Abbott hitting reset in Texas redistricting standoff

The Hill

a day ago

TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R) said Tuesday he'll call for another special session this week to redraw the state's congressional district maps, as he seeks to wait out the Texas Democrats who have fled for blue states across the country.
Texas Democrats bolted from the state more than a week ago, denying the state legislature the quorum needed to hold a vote in the current special session.
Abbott believes time is on his side and says he'll continue calling for new special sessions until the missing Democrats return home.
'The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans,' Abbott said. 'There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed.'
The missing Democrats have shown no indication they intend to return home, even as they incur daily fines.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Tuesday called for the arrest of former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), whose political group is assisting the missing Democrats.
Paxton alleged in a filing that O'Rourke violated a temporary restraining order on offering financial support to the Democrats.
'Beto is about to find out that running your mouth and ignoring the rule of law has consequences in Texas,' Paxton posted on X. 'It's time to lock him up.'
Texas committees in the Senate and House passed identical maps that could help Republicans win an additional five House seats in next year's midterm elections, but neither chamber has been able to bring its map for a full vote due to the missing Democrats.
DEMS SEEK COORDINATED RESPONSE
Democratic leaders in blue states are promising to retaliate by passing their own gerrymandered maps ahead of next year's elections.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), who says he'll call off redistricting if Texas does, trolled President Trump in a social media post on Tuesday.
'DONALD TRUMP, THE LOWEST POLLING PRESIDENT IN RECENT HISTORY, THIS IS YOUR SECOND-TO-LAST WARNING!!! (THE NEXT ONE IS THE LAST ONE!). STAND DOWN NOW OR CALIFORNIA WILL COUNTER-STRIKE (LEGALLY!),' Newsom posted on X. 'TO DESTROY YOUR ILLEGAL CROOKED MAPS IN RED STATES. PRESS CONFERENCE COMING — HOSTED BY AMERICA'S FAVORITE GOVERNOR, GAVIN NEWSOM. FINAL WARNING NEXT. YOU WON'T LIKE IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.'
The Hill's Amie Parnes has the inside story on Newsom's 'no regrets' strategy in fighting Trump's redistricting.
'We have agency and will ask voters to exercise it,' Newsom said.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and other liberal groups are planning Saturday protests against the Texas redistricting effort.
Axios reports that Former Attorney General Eric Holder will meet with House Democrats this week to discuss legal strategies, as redistricting efforts spread from Texas to Florida, Indiana and Missouri.
CAMPAIGN POLITICS
• Zohran Mamdani leads the New York City mayoral race by almost 20 points over the next closest contender in the five-person field, according to a new Siena College poll.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is at 44 percent, followed by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (I) at 25 percent, Republican Curtis Sliwa at 12 percent and current Mayor Eric Adams (I) at 7 percent.
• The same poll found Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) leading her expected challenger, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), by 14 points, down from a 23 point lead in June.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has his lowest ever favorability rating in the poll, at 38 percent positive and 50 percent negative.
• Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is expected to make a political comeback, Cleveland.com reports. Brown will challenge Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who was appointed to the seat by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to finish out Vice President Vance 's term in the upper chamber.
Brown served three terms in the Senate before being ousted last year by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) during a strong election cycle for Republicans.
💡 Perspectives:
• MSNBC: Dems are ready to fight in the mud with Trump on redistricting.
• The Hill: Performative virtue-signaling has become a threat to higher ed.
• The Liberal Patriot: Trump's gains with Hispanics may not last.
• The Atlantic: Yes, a moon base.
CATCH UP QUICK
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are planning to bring survivors of abuse by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to the Capitol in September.
Harvard University and the Trump administration are getting close to agreement on a legal settlement that would see Harvard pay $500 million to the government in exchange for the restoration of billions of dollars in federal research funding.
The Department of Justice announced George Washington University is in violation of federal civil rights law and described it as 'deliberately indifferent' to antisemitism on campus.
UFC chief Dana White said the league is planning a cage fight on the White House grounds.
Federalization takes hold in D.C.
National Guard troops arrived in Washington on Tuesday following President Trump 's order that 850 members be deployed to the nation's capital for what he described as a 'public safety emergency.'
Trump has also taken over the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), a move that will span 30 days. Terry Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will lead the MPD and report directly to Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the first night of federalization in the District resulted in 23 arrests for crimes including homicide, illegal firearm possession, possession of an illegal substance with the intent to distribute, and stalking, among others.
Leavitt said the administration intends to remove all homeless encampments by enforcing laws that already on the books. She said the homeless would be given the option to go to a shelter for addiction or mental health services before they're arrested and removed.
'The MPD, with the support of the new federal agencies…are going to enforce the laws that are already on the books here in Washington, D.C.,' Leavitt said. 'For far too long these laws have been ignored and the homelessness problem has ravaged the city.'
Pockets of protests emerged in Washington on Monday night after Trump's move, which is seen by many political leaders and local residents as an affront to the District's sovereignty.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro warned Monday night this is 'just the beginning.'
'President Trump has rightfully declared an emergency crisis of crime and deployed the National Guard, the ATF, the DEA, the FBI, so that criminals know now that we see them,' Pirro told Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity. 'We are watching them and we are gonna make them accountable. But make no mistake, Sean, this is just beginning.'
Trump's move infuriated local political leaders and raised alarm among national Democrats, who see it as a vast overreach in authority.
Still, there are signs local leaders are working with the federal government on the enforcement efforts.
Bondi said she had a 'productive meeting' with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D).
'We agreed that there is nothing more important than keeping residents and tourists in Washington, D.C. safe from deadly crime,' Bondi posted on X.
Bowser has called Trump's actions 'unsettling and unprecedented,' although she acknowledged that it 'may be positive' to 'have more law enforcement presence in neighborhoods.'
Trump's threat to send federal troops to other blue states has Democratic leaders on edge.
Washington, D.C., is deep blue, with 90 percent of resident having voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in last year's election. The president has also called out several other blue cities, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
'Sending in the national guard would only serve to destabilize our city and undermine our public safety efforts,' Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) said Monday.
The Hill's Emily Brooks writes:
'Republicans and conservatives for years — decades, even — had amplified the failures in cities as being the result of Democratic policies and flaunted migration from blue urban centers to red states…Trump's new fixation on D.C. and takeover of police could give conservatives an opportunity to increase their foothold in urban policy and in cities.'
Mixed economic data paints murky picture on tariffs
A key inflation gauge rose slightly less than anticipated in July, amid concerns about rising prices due to President Trump 's tariffs.
The Consumer Price Index increased 2.7 percent year-over-year, lower than estimates of 2.8 percent.
Costs for medical care, airfares, household furnishings and other goods rose in July, but they were offset by a decline in gas prices.
However, core inflation, which strips out volatile prices for food and energy, rose 3.1 percent over the past year, the first time since February it's been above 3 percent.
U.S. small business sentiment rose in July, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday.
A new Yahoo Finance/Marist Poll found that 40 percent of adults said their family's finances have stayed the same, 33 percent said they've gotten worse, and 27 percent said they've gotten better.
The Trump administration has so far escaped the most dire inflation forecasts, although economists say the costs from tariffs are slowly being passed through to consumers.
'There continue to be persistent trouble spots, with medical care, household furnishings and operations, recreation, and personal care all rising at an outsized monthly pace,' Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, said in an analysis.
Still, economists said the lack of runaway inflation makes it likely the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.
'Although core annual inflation is back to its highest level since February, today's CPI print is not hot enough to derail the Fed from cutting rates in September,' said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
The White House celebrated the inflation report.
'Today's CPI report revealed that inflation beat market expectations once again and inflation remains stable,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.
'Wage growth for American workers is beating inflation once again,' Leavitt added.
Trump attacked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for being 'too late' on interest rates, and he threatened the central bank chief with a 'major lawsuit' over the costs of renovations at a Federal Reserve building.
MEANWHILE…
• Trump intends to nominate E.J. Antoni, a top economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, to serve as the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after he pushed out the previous leader.
Antoni has suggested the agency should stop issuing monthly jobs reports, claiming the data the agency uses is unreliable.
He told Fox Business News the agency should 'suspend issuing the monthly jobs reports, but keep publishing more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data.'
• Trump signed an executive order extending his tariffs truce with China for another 90 days as he seeks a permanent agreement with Beijing.
• The Trump administration is under scrutiny over a 'bizarre' deal that will require two major U.S. chipmakers to give 15 percent of their revenue to the federal government for specific chips sold to China.
• Trump met Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan days after calling on him to resign over his ties to China.
'The meeting was a very interesting one. His success and rise is an amazing story,' Trump posted on Truth Social after the meeting. 'Mr. Tan and my Cabinet members are going to spend time together, and bring suggestions to me during the next week.'