Texas governor orders arrest of Democrats who fled Trump-backed gerrymander stoush
Gerrymandering has a long history in the US, with both sides of politics implicated. Earlier, in an interview on Fox News, Abbott conceded the proposed map constituted electoral gerrymandering, but said it was legal.
'Gerrymandering can be done, or drawing lines can be done, on the basis of political make-up, as in Republican versus Democrat, and there's nothing illegal about that,' Abbott said.
'We have the authority, legally under redistricting law, to draw districts that align with the voter preferences of the voters of the state of Texas.'
Democrats who fled to New York and Chicago scoffed at the governor's threats of arrest, noting subpoenas in Texas would not affect them interstate.
Loading
But they also pressed the seriousness of the situation, arguing the Republicans' push to redistrict electorates was a dark moment for the country.
'When a president can pressure a state to rig maps in favour of one political party, we've lost touch with the democratic process,' the Texas arm of the Democrats party said on social media.
Democrat representative James Talarico said Republicans talked tough and made threats on social media, 'but when Donald Trump comes calling, all they can do is bend the knee, all they can do is bend over'.
The stoush over electoral boundaries comes as Texas continues to recover from devastating floods last month that killed more than 135 people, including dozens of children.
Loading
In Washington, Republicans are defending a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives and would ordinarily be expected to lose seats at the midterm elections under a Republican president. In 2018, Democrats won 41 seats and control of the chamber.
Trump currently enjoys a Republican majority in the House and Senate, but his agenda would be frustrated for the remainder of his term if the House were to flip.
Australian election analyst Ben Raue said US political parties were getting more sophisticated in their partisan gerrymandering, using computer programs with large amounts of data that often produced boundaries that were highly unusual in shape.
'As the norms of American democracy are broken down, it's become more acceptable to more brazenly attempt to distort the playing field,' Raue said.
Loading
Elissa Slotkin, a Democratic senator from Michigan, said it was time for the entire US to abandon the partisan gerrymander and adopt an independent civic commission to draw 'rational lines' based on geography, as her home state did in 2018.
'This is something that both parties do … blue states and red states often engage in partisan redrawing,' she acknowledged in a video. 'This to me is a real problem for democracy.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
9 minutes ago
- ABC News
Why a showdown over Texas congressional districts could shape Trump's presidential future
Texas has become the site of a massive political showdown that could have a direct influence on US President Donald Trump's ability to continue his agenda. Democrats have scattered to friendly states across the country and warrants have been issued for their arrest. At the core of the fight is a map that could be key to Republicans retaining their majority in Congress. Here's a basic breakdown of the stoush. In late July, Texas Republicans put forward a proposal to redraw the state's congressional map. The map lays out the borders of Texas's 38 congressional districts (equivalent to Australia's federal electorates), which each vote for a politician to represent them in the US House of Representatives. Texas Democrats were quick to point out the new version of the map would result in Republicans gaining five seats. That's a tactic known as gerrymandering, where districts are redrawn to include more voters in favour of one party to give a political advantage. Democrats didn't support the proposal, but because they don't hold power in the Texas state legislature, they were unable to vote it down. So instead, they fled the state to prevent a vote entirely. Governor Greg Abbott retaliated by ordering the arrest of the Democrats and threatening to have them removed from office. The battle in Texas holds massive repercussions for Mr Trump's power at a federal level. Republicans currently only hold the US House of Representatives by a very fine margin of 219-212. But they are expected to lose seats in the midterm elections next year, when all members of the US House of Representatives stand for re-election. It means the Republicans are at serious risk of losing their majority. Redistricting Texas would give them a five-seat cushion, which could be what saves them from losing the majority. If Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, Mr Trump would need to negotiate with his opponents to get laws passed. Yes. The Supreme Court found in 2006 that there was nothing in the US Constitution that prevented Texas from redrawing its districts. In 2009, the court also found there were no judicial powers to stop districts from being redrawn for partisan advantage. Mr Abbott argues redistricting is necessary to better reflect voters who supported Mr Trump in the 2024 election, when he easily won Texas. "Gerrymandering can be done, or drawing lines, can be done on the basis of political makeup, as in Republicans versus Democrats, and there's nothing illegal about that," he said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. "All of these districts that are being added are districts that were won by Trump." Republicans hold the majority in the Texas State Legislature, so if the redistricting went to a vote, it would have been passed. Democrats sized up their limited power and options, and decided their only chance to put the brakes on the redistricting was to block the vote from going ahead at all. The Texas constitution requires at least two-thirds of the state's House of Representatives to be present when conducting legislative business. With 150 seats in the House, that means at least 100 representatives are needed, and while they don't have the majority, Democrats do hold 62 seats. As long as 51 are out of state, the House can't hold the redistricting vote. It hasn't worked when they've tried it in the past. They did so twice in 2003 to stop Republicans from redrawing voter maps. In 2021, Democrats fled for 38 days over an elections bill and new voting restrictions. These efforts only delayed the measures they were seeking to thwart — all were eventually passed when Democrats returned to Austin. The current legislature session runs until August 19, but Mr Abbott could keep calling 30-day special sessions until enough Democrats return. But districts need to be approved before the opening of Texas candidate filing for the 2026 midterms on November 8. So for Democrats to succeed with their current strategy, at least 51 would need to stay out of the state until then. Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu says Democrats will do "whatever it takes" to stop the proposal. Legal experts and even Republican state Attorney-General Ken Paxton say it would be difficult to enforce consequences against the Democrats while they are safely camped out in sympathetic states. "Until they show up themselves back in Texas, sometimes it's hard to actually execute on that," Mr Paxton said in an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson. When Democrats left Texas in 2021, the Texas Supreme Court held that House leaders had the authority to "physically compel the attendance" of missing members. But no Democrats were forcibly brought back to Texas after warrants were served. While House Speaker Dustin Burrows has issued civil arrest warrants for the missing Democrats, it's unclear whether they can or will be enforced outside Texas's borders. Mr Abbott has ordered the state troopers to find and arrest the Democrats, threatened to have them removed from office and has officially asked the state's highest court to remove Mr Wu, arguing he has vacated his seat. The attorney-general said having seats declared vacated could be a long process, and would require individual lawsuits filed against each missing representative. Still, Mr Paxton said he would press ahead with lawsuits if the Democrats had not returned by Friday. "We'll see where it goes," Republican state senator Charles Perry said. The Democrats will likely be hit with a hefty bill, though. Refusing to show up for a legislative session is a civil violation of legislative rules, and each representative can be fined $500 for every day they are not at the Capitol. Democratic-controlled states have warned if Texas goes ahead with redistricting, they could so the same. California Governor Gavin Newsom has asked politicians in his state to find ways for the Democrats to increase their majority. Governors Kathy Hochul in New York and JB Pritzker in Illinois have made similar calls. "Everything's on the table," Mr Pritzker wrote in a post on X. "Republicans are using every method they can, whether it's cheating or breaking the law. "We've got to do everything we can to stand up and fight back — we're not sitting around and complaining from the sidelines when we have the ability to stop them." Republicans are looking beyond Texas, too. Vice-President JD Vance is expected to bring the redistricting fight to Indiana as he meets with Governor Mike Braun on Thursday. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has suggested he may pursue redistricting, too. ABC/wires
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Trump to put additional 25pct import taxes on India
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to place an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil. It brings the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 per cent. The tariffs would go into effect 21 days after the signing of the order, meaning both India and Russia might have time to negotiate with the administration on the import taxes. Trump's moves could scramble the economic trajectory of India, which until recently was seen as an alternative to China by American companies looking to relocate their manufacturing. China also buys oil from Russia, but it was not included in the order signed by the Republican president. As part of a negotiating period with Beijing, Trump has placed 30 per cent tariffs on goods from China, a rate that is smaller than the combined import taxes with which he has threatened New Delhi. Trump had previewed for reporters that the tariffs would be coming. During an event in the Oval Office on Wednesday, local time, with Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Trump affirmed the 50 per cent tariff number, not giving a specific answer as to whether additional tariffs on India would be dropped if there were a deal between Russia and Ukraine. "We'll determine that later," Trump said. "But right now they're paying a 50 per cent tariff." The White House said on Wednesday that Trump could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the war. The Indian government called the additional tariffs "unfortunate". "We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, adding that India would take all actions necessary to protect its interests. Jaiswal said India has already made its stand clear that the country's imports were based on market factors and were part of an overall objective of ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people. Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official, said the latest tariff places the country among the most heavily taxed US trading partners and far above rivals such as China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. "The tariffs are expected to make Indian goods far costlier with the potential to cut exports by around 40-50 per cent to the US," he said. Srivastava said Trump's decision was "hypocritical" because China bought more Russian oil than India did in 2024. "Washington avoids targeting Beijing because of China's leverage over critical minerals which are vital for US defence and technology," he said. In 2024, the US ran a $US45.8 billion ($A70.4 billion) trade deficit in goods with India, meaning America imported more from India than it exported, according to the US Census Bureau. American consumers and businesses buy pharmaceutical drugs, precious stones and textiles and apparel from India, among other goods. As the world's largest nation, India represented a way for the US to counter China's influence in Asia. But India has not supported the Ukraine-related sanctions by the US and its allies on Moscow even as India's leaders have maintained that they want peace. The US and China are currently in negotiations on trade, with Washington imposing a 30 per cent tariff on Chinese goods and facing a 10 per cent retaliatory tax from Beijing on American products. The planned tariffs on India contradict past efforts by the Biden administration and other nations in the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations that encouraged India to buy cheap Russian oil through a price cap imposed in 2022.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Why have dozens of Texas Democrats fled the state?
The political fight over the congressional map in Texas risks spilling over into other parts of the United States, as Democrat leaders threaten retaliation in other blue states like California and New York. More than 50 Texas Democrats have fled the state to deny the Republicans a quorum and block the federal redistricting vote, which they claim entrenches a gerrymander. If passed, it may also give US President Donald Trump an advantage in next year's mid-terms.
