Pritzker's gerrymander jab draws fire
TOP TALKER
MAP MOVES: Gov. JB Pritzker scolded Texas Republicans and President Donald Trump this week for their brazen attempts to redraw congressional maps in the Lone Star State with the goal of giving GOP candidates an even cushier ride to Washington.
No cheating: That the president is 'encouraging Texas — and Texas being willing to do this — should be an indicator to the rest of us that if they're going to cheat, that that's not a proper way to act,' Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference. 'I think we ought to play by the rules. Everybody.'
Illinois Republicans did a spit take. 'It's rich that the governor now claims to support playing by the rules — after he enthusiastically signed into law the most gerrymandered maps in the nation,' said Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie.
'Phony' and 'disingenuous' is how state Rep. Ryan Spain, the deputy minority leader, put it.
The backstory: In 2021, when Democrats worried the House might slip from their grasp, Illinois Democrats approached redistricting with surgical precision — eliminating two Republican congressional seats and reinforcing their own fortress in D.C.
How it changed: Illinois, which lost a seat due to population changes, went from having 13 Democrats and five Republicans in Congress to 14 Democrats and three Republicans.
This week, Pritzker left open the possibility of more map tweaking. Asked if Illinois would try to 'counterbalance' what Texas might do, Pritzker said: 'We have to see what they decide to do about Texas.'
We reached out to lawmakers on the redistricting committee to see if there's any appetite for another round of map-making. No one responded. And a spokesman for Senate President Don Harmon told Capitol News' Ben Szalinski, 'That's not something we're pursuing.'
Redistricting 'overreach' can be a risk, says Ryan Tolley, executive director of CHANGE Illinois, which supports fair mapping. He pointed to how Illinois lawmakers also carved up state legislative districts in southern Illinois, with the goal of favoring Democratic incumbents LaToya Greenwood and Jay Hoffman.
But the outcome backfired. Greenwood lost.
'Democrats run the risk of creating thin margin districts. The big question would be whether they could pick up a seat,' Tolley said. And if they don't, 'they could end up hurting more than helping.'
That might not stop Democrats, however. One political strategist we talked to acknowledged, 'There's always more you can do,' a reminder that gerrymandering is a bipartisan blood sport that's never really over.
RELATED
Obama to headline fundraiser in response to GOP redistricting efforts, by POLITICO's Andrew Howard
THE BUZZ
REALITY BITES: Mayor Brandon Johnson's CFO says a property tax hike is 'likely' in the 2026 budget, via Bloomberg's Isabela Fleischmann and Romaine Bostick.
'It is likely that that will be part of the package,' Jill Jaworski said at Bloomberg's New Voices event in Chicago. 'We haven't rolled out the full package yet, but the package is going to include cuts [in expenditures], and it is going to include proposals for increasing our revenues.'
Jaworski also talked at length about what the city is doing to attract new business, the city's tax burden — and areas of the city that work. Watch it here
From the Tribune: Johnson's team emphasized the budget was not yet finalized and that the mayor 'is focused on identifying progressive revenue opportunities that ensure that the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share and that this budget is not balanced on the backs of working people,' report A.D. Quig and Jake Sheridan.
RELATED
Chicago Public Schools is grappling with a massive budget deficit: 'District officials say they expect to save about $165 million after laying off some central office staff and crossing guards this summer. But leaders are still searching for $569 million in either savings or revenue,' by WBEZ's Sarah Karp.
If you are LaToya Greenwood, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@politico.com
WHERE'S JB
At the State of Illinois Building at 1:30 p.m. to celebrate the building being renamed the Jesse White State of Illinois Building
At 2300 South State Street at 1:15 p.m. for a ribbon-cutting at 23rd Place at Southbridge
Where's Toni
At the Cook County Building at 9 a.m. to preside over a County Commission meeting — At the Cook County Building at 12:45 p.m. to spotlight a youth and the arts movement — At the State of Illinois Building at 1:30 p.m. for its renaming
Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or a (gasp!) complaint? Email skapos@politico.com
MORNING MONEY: CAPITAL RISK — POLITICO's flagship financial newsletter has a new Friday edition built for the economic era we're living in: one shaped by political volatility, disruption and a wave of policy decisions with sector-wide consequences. Each week, Morning Money: Capital Risk brings sharp reporting and analysis on how political risk is moving markets and how investors are adapting. Want to know how health care regulation, tariffs, or court rulings could ripple through the economy? Start here.
BUSINESS OF POLITICS
— MAKING IT OFFICIAL: State Rep. Margaret Croke is officially launching her campaign for state comptroller today, promoting a 'Rule of 3' video, with a hat tip to juggling her three children. Croke has served nearly five years in the Illinois General Assembly and before that worked in the governor's office.
'Our state comptroller can't control what happens in Washington, but they can ensure Illinois' finances are managed with efficiency, transparency and oversight,' she said in a statement announcing her campaign. 'With the chaos coming out of the Trump administration, strong leadership at the state level is more important than ever before.'
— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: In IL-07, Richard Boykin, the former county commissioner, will kick off his campaign for Congress with businessman Willie Wilson at his side. Details here
— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: George Alpogianis is launching his campaign for 9th District Democratic State Central committeeman, and he's being endorsed by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, state Sen. Laura Murphy, state Rep. Kevin Olickal and Niles Township Supervisor Bonnie Kahn Ognisanti, according to his team.
— Senate race: Robin Kelly pledges to confirm only pro-LGBTQ+ judges in U.S. Senate bid, by Jake Wittich in the Windy City Times
— In IL-09: Daniel Biss has been endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 742, representing Evanston's fire and EMS personnel. It's the first labor endorsement in the race. Biss, the mayor of Evanston, is running for the open seat now held by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who's retiring after 2026.
— Robert Carroll is seeking the Democratic nomination for DuPage County sheriff, where he was a top aide. 'I'm running because every resident deserves to feel safe, respected and heard — no matter where they live, what they look like, or where they come from.' he said in launching his campaign. More from the Daily Herald's Susan Sarkauskas.
ILLINOIS' POPE
— Legislation aims to protect pope's U.S. citizenship: 'The measure would exempt popes with U.S. citizenship from federal tax obligations, and prevent their citizenship from being revoked during their tenure as supreme pontiff,' by The Pillar's Jack Figge.
CHICAGO
— Startup joins Chicago's growing quantum campus, plans to build its own computer: 'Infleqtion, a startup with roots in Boulder, Colo., and Chicago, says it will build a commercial quantum computer at the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park planned for the former U.S. Steel mill on the South Side,' by Crain's John Pletz.
— City investing $40M to improve conditions at 7 homeless shelters, by Block Club's Michael Liptrot
— Feds want 15 months for ex-City Club President Jay Doherty in ComEd Madigan plot, by the Sun-Times' Jon Seidel
— SCOOP: Ex-Loretto leader and pal accused of stealing millions are living large in Dubai, by Block Club's Kelly Bauer
— University of Chicago considers restructuring arts and humanities division to cut costs, by the Tribune's Kate Armanini
COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS
— Harvey, Ill., to lay off about 10 percent of its city workforce: 'After every effort to avoid cuts — including eliminating discretionary spending, enforcing tax compliance and making painful operational adjustments — we have no choice,' said Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark, via CBS 2's Adam Harrington and John Odenthal.
— Crystal Lake Park District holds another contentious meeting as board cleared of violating Open Meeting Act: 'Yelling, booing mark session,' by the Northwest Herald's Michelle Meyer.
— Ex-Worth Township supervisor gets probation in Oak Lawn red-light camera bribery case, by the Tribune's Jason Meisner
SPOTTED
— Happy anniversary! New Chicago Consulting, headed by managing partners Tom Bowen, Christina Nowinski Wurst and Tracy Mayfield celebrated their 11 years in business earlier this week with a gathering of friends and clients. In the room: Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Ald. Jason Ervin, city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, former Deputy Gov. Jesse Ruiz, County Commissioner Scott Britton and former Congresswoman and Mercury Public Affairs partner Cheri Bustos.
Reader Digest
We asked about crazy things you've seen on the El.
Bob Kieckhefer: 'Ronnie Woo Woo on the Red Line headed to Wrigley.'
Kevin Lampe: 'The excitement of arriving at Comiskey Park (Yes, that is still the name to me.) or Wrigley Field and the emotional discharge depending on the outcome of the game at departure.'
Ed Mazur: 'Red Line: a man with a squawking chicken perched on his head. Honestly.'
Tara Price: 'One time my law school roommate and I saw the bare behind of a gentleman through his ripped jeans as he stood up, leaned against the railing of the seats directly in front of us. Some things you wish you could unsee.'
Josh Witkowski: 'I've seen guys openly selling weed while moving car to car.'
NEXT QUESTION: What policy or law noticeably improved your community?
KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION
— Congressman Mike Quigley (IL-05), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, criticized Donald Trump's social media attacks on President Barack Obama, saying Trump's use of an AI-generated video of Obama was 'deeply unsettling,' according to a statement. Earlier this week, Trump accused Obama of 'treason' over an investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election.
THE NATIONAL TAKE
— Appeals court finds Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship unconstitutional, by The Associated Press. The move drew praise from Illinois Atty. Gen. Kwame Raoul. 'The universal injunction was both necessary and appropriate. As a birthright citizen, I will not stop fighting to protect the constitutionally protected right to citizenship that is unquestionably guaranteed to all children born in this country to parents who are not yet naturalized citizens.'
— 'POTUS is clearly furious': White House is frustrated by all-consuming Epstein coverage, by POLITICO's Rachael Bade
— Trump's 'massive' deal with Japan is giving US automakers heartburn, by POLITICO's Daniel Desrochers and Chris Marquette
— Supreme Court green-lights Trump's firing of consumer product safety regulators, by POLITICO's Josh Gerstein
TRANSITIONS
— Adrienne White-Faines has been named president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. She starts in September. Most recently White-Faines was chief strategy officer for the American College of Physicians. The Tribune's Lisa Schencker has more.
— Kara Spak is now media senior director at the 120/80 Group, a digital health marketing firm. She was a Northwestern hospital media relations manager and earlier a Sun-Times reporter.
EVENTS
— Saturday: State Rep. Adam Niemerg's free fishing derby for kids ages 4 to 15 will be held at Sam Parr. Details here
TRIVIA
WEDNESDAY's ANSWER: Congrats to Mary Kay Minaghan for correctly answering that a traditional 'Chicago handshake' is a shot-and-a-beer combo of Heileman's Old Style and Malört.
TODAY's QUESTION: What Chicago location was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006? Email your answer to: skapos@politico.com.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, former Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers, Lockport Township Supervisor Alex Zapién, entrepreneur Michael Ferro, Holtz Industries President James Straus, WGN Radio's Anna Davlantes and Global Strategy Group's Nicole Jaconetty
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New York Post
15 minutes ago
- New York Post
Left-wing hedge fund D.E. Shaw fears ‘reprisals' over DEI from Trump administration: sources
Staffers at the notoriously secretive hedge fund D.E. Shaw fear the wildly lucrative left-wing firm could face 'reprisals' from the Trump administration over its woke DEI policies, The Post has learned. The New York-based powerhouse founded by billionaire David E. Shaw — whose algorithm-driven trades made it the most profitable hedge fund in 2024, raking in $11.1 billion for investors, according to Institutional Investor magazine — has grown remarkably quiet of late when it comes to diversity, equality, and inclusion, sources said. D.E. Shaw did not respond to The Post's emailed request for comment for this article. 8 Billionaire David E. Shaw, who has a long history of donating to Democrats, founded the money-spinning firm in 1988. YouTube/WebsEdge Science The company, which gave a young Jeff Bezos his big break in finance before he set up Amazon in 1994, has promoted DEI policies for years. A June 2019 memo obtained by The Post that was written by managing director Eddie Fishman encouraged staffers 'to display their pronouns' that 'align with their gender identity' in their emails so managers could 'foster an inclusive culture.' 8 The June 2019 memo. Obtained by the NY Post But a review by The Post of archived pages from D.E. Shaw's website shows that its DEI language has since been scrubbed, including references to how the firm 'actively promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion.' Now, its site merely says it's seeking 'talented people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds.' One insider said top brass at the Wall Street firm — whose 74-year-old namesake helped bankroll the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — made 'a strategic move' to steer away from full-throated wokeness over fear of catching the attention of the White House. 'There was some concern that aggressive policies would make the firm a target for reprisals by the current administration,' the source said. 'And we were about as aggressive as you could get.' 'They were going 100 miles an hour on DEI in public, only then to drop to zero and fall off a cliff,' said another staffer. 'The communications have certainly been ratcheted back,' claimed a third employee. 'It's not as in-your-face as it once was.' 8 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos met his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott while working at D.E. Shaw. The then-couple quit in 1994 when Bezos set up the online retail giant. REUTERS 8 Top DOJ lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon issued a stern warning to corporate America in a Senate hearing on July 23: 'The goal is clear: either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it.' CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images D.E. Shaw's retreat follows a Supreme Court ruling last month and a White House-led crackdown on corporate DEI policies, which critics say lower performance standards and foster so-called reverse discrimination. Top Department of Justice lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, issued the starkest of warnings to corporate America during a testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 23. 'The goal is clear: either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it,' the top Trump administration official said. Nevertheless, five sources with direct knowledge of the matter told The Post that executives at the company — founded by computer scientist Shaw in 1988 after he did stints at Stanford, Columbia and Morgan Stanley — are still paying lip service to wokeness to the rank and file. 'They have said internally that our commitment and programs regarding DEI are not changing,' said another senior D.E. Shaw source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'They have themselves in a bit of a bind. They went hardcore DEI to appear progressive and cater to liberal recruits,' a veteran of the firm added. 'Internally, they are putting a brave face on it. But they are now very worried that the administration will start looking into them.' 8 President Trump has ordered the DOJ to crack down on the DEI policies that flourished under the Biden-Harris administration. Bloomberg via Getty Images 8 The woke job placements mysteriously disappeared from the DE Shaw website after The Post approached the firm for comment about its DEI policies. Fearing Trump's ire, the hedge fund appears to have axed its 'inclusive' Bridge internship. The program was set up in 2016 for 'historically underrepresented' groups in finance. The 'woke' job placement schemes still featured prominently on D.E. Shaw's website last week. But they have now been deleted after The Post approached the firm for comment on their DEI policies on Friday. According to an archived version of D.E. Shaw's Campus website — an online recruitment portal — the firm created three programs aimed at diverse recruitment. Its 'Discovery' program was 'designed for students who self-identify as women', while 'Momentum' was aimed at those 'who self-identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community D.E. Shaw also had a program called 'Latitude,' which was 'for students who self-identify as Native American or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.' 8 One scheme called Momentum was open to students who self-identify as part of the 'LGBTQIA+ community.' Other Wall Street giants including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Bank of America and Jamie Dimon's JPMorgan Chase have scaled back their public commitments to DEI. The Post reported exclusively how Goldman decided to give woke the boot — on its website at least — when its partners met with CEO David Solomon in Miami in February. The Post attempted to speak to additional employees at D.E. Shaw, but they declined, citing fears of retribution from D.E. Shaw's management, which has even been known to weigh in on whether employees can attend social gatherings with people who have left the company. 'It is definitely something that people are talking about at the firm,' a separate person briefed on the matter told The Post. 'The irony is that the whole firm is still very white and very male,' said another source. 8 Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is one of the biggest names among the DE Shaw alumni. He served both the second Clinton and first Obama administrations. Getty Images The hedge fund's leadership team counts two females, Alexis Halaby and managing director Anne Dinning, amongst its ranks. The firm last made major headlines in 2022 when it was forced to pay a $52 million defamation settlement to one of its former rising stars, Dan Michalow, after an arbitration panel found that it had falsely accused him of sexual misconduct. Michalow, who always denied any wrongdoing, left the company not long after the start of the #MeToo movement, where hundreds of rich and powerful men were accused of sexual misdeeds. Aside from Amazon's Bezos and his ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, D.E. Shaw's most famous alum is arguably Lawrence Summers. He served as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton and as director of Barack Obama's National Economic Council.
USA Today
15 minutes ago
- USA Today
Women's history museum has been a long time coming. Congress is trying again.
Lawmakers are renewing a bipartisan effort to buld a women's history museum on the National Mall. WASHINGTON ‒ In a rare Congressional effort crossing party lines, Democrat and GOP lawmakers are calling for funding for a new women's history museum on the National Mall that would join museums celebrating African American and Native American history. Supporters of the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum said it's important to have a place to showcase the critical role of women in the United States. 'Our nation's history has been shaped by strong, trailblazing women whose stories deserve to be told,'' Florida Rep. Kat Cammack, co-chair of the Republican Women's Caucus, said in a statement. 'Sharing those stories is the first step in honoring their monumental accomplishments.'' Members of the Democratic Women's Caucus and the Republican Women's Caucus sent a letter July 21 urging a congressional committee to support funding for the museum. The effort faces major hurdles, including the Trump administration's campaign to eliminate diversity initiatives and a push by Republican congressional leaders to drastically cut federal spending. 'It feels like just an absolute Herculean effort to even get people to remember that we are still fighting for this,'' Rep. Hillary Scholten, a Democrat from Michigan, told USA TODAY. 'It's just been such a challenging effort.' Bipartisanship effort 'truly unique' Republican and Democratic women lawmakers, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., have long pushed for the museum to join other Smithsonian Institution museums, including the National Museum of the American Indian and the National African American Museum of History and Culture. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, and the late Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, introduced a measure in 2020 to establish the museum. Congress approved a package that included the women's history museum and the National Museum of the American Latino. Then-President Donald Trump signed the legislation. There have been related bills over the years, including one to build the museum on the National Mall and another to fund it. Scholten and others acknowledge the challenge to get funding this year, but urged the House Appropriations Committee last week to include it in a spending bill. 'We wanted to make it a priority, to put the women's history (museum) top of mind because as things are getting shut down, we want to say, 'Not this one. Remember how important this is as we move forward,'' she said. The fact that both Democrats and Republicans support the museum should help, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. 'It's wonderful to see that this is coming from women on both sides of the aisle,'' she said. Scholten, a vice chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, said some women lawmakers are banding together around the issue. She noted there are a few other bipartisan efforts this Congress, including the congressional softball team. '(We) are united in making this happen so that we can tell the stories of women changemakers over the years,' she said. 'So many important stories that need to be told' While it has had bipartisan support, some Republican lawmakers have objected to the creation of museums they say are based on 'group identity.'' In 2020, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, blocked legislation to create the Latino and women's history museums saying 'the last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation." The Trump administration has pushed to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across all federal agencies. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order blasting institutions he said spread 'divisive ideology.' That order named some Smithsonian Institution museums, including the women's history museum. More: Trump sets sights on national African American history museum More: Civil rights leaders rally around National Museum of African American History Walsh said while efforts to share histories of women and people of color are labeled as DEI or dangerous, they help fill gaps in telling the nation's history. 'It isn't taught in schools and young people, young women and young men – all of us – need to know this history,' she said. Trump has shown signs of support for the women's history museum. At an event at the White House in March, Trump told Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., he supported her bipartisan bill to put the museum on the National Mall. 'You get that going and we're going to back it 100%,'' he said at an event this spring. Scholten said supporters welcome a meeting with Trump to discuss the museum. 'We would love to have an audience with him and explain the importance of this museum and why there's no reason it shouldn't be able to happen right now,'' she said.
Los Angeles Times
15 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom responds to Trump's gutter politics
SACRAMENTO — In fighting President Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom reminds me of actor Gene Hackman's hard-nosed character in the movie 'Mississippi Burning.' Hackman plays a take-no-prisoners FBI agent, Rupert Anderson, who is investigating the disappearance of three young civil rights workers in racially segregated 1964 Mississippi. His partner and boss is stick-by-the-rules agent Alan Ward, played by Willem Dafoe. The 1988 film is loosely based on a true story. The two agents eventually find the victims' murdered bodies and apprehend the Ku Klux Klan killers after Anderson persuades Ward to discard his high-road rule book in dealing with uncooperative local white folks. 'Don't drag me into your gutter, Mr. Anderson,' Ward sternly tells his underling initially. Anderson shouts back: 'These people are crawling out of the SEWER, MR. WARD! Maybe the gutter's where we oughta be.' And it's where they go. Only then do they solve the case. Newsom contends Trump is playing gutter politics by pressuring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the GOP-controlled Legislature to redraw the state's U.S. House seats in an effort to elect five additional Republicans in next year's midterm elections. House seats normally are redrawn only at the beginning of a decade after the decennial census. Democrats need to gain just three net seats to retake control of the House and end the GOP's one-party rule of the federal government. Trump is trying to prevent that by browbeating Texas and other red states into gerrymandering their Democrat-held House districts into GOP winners. Republicans currently hold 25 of Texas' 38 House seats. Democrats have 12. In California, it's just the opposite — even more so. Out of 52 seats, Democrats outnumber Republicans 43 to 9, with room to make it even more lopsided. 'We could make it so that only four Republicans are left,' says Sacramento-based redistricting guru Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc. Mitchell already is crafting potential new maps in case Newsom follows through with his threat to retaliate against Texas by redrawing California's districts to help Democrats gain five seats, neutralizing Republican gains in the Lone Star State. Newsom and the Legislature would be seizing redistricting responsibility from an independent citizens' commission that voters created in 2010. They took the task away from lawmakers because the politicians were acting only in their own self-interest, effectively choosing their own voters. As they do in Texas and most states, particularly red ones. But the governor and Democrats would be ignoring California voters' will — at least as stated 15 years ago. And Newsom would be down in the political gutter with Trump on redistricting. But that doesn't seem to bother him. 'They're playing by a different set of rules,' Newsom recently told reporters, referring to Trump and Republicans. 'They can't win by the traditional game. So they want to change the game. We can act holier than thou. We could sit on the sidelines, talk about the way the world should be. Or we can recognize the existential nature that is the moment.' Newsom added that 'everything has changed' since California voters banned gerrymandering 15 years ago. That's indisputable given Trump's bullying tactics and his inhumane domestic policies. 'I'm not going to be the guy that said, 'I could have, would have, should have,'' Newsom continued. 'I'm not going to be passive at this moment. I'm not going to look at my kids in the eyes and say, 'I was a little timid.'' Newsom's own eyes, of course, are on the White House and a potential 2028 presidential bid. He sees a national opportunity now to attract frustrated Democratic voters who believe that party leaders aren't fighting hard enough against Trump. Newsom continued to echo Hackman's script Friday at a news conference in Sacramento with Texas Democratic legislators. Referring to Trump and Texas Republicans, Newsom asserted: 'They're not screwing around. We cannot afford to screw around. We have to fight fire with fire.' But yakking about redrawing California's congressional maps is easy. Actually doing it would be exceedingly difficult. 'Texas can pass a plan tomorrow. California cannot,' says Tony Quinn, a former Republican consultant on legislative redistricting. Unlike in California, there's no Texas law that forbids blatant gerrymandering. California's Constitution requires redistricting by the independent commission. Moreover, a 1980s state Supreme Court ruling allows only one redistricting each decade, Quinn says. Trying to gerrymander California congressional districts through legislation without first asking the voters' permission would be criminally stupid. Newsom would need to call a special election for November and persuade voters to temporarily suspend the Constitution, allowing the Legislature to redraw the districts. Or the Legislature could place a gerrymandered plan on the ballot and seek voter approval. But that would be risky. A specific plan could offer several targets for the opposition — the GOP and do-gooder groups. In either case, new maps would need to be drawn by the end of the year to fit the June 2026 primary elections. Mitchell says polling shows that the independent commission is very popular with voters. Still, he asserts, 'there's something in the water right now. There's potential that voters will not want to let Trump run ramshackle while we're being Pollyannish.' 'The reality is that a lot of Democrats would hit their own thumb with a hammer if they thought it would hurt Trump more.' Mitchell also says that California could out-gerrymander Texas by not only weakening current GOP seats but by strengthening competitive Democratic districts. Texas doesn't have that opportunity, he says, because its districts already have been heavily gerrymandered. Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio says Newsom is 'trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube' and doubts it will work. 'Unilaterally disarming was a mistake. 'But Newsom's not wrong. They play hardball. We don't.' Newsom and California Democrats should fight Trump and Texas Republicans in the MAGA gutter, using all weapons available. As Hackman's character also says: 'Don't mean s— to have a gun unless you (sic) ready to use it.' The must-read: Texas Republicans aim to redraw House districts at Trump's urging, but there's a risk The TK: The Age-Checked Internet Has Arrived The L.A. Times Special: Trump's top federal prosecutor in L.A. struggles to secure indictments in protest cases Until next week,George Skelton —Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
