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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Senate approves congressional redistricting map
Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The Texas Senate voted 19-2 along party lines on Tuesday to approve a congressional redistricting map that is identical to a version in the Texas House. The measure, Senate Bill 4, redraws the state's U.S. House of Representatives districts. Nine of the 11 Democrats in the Texas Senate walked out immediately before the chamber voted to approve the new redistricting map. The only Democrats who remained were Sens. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo and Chuy Hinojosa of McCallen, The Dallas Morning News reported. The other nine Democrats briefly met with reporters outside of the Senate chamber. "There's only one party here that has actually abdicated its responsibility, and that's the Republican Party," Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, said. The measure now goes to the state House of Representatives, which has not been able to conduct business since its Democratic Party members walked out on Aug. 4. Many are staying in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles to prevent a quorum that is required to conduct business in the Texas House. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday threatened to call for a series of special legislative sessions to keep the Texas House in session indefinitely. He also has threatened to expand the number of revised congressional districts to as many as 10 to punish the state's House Democratic caucus if they don't return soon. If the House eventually convenes and approves the redistricting bill, at least one legal challenge will be filed. "Under this new, even worse, millions of Texans ... will have their voices silenced," John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said in a prepared statement. Bisognano accused the Texas GOP of "targeting Texans of color" in the redistricting effort. "Make no mistake, if Texas Republicans enact this discriminatory map, they will face swift, significant resistance from the people and in the courts," he said. If enacted, the new U.S. House districts would be created before the 2026 mid-term elections and potentially flip five seats currently held by Texas Democrats to the Republican Party. The Texas GOP undertook the redistricting task upon the suggestion of President Donald Trump in mid-July. Trump in July accused Democrats of gerrymandering in the respective states in which they control the legislatures and suggested Texas revise its congressional districts. Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department's assistant attorney general for civil rights, in July described four U.S. House districts in Texas as "coalition districts" that are comprised of different racial groups who generally support the same candidate. Such districts are not protected by the Voting Rights Act and are subject to redistricting, Dhillon said.
CNN
11 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Texas Democrats weighing whether to return to state and end redistricting standoff, sources tell CNN
Texas Democratic lawmakers are currently holding a members-only meeting and discussing next steps as they weigh how long to continue to remain out of the state and block a new congressional map, three sources close to the caucus told CNN. The deliberations come as Texas Republicans signaled they intend to end the current special session on Friday and call a new one immediately after to continue pushing a new map that could net them 5 additional House seats. Two people inside the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, told CNN that no decision has been made on whether to return to Texas. However, they are debating how much more they can accomplish by prolonging their self-imposed exile. 'Texas Democrats are looking at every possible option to ensure our constitution and our democracy are protected,' Rep. John Bucy said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. 'Members are meeting over the next week to discuss our strategy and watch what is happening back home. We have consistently said that we are willing to go home if the governor puts people over politics. The ball is in the governor's court.' This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doggett says Casar should stay out of his district: ‘2 seats is better than 1'
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Many political pundits saw a potential primary between U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and U.S. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, as a key part of the proposed partisan redrawing of Texas' U.S. Congressional map — a map President Donald Trump said he hopes give Republicans five new seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Doggett disagrees with their assessment. 'Some reports have been a bit misleading in indicating that Austin's two congressional districts have been combined,' Doggett wrote in a 'save the date' email acquired by Punchbowl News reporter Ally Mutnick. 'Less than 1/3 of the residents of my reconfigured CD37 are currently in CD35, represented by Greg Casar, to the East of I35. And these are mostly individuals whom I represented 2 1/2 years ago when I was the Congressmember for those living in this stretch of territory from San Antonio to Austin.' Doggett proceeded to lay out his pragmatic case for Casar staying in the revamped CD35, instead of challenging him in CD37. 'CD35 still exists, but Trump reconfigured it to be based in San Antonio rather than Austin. Its population is 57% Hispanic, a larger percentage of Hispanics than in the current CD35. Shifting focus from Austin is difficult. I know what it was like to open a campaign office in McAllen and later in San Antonio,' Doggett said. 'With a strong effort, CD35 can be won: Beto O'Rourke edged out Ted Cruz; Joe Biden secured 49%, and though Trump won it, Colin Allred secured 48%. Next year Trump will not be on the ballot to draw MAGA to the polls. If this sorry Trump map is eventually approved, I remain hopeful that Congressman Casar will not abandon his reconfigured CD35, in which he is the only incumbent.' Mutnick posted the statement Monday morning with the caption, 'Rep Lloyd DOGGETT is basically declaring war on Rep Greg CASAR.' Doggett responded forty minutes later. 'My only war is against Trump! 2 seats better than 1,' Doggett responded. 'Abandoning winnable majority Hispanic #TX35 to challenge me in #TX37 helps Trump, divides progressives.' Around the same time, Casar posted on X 'I love you Austin Texas,' with a montage of photos of him in the community. 'Of course I plan to run for reelection in Austin,' Casar said in a statement. 'But the most important thing right now isn't any one person's political career. The most important thing is fighting Trump's gerrymandering, which is what I'm focused on.' 'Abbott will continue calling session after session' On August 1, both Doggett and Casar stood united at the Texas Capitol in protesting the proposed map. 'We will remain united fighting Republicans, not fighting one another,' Doggett said before shaking Casar's hand. Now, his tone has changed. 'I think that you'll see us together again, opposing these maps this week at various gatherings,' Doggett said. 'But the change is that it's become more apparent that Governor (Greg) Abbott will continue to call session after session until these maps eventually get approved. I have said from the outset that, while I don't think our focus should be on 'what-ifs'—'what if Congressman Casar comes over from his district to run in my district, or stays in his district.' It's been emphasized from the beginning that I filed for re-election, and I'm asking people of Austin to approve my continuing to serve them.' Casar is a former Austin City Councilmember, while Doggett has represented Austin for the entirety of his long political career. Doggett says he should be the one to continue to serve Austin, because his district is kept more intact—and because he thinks Casar has a better shot of winning the San Antonio-based district with the same name, but only 9.54% of the same voters. 'He is the incumbent, the only incumbent in (district) 35,' Doggett said. 'Casar is very well positioned to carry forward his message that he's been having across the country with Bernie Sanders directly to disaffected voters, (in a) predominately Hispanic district and carry the message that we want them in the Democratic party. That we're talking about kitchen table issues.' Changing of the guard? Doggett made national headlines last summer after he became the first person to call on President Joe Biden to end his re-election campaign. Doggett is currently 78—three years younger than Biden was when he called on him to step down—and 42 years older than Casar. But Doggett says his call to Biden wasn't about age. 'Bernie Sanders is five or six years older than me,' Doggett said. 'It is a question of effectiveness and electability. I never questioned Joe Biden's age, but when I saw his performance in the debate and when I saw his inability to generate support against Trump, I felt it was urgent for us to make a change. With all that said, Doggett sees advantages to activating the youth vote in Austin. 'We will be successful only as we engage people of all generations,' he said. 'We need more younger people. We need more young people in Austin. But we've got to work together and focus on action to bring about the change from Trump that our country desperately needs.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Watch live: Exclusive interview with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as Democrats boycott redistricting plan
The Texas House of Representatives remained paralyzed Monday afternoon amid a political fight stretching from Austin to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., over a new congressional map that would favor Republicans. Most of the Texas Democratic caucus remains out of state, denying the chamber its two-thirds quorum required to conduct any business. The lawmakers fled Texas to prevent action on an unusual mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts that Republican leaders hope will result in five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for the GOP after the 2026 midterm elections. Much of the criticism from Democrats has been targeted at Gov. Greg Abbott, who added redistricting to the agenda of the legislature's special session at the urging of President Donald Trump. On Monday, Abbott will speak with CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink live during the 5 p.m. newscast about the standoff. CBS News Texas is the only local media outlet that Abbott is speaking with on Monday. Historically, Republicans have nearly always lost seats in the House of Representatives during the midterm elections, and Mr. Trump pressure on redistricting is being seen as an effort to try to raise Republicans chances to hold on to their narrow majority in the House for the second half of the president's term so they can continue to enact his agenda, according to experts. Abbott and other Republican leaders are making numerous attempts to get the Democrats back to Austin. Abbott has issued civil arrest warrants for the absent Democrats, compelling Texas law enforcement to bring them to the Capitol. Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and state House Speaker Dustin Burrows have also gone to court, asking judges to declare that some of the absent lawmakers have abandoned their seats and remove them from office. Burrows canceled direct deposit for the absent Democrats' paychecks, only issuing paper checks that would need to be collected in person. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn even asked the FBI to help track down the absent lawmakers. Earlier on Monday, a group of Democratic lawmakers made an appearance in Chicago with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. The Democrats blasted Abbott for what they said was placing partisan politics ahead of issues that impact the people of Texas, like flood recovery and property tax relief. It was just the latest appearance lawmakers have made with national Democratic figures, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu said Monday that the caucus was committed to killing the current special session, which will end on Tuesday, Aug. 19. Abbott can, and has said he will, call another special session. "We're hoping that the next special session does not also have to be corrupt. And that is entirely upon Gov. Abbott and the Republican leadership of that state. The people of the state of Texas have been crystal clear, including Republicans. They do not support what they are doing," Wu said.
CNN
3 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
A week into their walkout, Texas Democrats are figuring out what to do next
Congressional news FacebookTweetLink Texas Democratic lawmakers expected to confront many uncertainties when they left the state in a last-ditch attempt to block Republicans from pushing through a new congressional map. How long would they be away? What retaliation might follow? Would their gambit work? Laundry, though, was not among the concerns for those temporarily staying in Illinois. Their hotel — a sprawling complex attached to a convention center an hour outside Chicago — offered a washer and dryer on site. Then, a bomb threat Wednesday morning forced an evacuation and, ultimately, a location change. Clean clothes suddenly became another unknown. 'Still haven't figured it out yet,' state Rep. Ron Reynolds joked to CNN on Friday. A week into their effort to deny the Texas House of Representatives a quorum, Democrats have few answers about what comes next. For now, they have stalled a fast-tracked plan to net Republicans up to five additional congressional seats next year – a prize coveted by President Donald Trump – and drawn a rare burst of national attention to the partisan sausage-making behind how House districts are drawn. The special legislative session ends in 10 days, but the milestone is hardly an end point. Gov. Greg Abbott can demand lawmakers return to Austin the moment it ends. On Thursday he told NBC that he intended to 'call special session after special session after special session' for as long as necessary. From the outset, Democrats have acknowledged — if not embraced — their lack of clear path forward. Speaking in a cramped local Democratic Party headquarters shortly after landing in Chicago last Sunday, House Democratic caucus chairman Gene Wu said his members were prepared to do 'whatever it takes.' 'What that looks like,' he added, 'we don't know.' For many of the more than 50 legislators now scattered across Illinois, Massachusetts and New York, memories of a similar stand in 2021 are still fresh. Some arrived wearing the black-and-white 'Let the people vote' T-shirts that memorialized their previous protest. That stalemate lasted 38 days before a handful of their colleagues returned to Austin and gave Republicans the quorum they needed to pass a sweeping elections overhaul. This time, some Democrats started with muscle memory: how to pack for an indefinite absence, what to keep off social media, which details not to share even with family during daily video chats and other safety measures. 'The idea is to tell no one anything because we don't want our families harassed,' said Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, who told CNN that a pizza was delivered to her home in San Antonio that she didn't order. Those precautions, though, are not impenetrable. In an interview on ABC News that quickly circulated among the out-of-state Democrats, Republican state Rep. Mitch Little shared the name of the Illinois hotel believed to be housing about 30 Democrats. 'Whoever wants to go and get them,' Little said, 'we fully support that effort.' Lawmakers are quick to stress they are not on vacation, a distinction they learned to make after a local outlet reported that two members traveled to Portugal during the last walkout. Unlike four years ago, there also have been no cases of Miller Lite appearing in photographs, a precaution born from a 2021 social media flap. They were better positioned for the heightened interest this time. Members have held daily news conferences and participated in hundreds of interviews with Texas and national outlets. Some lawmakers brought communications teams armed with video equipment. TikTok posts have attracted tens of thousands of views each, far surpassing their typical reach. Soon after arriving in Illinois, an aide to Rep. John Bucy found a shop near the hotel that sold state flags. Bucy has since made several TV and social media appearances in front of the Lone Star flag, its creases notably smoothed as the week has progressed. 'We've only done this a couple of times,' Bucy told CNN. 'We don't have a good plan all the time.' The expected costs — personal and financial — are clearer now, especially for newcomers. Lawmakers are missing birthdays, medical appointments and the first day of school for their children. In Texas, the Legislature meets part-time and pays members $7,200 a year plus a per diem when they are in Austin. House Speaker Dustin Burrows suspended direct deposit payments for any absent lawmakers, requiring them to pick up their checks in person. Many of the Democrats have caregiving roles or full-time jobs. Their caucus includes small-business owners, realtors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, grandmothers, a deacon and a masonry contractor. Soon, the $500-a-day fines for absent lawmakers enacted after the 2021 protest will outpace the salary they are paid all year. They cannot use campaign or official funds to pay the fines. 'We will have to figure that out when the time comes,' Representative Diego Bernal said of the mounting fees. 'One way or another.' On Friday, a Texas judge temporarily barred a political committee operated former presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke from fundraising for absent Democratic lawmakers. While the lawmakers left Texas prepared to expect the unexpected, some Republican moves have caught them off guard. Abbott's suggestion he could remove absent lawmakers from office rattled those gathered in Illinois. They huddled Monday with their lawyers with a straightforward question: Can Abbott do that? They were assured that Abbott was acting on shaky legal ground, Reynolds said. Abbott has filed a motion to have Wu removed, and Attorney General Ken Paxton followed with his own petition asking the state Supreme Court to strip others of their seats. 'We believe that he's talking tougher because of President Trump is asking for this,' Reynolds said. Democratic lawmakers expected Abbott would threaten to deploy law enforcement to return them to the Capitol, just as he did in 2021. But the suggestion from Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn that the FBI might assist state law enforcement efforts was a jarring reminder that leadership in Washington has turned over since their last walkout. 'No one knows for sure what's going to happen with those threats or if the FBI is deployed,' Bernal said. 'But it's not going to send us running back to our seats. Keeping our seats is not the most important thing in our life. Being able to look at our families and be able to say we didn't bend the knee, that's more important to us.' Even with so much unknown, Democratic lawmakers say their defiance is not without calculation. They argue that the fight has now stretched beyond Texas, and they hope their resistance will galvanize a broader national response. On Friday, California Democrats, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, announced their plans to redraw their congressional map to offset Texas by going after five Republican-held seats. Other states could follow suit, setting off a chaotic and unprecedented mid-decade redistricting arms race heading into the midterm elections. Over the past week, a small but growing number of Republicans have expressed dismay at the tactics – including some in blue states who could lose their Congressional seats amid the fallout. Their public condemnation has been welcomed by Texas Democrats, seeing it as a possible sign that pressure is building for both sides to step back. 'The biggest win,' Gervin-Hawkins said, 'is that we have alerted America that there is some devastation going on.'
