Texas Democrat fires back at GOP threats: ‘Come and take it'
'Have you ever heard the saying, 'Come and take it?' That's what we're saying,' Jones said on Monday in a press conference with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).
Starting Sunday, dozens of stae House Democrats left Texas to deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass a highly unusual partisan redistricting bill demanded by President Trump — one that comes just four years after the last round of redistricting, and that Democrats see as a naked power grab on the eve of a possible Republican loss of control of the House of Representatives.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday said that Democrats who left the state had 'forfeited their seats' and would now face 'potential felony charges.' Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called for their arrest, although as Jones noted, Texas officials have no jurisdiction in the states to which they have fled.
'He has no legal mechanism, and even if he did, subpoenas from Texas don't work in New York. So he's going to come get us — how? Let me be clear, he's putting up smoke and mirrors.'
Jones pushed back on Republicans' framing of the Democrats' departure as an attack on democracy: 'Look, the governor is very good at manipulating the truth, right?' Jones said.
'And what he's saying is not completely accurate. He knows that we're using a tool that was given to us by the founders of the Texas Constitution. He knows what the rules are and he's trying to manipulate the situation to make it play in his favor. It's not going to work.'
In 2024, about 56 percent of the Texas electorate voted for Trump — but Republicans control 65 percent of current congressional seats, and would control 80 if the state Legislature successfully gives Trump the additional five seats he has asked for.
Democracy, Jones said, is the reason that Democrats left: They are responding to the base's demand that they fight.
'We, the Democratic contingent, are paying attention to what our constituents are demanding. They've made it clear: If we don't quorum break, they'll primary us. That's how serious this is,' she said.
'People ask, 'Why should New York — or anywhere else — care about what's happening in Texas?' I'll tell you why. My grandmother always said, 'If you allow yourself to be a rug, people will step on you.''
In North Carolina, she argued, Democrats fielded inadequate resistance to middecade redistricting, which turned an evenly matched congressional split into a plus-three Republican majority — the same as the current Republican margin.
Thanks to that move, Jones said, Trump's coalition 'pushed through that big, ugly, terrible bill and forced it on everyone. Well, I was paying attention. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Texas will not be North Carolina. We're not going to let that happen here.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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