Latest news with #GOP-friendly
The Hill
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Texas Senate passes GOP-friendly House map
The Texas Senate passed a GOP-friendly House map on Tuesday, putting it a step closer to final passage in the state legislature. The upper chamber voted 19-2 to pass a new set of congressional lines that would give Republicans five pick-up opportunities in the U.S. House ahead of 2026, identical to the map the state House is trying to pass. A group of Senate Democrats left the session, saying in a statement, 'We walked out because this session should be about flood relief, not politics. Texans deserve leaders who put people first.' Texas state Sens. Chuy Hinojosa (D) and Judith Zaffirini (D) remained in the chamber, according to The Dallas Morning News. A Texas House committee advanced its House map earlier this month, but efforts to vote on it on the House floor have stalled as Texas Democrats remain out of the state to deny Republicans a quorum, or the minimum number of lawmakers needed present to conduct business. The Texas House needs to pass the new congressional map before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) can sign it into law. Opponents have already signaled they're ready to sue over the maps once they pass. 'Under this new, even worse gerrymander, millions of Texans—targeting Texans of color—will have their voices silenced,' said John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), in a statement. 'Make no mistake, if Texas Republicans enact this discriminatory map, they will face swift, significant resistance from the people and in the courts.'
Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
‘We are running from nothing': Texas Democrats join California allies in Sacramento
'This is not just about Texas,' Johnson said. The national redistricting standoff has intensified since Newsom, a likely presidential contender, last hosted dissident Texas lawmakers at the governor's mansion. Texas Democrats left the state to block the Republican majority from approving new GOP-friendly districts, with many decamping to the safer ground of Illinois. Sen. John Cornyn retaliated by asking the FBI to track down the lawmakers, a request that he said on Thursday the FBI agreed to. As Texas moves closer to approving new maps and the Trump administration reaches out to other red states , Newsom and top California Democrats in Congress have ramped up their campaign to draw California Republicans out of office. 'If they're trying to destroy our democracy,' state Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said at a news conference with Newsom and the Texas Democrats, 'you're going to have to come through California.' Said Newsom: 'We will nullify what happens in Texas.' Newsom is pushing the Democratic-controlled Legislature to trigger a November special election, laying the groundwork for a campaign by circulating polling, as mapmakers hammer out a blueprint to eliminate a half-dozen of California's remaining House Republicans. Rep. Zoe Lofgren said on Friday that every California House Democrat supports the plan. The Legislature will need to vote to put a new map to voters just days after returning from recess on Aug. 18 (Rivas said the map will become publicly available next week). Democratic leaders said they expect they'll have the votes to place a measure on the ballot, and they projected confidence that California voters will also be on their side. 'I believe the people of the Golden State will do the right thing,' said Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire. 'I trust the voters of California more than I would ever trust Trump and his lackeys in Texas.'
The Hill
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Paxton seeks to remove 13 Texas Democrats from their seats
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a lawsuit on Friday looking to vacate the seats of 13 Democratic state lawmakers who fled Texas in a bid to block Republicans from passing a new GOP-friendly House map. Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to declare that the 13 lawmakers have vacated their offices after roughly 50 lawmakers left the state beginning on Sunday in a bid to block the passage of new maps. The 13 lawmakers affected include Democratic state Reps. Ron Reynolds, Vikki Goodwin, Gina Hinojosa, James Talarico, Lulu Flores, Mihaela Plesa, Suleman Lalani, Chris Turner, Ana-Maria Ramos, Jessica Gonzalez, John Bucy III, Gene Wu and Christina Morales. 'When members of the Legislature disregard arrest warrants, refuse to perform their duties, and announce that they intend to prevent the Legislature from exercising its constitutional responsibilities, they have, through words and conduct, demonstrated an intent to relinquish and abandon their offices,' the lawsuit states. 'The alternative would empower a minority faction to disrupt the operation of the chamber.' In a post on X touting the new lawsuit, Paxton described the Democrats as 'cowards' who had 'deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process.' Gov. Greg Abbott (R) already filed a lawsuit earlier this week looking to have Wu removed from his seat. Several of the impacted Democrats denounced the new lawsuit in separate statements. 'Texas Republicans have never been more desperate. First they put warrants out for our arrest, then they told their supporters to 'hunt us down,' and now they're trying to remove me from elected office,' Bucy said in a statement reacting to the lawsuit. 'This is what it looks like when a President, a Governor, and an entire political party work together to cheat in an attempt to steal an election,' he added. 'They are doing everything they possibly can to cling to power and subvert the will of millions of Americans.' Talarico taunted Paxton in a statement on X, saying 'come and take it.' 'Ken Paxton just filed a lawsuit to remove me from office,' he wrote. 'But this seat doesn't belong to him or me — it belongs to the people.' Republicans are putting pressure on Democrats to come back as the GOP looks to wrap up its special session. Republicans are looking to pass a new House map that would give their party five more pickup opportunities next year in addition to other priorities like flood recovery. Democrats are remaining out of the state for the time being over the new House map Republicans are pursuing. In response, Republicans have called for Democrats to be arrested and are requiring them to pick up their paychecks in-person rather than by direct deposit, another way to lure Democrats back.
The Hill
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Second bomb threat reported at Illinois hotel housing Texas Democrats
A second bomb threat was reported at the Illinois hotel housing Texas Democrats who fled their state over the weekend, local police reported Friday. The St. Charles Police Department said in a press release that they had responded to a report of a possible bomb threat at 8:32 a.m. on Friday at the Q-Center. 'The St. Charles Police Department, in coordination with the Kane County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad and the Explosive Detection K-9 Unit, conducted a thorough search of the area. No explosive device was found. The area has been secured by authorities, and all 70 hotel guests are safe,' the department said. 'This morning's secondary threat occurred two days after the initial bomb threat was reported to police by the Q-Center on Aug. 6,' the department continued. 'In both instances, no explosive devices were found, and the designated areas were deemed safe. As a continued precaution, the St. Charles Police Department has increased patrols in the area since the initial report.' The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for the Texas House Democrats for comment and St. Charles Police Department for additional details. 2024 Election Coverage Texas Democrats had to evacuate their hotel earlier this week due to another bomb threat, though no devices were found and those inside were unharmed. But the events underscore concerns of rising threats of political violence, particularly in light of the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker in June. Texas Democrats fled the state to stop Republicans from trying to pass a new set of GOP-friendly House maps, but the Texas GOP is threatening there will be consequences and further moves to vacate lawmakers' seats if they don't show up later Friday for their special session.
Politico
5 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
‘Special session after special session': Abbott says he'll continue until redrawn maps are passed
The Texas governor has tried multiple tactics to bring quorum-breaking Democrats back to the Lone Star State, including threatening their arrests. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. | Alex Brandon/AP By Nicole Markus 08/08/2025 09:37 AM EDT Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday he will continue to call special sessions of his state Legislature until a new congressional map is passed, telling Democrats who broke quorum they would need to stay away for years to prevent its approval. 'But I'll tell you this also, Democrats act like they're not going to come back as long as this is an issue,' Abbott said in an interview with NBC News on Thursday. 'That means they're not going to come back until like 2027 or 2028, because I'm going to call special session after special session after special session with the same agenda items on there.' Texas is one of the states locked in an escalating redistricting battle after President Donald Trump urged Republican leaders to redraw congressional maps, with the end goal creating additional GOP-friendly districts that could help the party maintain its House majority in Washington. Democratic states like California have vowed to retaliate.
