Latest news with #JasmineCrockett
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Democrats are fundraising to potentially leave the state to block GOP-backed redistricting
WASHINGTON — As Republicans in Texas move full steam ahead with a plan to redraw the state's congressional districts, Democrats are privately mulling their options, including an expensive and legally dicey quorum break. If they go that route, it appears they will have the backing of big-dollar Democratic donors. By fleeing the state to deprive the Legislature of enough members to function, Democrats would each incur a fine of $500 per day and face the threat of arrest. Deep-pocketed donors within the party appear ready to cover these expenses, according to three people involved in the discussions. The donors' willingness to foot the bill eliminates a major deterrent to walking out — the personal financial cost — and could embolden Democrats who might otherwise hesitate. But first, the donors and absconding members would need to figure out how to skirt a potential roadblock: Texas House rules prohibit lawmakers from dipping into their campaign coffers to pay the fines. Republicans approved the $500 daily punishment in 2023, two years after Democrats fled the state in an unsuccessful bid to stop Republicans from passing an overhaul of the state's election laws. Two people involved in the latest Democratic fundraising strategy sessions, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, claim their legal teams have found a way to disburse the funds to the members but declined to provide any additional details. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat who was part of the 2021 quorum break, sees a path to circumvent the campaign finance rules: With minimal limits on external income, Texas lawmakers can simply accept the donations as another salary, she said. As one of the most prolific fundraisers in the U.S. House, Crockett said she's willing to tap her donor base — and her $3.7 million war chest — to cover the expenses. On private donor calls, members of Congress, including Rep. Greg Casar of Austin, have been making the case for high-stakes Democratic resistance, including a quorum break, according to two people familiar with the calls. Their pitch frames the rare mid-decade redistricting saga as a key front in their battle against the White House. To some, this fight is not simply about the congressional maps; it could provide Democrats with actionable opposition their base is hungry for. Donors appeared convinced and ready to open their checkbooks should Texas members decide to flee the state, according to three people who were on the calls or briefed on them. One person estimated lawmakers would need $1 million per month to finance the protest — a sum that those involved in the calls are certain they can secure. Paying these fines may not even be necessary, Crockett believes. 'I think that the first step would be to make sure that there are attorneys on deck to actually challenge the legality of these rules,' she said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. Andrew Cates, an Austin-based campaign finance and ethics lawyer, said he would be 'very surprised if there were any real monetary penalties that were enforceable.' Spokespeople for Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and Rep. Charlie Geren, the Fort Worth Republican who chairs the House Administration Committee, did not respond to requests for comment. The quorum break would buy precious time Crockett and other Democrats see as essential to educating the public about the harms they believe new maps would inflict, along with allowing a court challenge around the current maps to continue making its way through the system. As part of the lawsuit against the 2021 maps, Republican map drawers testified that they did not consider race when crafting the new district lines. But to justify this mid-decade redistricting, GOP operatives are using a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, which says four current districts are racially gerrymandered. 'All of a sudden, all these years later, they're like, 'never mind,'' Crockett said. 'They really were considering race. They weren't race neutral.' If lawmakers decide to bring the chambers to a standstill, a public messaging war would almost certainly ensue, drawing more attention and money to both sides' cause. Republicans would likely say Democrats are abdicating their duty as elected officials and hindering flood relief bills lawmakers are expected to consider in response to the deadly July Fourth flooding in Central Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton has also called for fleeing Democrats to be arrested and offered his office's services in 'hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office' by breaking quorum. Many Democrats see any attempt to stop these new maps, no matter how unorthodox, as effectively representing their constituents who do not want to see the maps redrawn. Apart from quorum breaks, money is pouring in from national Democratic groups who are looking to capitalize on the issue. The Democratic National Committee is leveraging 30,000 volunteers to contact 'persuadable Republican and independent Texas voters' to encourage them to submit public comments or call their state legislators with opposition to the new maps. They have sent 250,000 text messages aimed at mobilizing voters to attend field hearings around the state, according to a DNC news release. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, while not involved in the quorum break talks, is planning to host an August fundraiser on Martha's Vineyard with President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the group's chairman, former Attorney General Eric Holder, according to a person involved in the organizing of the event. Money raised from the event will be used to support Texas Democrats who are opposing the redistricting efforts and the NDRC's general operations. The NDRC's campaign arm, the National Redistricting Action Fund, has also committed an unspecified amount to digital ads in Texas aimed at turning the public against the GOP's new maps. Additionally, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats' main political group, has committed to spending six figures on a public opinion campaign, with plans to spend more money to target Republican candidates in Texas who find themselves vulnerable under the new map. A new fund backed by the House Majority PAC also pledged $20 million on Monday to flipping seats in Texas. Spokespeople for the DNC, the NDRC and the DCCC each said their organizations have yet to officially get involved in the quorum break fundraising efforts. The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 13–15. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Rep. Crockett doesn't get attention for the ‘right reasons,' Clay Travis argues
Fox News correspondent Mark Meredith and OutKick founder Clay Travis discuss Rep. Jasmine Crockett's rising profile in the Democratic Party on 'The Faulkner Focus.'
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Texas Democrats preparing state exodus to block GOP redistricting despite $500 daily fines
Texas Democrats are preparing to flee the state to prevent Republicans from passing a key redistricting plan that threatens Democrats' ability to retake the House of Representatives in 2026. The strategy of Texas Democrats is to prevent Republicans from having the necessary quorum of lawmakers to pass a redistricting plan. Taking such drastic measures would come at a cost, however, as state rules impose a $500 fine for each day a lawmaker absconds from the legislature. Nevertheless, lawmakers in the state are already shoring up funds to cover that expense, according to the Texas Tribune. Texas Republicans imposed the $500-a-day fine in 2023, two years after their Democratic counterparts first left the state en masse in an unsuccessful effort to foil GOP priorities. One more roadblock Democrats face with their plan this year is that Texas House rules ban lawmakers from using campaign funds to pay the fines. Despite this, Democrats clued into the fundraising plans told the Tribune that they are confident they have found a way to legally distribute fundraising to lawmakers. State Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat, is set to meet with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Texas later on Wednesday. He told Politico that he would be willing to flee the state under the Democratic plan, "if we get to that point." Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, served in the Texas legislature in 2021 and participated in the Democratic exodus to Washington, D.C. that year. She argued to the Tribune that limits on external income are so minimal for Texas lawmakers that they could simply classify donations as an alternate salary before using them to pay the daily fines. Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has threatened to arrest any lawmaker who breaks quorum. "If Democrats ignore their duty to their constituents by breaking quorum, they should be found and arrested no matter where they go. The people of Texas elected them to do a job, not run away and hide like cowards," Paxton said earlier this month. "My office stands ready to assist local, state, and federal authorities in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office and their constituents for cheap political theater," he added. Texas' congressional delegation currently has a 25-12 split favoring Republicans, with one seat vacant. State Republicans have yet to unveil the finalized new plan, but the party is looking to expand that split to secure extra padding to keep the House of Representatives in 2026.
Fox News
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Emily Compagno accuses Democrats of measuring leadership in 'likes'
'The Five' co-hosts consider the Democratic Party's bench and Rep. Jasmine Crockett's rise in popularity.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Jasmine Crockett has no idea how journalism works
Who is the new leader of the Democratic Party? That's a question we've been asking quite frequently on 'Rising' — because it's clear the Democratic Party's base is really unhappy with leadership, and it's also clear that President Trump and the Republicans feel like they face very little meaningful opposition right now, and can just do whatever they want. Well, I don't know if the subject of this Radar is going to be the leader of the Democratic Party, but she's certainly an up-and-coming person of notability. But is she really ready for primetime? I'm talking, of course, about Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, a fiery progressive who has attracted significant media attention in the last six months — and is also the subject of a new profile in 'The Atlantic' magazine. 'The Atlantic's' Elaine Godfrey interviewed the congresswoman, and several of her colleagues. What's drawn the profile to my attention was the conversation about it on social media. It seems that Crockett apparently doesn't quite understand how journalism works? Because in the profile, there's the following passage: 'Crockett said that people are free to disagree with her communication style, but that she 'was elected to speak up for the people that I represent.' As for her colleagues, four days before this story was published, Crockett called me to express frustration that I had reached out to so many House members without telling her first. She was, she told me, 'shutting down the profile and revoking all permissions.'' That's funny, because you can't do that. Sorry. This is like one of the most basic rules of dealing with journalists, but once you've spoken to them on the record, you don't own the story, they do. You can't stop them from covering you because you don't like that they reached out to other people. As NBC's Sahil Kapur put it, 'That is not how any of this works.' But don't try to tell Jasmine Crockett that she doesn't understand how any of this works. She is bursting with self-confidence, according to this profile. In fact, she seems pretty unhappy that she was passed over for a top leadership position: chair of the House Oversight Committee. The profile recounts her personal feelings of betrayal that her own caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, backed a different person. You see, Crockett believes she is the most qualified person for the job because, and I quote, 'There's one clear person in the race that has the largest social-media following.' Generating attention, positive and also negative, is something she's quite good at, obviously. Is it really the case that being provocative, spicy, contrarian, unfiltered, attention-seeking and, let's be honest, fairly bombastic and occasionally offensive, the best set of attributes for Democratic leadership? Who knows, maybe it is. Certainly the Democratic base wants leaders to fight the Republicans, if only in virtue-signaling sort of ways that have nothing to do with actual power and policy. At least Crockett is willing to do this, responding to a veiled insult from GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene during a hearing of the House Oversight Committee: 'I'm just curious, just to better understand your ruling — if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody's 'bleach blonde bad built butch body,' that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?' Vote for Democrats, they want to turn Congress into 'Real Housewives,' or some MTV reality show? I guess that's the pitch. But in an era in which excessive clout chasing has infected both our parties, and in which the leaders of both political factions have more interest in making memes and manufacturing media moments than they do in legislation, perhaps Jasmine Crockett is the leader the Democrats deserve. Just as Trump is the id of the right, she is the id of the left.
