Latest news with #AnnJohnson
CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Newsom hosts Texas Democrats breaking quorum over redistricting, says California "will nullify" GOP action in Texas
Texas House Democrats who have left the state to block a vote on redistricting were hosted by California leaders on Friday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and other prominent California Democratic leaders spoke at a press event along with the Texas lawmakers. "We are running from nothing," said Texas Rep. Ann Johnson at the start of the press conference. The event was held at California's historic Governor's Mansion in Sacramento. "What's happening in the United States of America is not normal. We cannot allow this to be considered normal," Newsom said. The Texas state legislators have been out of the state since Monday, breaking quorum to prevent the Republican-held chamber from voting on a proposed redistricting plan that could give the GOP five more House seats in the state. Illinois, New York and Massachusetts have all also played host to the Texas Democrats this week – a situation that has led Texas Republicans to seek arrest warrants for the runaway legislators. Newsom has been among the most vocal critics of the Texas legislature's plan, announcing a push of his own to redraw California's congressional districts that could increase the number of seats held by Democrats. "We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what's happening in Texas – and we will nullify what happens in Texas," Newsom said. "We are prepared, and we will fight fire with fire," said Rep. Robert Rivas, Speaker of the California State Assembly. "California will do whatever it takes to protect the voices, protect the votes, and to protect the rights of every single American." Earlier in the week, in response to Newsom's push, California GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley announced he would be introducing legislation that would prohibit mid-decade redistricting nationwide. Friday's meeting is expected to highlight California's redistricting push, which Newsom and other California leaders have said is contingent on Texas or other GOP-led states following through with theirs.
CBS News
7 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Bomb threat prompts evacuation at Chicago hotel where some Texas Democrats are staying
Some of the Texas Democrats who left the state in protest of a redistricting bill were temporarily evacuated Wednesday from their Chicago-area hotel after a bomb threat, according to one of the representatives. "Early this morning, a bomb threat forced us to evacuate our hotel. Thankfully, no one was harmed," said state Rep. Ann Johnson in a statement. The hotel is in St. Charles, Illinois, west of Chicago. The St. Charles Police Department said first responders "conducted a thorough search and no device was found." "In response to the threat, 400 people were immediately evacuated and the area was secured as bomb squad units conducted their investigation," the department said in a statement. "Following clearance from authorities, all guests and staff have safely returned to the premises." The Texas House Democratic caucus confirmed that a threat had been made, as did Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Pritzker said in a statement that "threats of violence will be investigated and those responsible will be held accountable" and that he had instructed Illinois state police to investigate. More than 50 Texas House Democrats left the state Sunday to prevent a quorum in the state House of Representatives to move forward on a bill that would set new congressional districts. Texas Republicans had taken up a rare mid-decade redistricting effort after President Trump insisted that the state's maps could be redrawn to give the GOP more of an edge. Texas currently has 38 representatives in Congress, with 23 Republicans and 15 Democrats. The new maps unveiled by Texas Republicans could net the GOP up to five more seats.
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Democratic Rep says threats to prosecute or remove Democrats from office from Abbott and Paxton are ‘desperate'
Texas state Rep. Ann Johnson, one of the Democrats who fled the state for Illinois, told CNN's Pamela Brown that she viewed the quorum break as a 'last tool' available to her and her colleagues to protest the Republican-backed redistricting effort.
CNN
04-08-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Texas Democratic Rep says threats to prosecute or remove Democrats from office from Abott and Paxton are ‘desperate'
Texas state Rep. Ann Johnson, one of the Democrats who fled the state for Illinois, told CNN's Pamela Brown that she viewed the quorum break as a "last tool" available to her and her colleagues to protest the Republican-backed redistricting effort.
CBS News
03-08-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Hearings in Texas on flooding response and redistricting are underway as the special session continues
The special session continues for Texas lawmakers. Two of the biggest topics include the response to deadly floods that occurred in Central Texas on July 4 and redistricting to change the state's congressional maps. Hearings have been underway for both topics, with the public making their voices heard. Nearly a month after the devastating Hill Country floods killed at least 135 people and left a trail of destruction, state lawmakers question Kerr County leaders about the emergency response. Hundreds of people packed a convention center on Thursday to hear from Kerr County officials on how the emergency response to the devastating and deadly floods went wrong. The public hearing lasted more than 12 hours. CBS News Texas reporter Marissa Armas attended the hearing and reports that several lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, grilled Kerr County's sheriff. The emergency management director and the Kerr County judge on their whereabouts as the floods unfolded. "Three people responsible for sounding the alarm were unavailable, am I getting that right?" asked Rep. Ann Johnson of Houston (D). In the initial hours of the flooding, two of the county leaders were asleep, and a third was out of town at the time of the floods. Lawmakers also heard emotional and heartbreaking testimony from survivors. "My daughter was not identified until Thursday the tenth," one mother said during her testimony. "And the only thing that identified her at all was her charm bracelet." Texas Republicans have unveiled their proposed changes to the state's congressional map. Democrats have blasted the justification for the unusually timed redrawing, which typically happens only once every 10 years to coincide with demographic shifts from the U.S. census. When Gov. Greg Abbott called the special session, he said the current congressional maps needed to be changed because of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ sent a letter to the governor earlier this month, saying four of the state's Democratic-controlled districts, including District 33, which covers parents of Tarrant and Dallas counties and is currently represented by Marc Veasey, are illegal because of racial gerrymandering. Texas Republicans are facing pressure from President Donald Trump to help maintain the GOP's control of the U.S House. He has said he wants five more representatives from Texas ahead of next year's midterm elections. North Texans turned out in large numbers to make their voices heard at a redistricting hearing at UT Arlington earlier last week. Critics of the special session called by Abbott cheered each speaker who echoed their outrage over plans to come up with new district maps that they believe will isolate minority communities and leave them with Republican representation that doesn't support their needs. At one point, the crowd turned on a speaker from the Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County who spoke in support of redistricting. "I strongly support the Republican redistricting," said Rich Stoglin, with the Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County. This was ahead of the release of maps showing the proposed changes. If approved, the redrawn map would give the GOP a path to win up to 30 of the state's 38 congressional seats, which is five more than they currently hold. To achieve that goal, Republican lawmakers propose significantly altering several districts in North Texas, targeting Democratic members of Congress and shifting boundaries to favor conservative-leaning areas. "This map is so aggressive and changes African-American representation in the state so dramatically, it's very likely to trigger a negative reaction by Texas House Democrats," said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University. "That could lead to another quorum break, ending the current special session and forcing a second one. Then it becomes a question of who can wait the longest." The proposed map is still subject to change before lawmakers vote on it.
