the approvals process. While this legislation was not ultimately passed, it is a prime example of members reaching across the aisle to drive movement on this front. Most recently, a bipartisan group of governors made an urgent call for permitting reform. 'It shouldn't take longer to approve a project than it takes to build it,' said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R). He also highlighted the bipartisan nature of the issue, 'Democrats and Republicans alike recognize permitting delays weaken U.S. economic growth, security and competitiveness. Governors from both parties are working together to inject some common sense into our permitting process.' Voters in both parties agree. Recent polling conducted by Cygnal found that two-thirds of respondents agree that Congress should modernize permitting rules to accelerate completion of energy projects and reduce long-term cost pressures. Some conservative stalwarts will never support anything they see as helping clean energy, while some environmental activists are more concerned with punishing fossil fuel companies than they are with actually addressing climate change. These short-sighted visions represent the horseshoe of scarcity, decline and pessimism that has plagued American energy politics for decades. They believe we can succeed only by taking from the other side. America cannot afford delay. A dangerous world requires energy dominance in all industries, including new ones like clean energy. Moreover, Americans deserve to know that they will have reliable, accessible energy needed to power their businesses and residences. Permitting reform will make energy access more reliable, more abundant, cheaper and much cleaner. All Americans, and our planet, will win. The only losers will be those profiteering from political polarization. With some energy tax credits phasing out sooner than originally planned, many energy producers want to act swiftly to get new projects up and running. The permitting process, as it stands, is their biggest obstacle. As we head into the fall, our lawmakers should keep the cross-partisan opportunity on permitting reform top of mind. Liam deClive-Lowe is the co-founder of American Policy Ventures, an organization that builds projects to help policymakers collaborate and get things done.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
NYT columnist claims Trump and Abbott's Texas redistricting plans are 'mustard gas on our democracy'
New York Times opinion columnist David Brooks claimed that President Donald Trump ordered Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, to rhetorically use "mustard gas" on American democracy by launching redistricting efforts. Texas Republicans, encouraged by the Trump administration, are pursuing a congressional map aimed at adding up to five GOP-leaning districts, prompting fierce backlash and counteraction. Texas Democrats have fled the Lone Star State to Democratic-stronghold states. Their goal is to break quorum and halt the vote. As first noticed by NewsBusters, Brooks appeared on "PBS NewsHour" on Friday, where he was asked if he believed that politics had boiled down to nothing more than an indefinite power struggle between the two parties. He told "NewsHour" co-anchor Amna Nawaz, "I understand the argument. But let's do a little ethical experiment here. You're in World War I. The Germans use mustard gas on civilians, and it helps them. Do you then decide, 'Okay, we're going to use mustard gas on civilians?'" he responded. "What Trump ordered Abbott to do in Texas is mustard gas on our democracy. Some people would feel, 'Okay, that was terrible. We have to fight that. It's horrible. It's horrible. But we're going to fight back. It's just — that's war.'" Brooks was also critical of redistricting efforts on the other side of the political aisle, slamming California Gov. Gavin Newsom for his role in helping to "destroy our democracy." "Gavin Newsom is leaping into this with both legs. And, to me, there's a moral stain that will accompany anybody who does this, because basically they are destroying our democracy," he said. "You don't let politicians pick voters. You let voters pick politicians." The New York Times opinion columnist asserted that those who oppose gerrymandering are "the ones defending democracy," and warned that the opposing parties' redistricting battle is a "race to the bottom." Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced last week that California will move forward with a plan for a special election in early November to place its own redistricting plan on a ballot measure before voters. The Golden State governor said the move was a counterpunch to Texas and was being done in a transparent fashion, but would also likely see Democrats pick up five seats if the measure is adopted. The plan would allow Democrats to temporarily bypass the state's independent redistricting commission and adopt a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections. While Brooks was critical of Newsom's decision to fight fire with fire on the redistricting front, he noted that the California governor wasn't the one who started the battle. "I fully grant you that Trump started it. So I'm not saying it's totally morally equivalent. But there's a moral stain. And what's going to happen is, people are going to say, 'It's those politicians,'" he argued. In closing, Brooks contended that the real losers in this scenario would be the voters and that the politicians working on redistricting are "literally disenfranchising people." "Loss of faith in the system, loss of faith in democracy, and literally less democracy, because, if you are a Texas voter or a California voter, or if New York does it or if Missouri does it, whoever — all the states that are going to do this, you are literally disenfranchising people, because you can pick the district so carefully that the voters don't matter so much," he concluded. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Governor Abbott's office for comment.
