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Telegraph
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Arnold Schwarzenegger lashes out at gerrymandering Democrats
Arnold Schwarzenegger has waded into the Texas redistricting row after Democrats fled the state to block Donald Trump's effort to redraw the state's political map. The Terminator actor said attempts to gerrymander state boundaries by either party were 'evil' as he prepared to oppose California Governor Gavin Newsom's plans to combat Mr Trump by redistricting his own state. 'He calls gerrymandering evil, and he means that. He thinks it's truly evil for politicians to take power from people,' a spokesman for the actor told Politico. 'He's opposed to what Texas is doing, and he's opposed to the idea that California would race to the bottom to do the same thing.' In 2010, the former California governor, 78, spearheaded reform to place responsibility for redistricting the state in the hands of an independent commission. He is now helping to lead a 'no' campaign against Mr Newsom's plans to call a vote on the issue. Mr Newsom said he is 'very' confident he can secure a two-thirds legislative supermajority required if he put the question on the ballot in a November special election, as he pledged to 'fight fire with fire'. It comes after more than 50 Democratic lawmakers boarded chartered planes on Sunday as they sought to deny the Texas House of Representatives the quorum required to vote on the redrawn congressional map, which would favour the Republican Party. On Tuesday, Mr Trump broke his silence on the issue, saying Republicans are within their rights to claim more congressional seats in Texas, pointing to Democratic-led states where he says Republicans are under-represented. The president, who has held his tongue since Democrats skipped town on Sunday, told CNBC: 'I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know. And we are entitled to five more seats.' Pointing to blue states such as Illinois, Mr Trump said the Democrats 'did it to us first', adding: 'It's all gerrymandered.' Some of the 57 Democrat refuseniks fled to New York, where they met with Governor Kathy Hochul, while others travelled to Illinois, where they are being supported by billionaire Governor JB Pritzker. The Texas House voted 85-6 on Monday to track down and arrest those lawmakers not present in the chamber, after which House Speaker Dustin Burrows signed civil warrants for each of the legislators, empowering state troopers to bring them to the state Capitol. Following the ruling, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, ordered Texas Rangers to investigate the absconding Democrats for violations of state law, including bribery. 'Any Democrat who solicited or accepted funds to break quorum may have violated bribery laws,' Mr Abbott wrote on X. 'Texas Rangers must quickly send any findings to the appropriate prosecutors.' The orders are largely symbolic as neither body has the authority to track down and arrest the lawmakers across state lines. At the centre of the escalating impasse is Mr Trump's plans to add five more Republican-leaning seats to the Texas state legislature before next year's midterm elections in order to preserve the GOP's slim house majority. Redistricting usually happens once every 10 years following the national census in order to account for shifts in the population. Texas has 38 seats in the House. The Republican Party occupies 25 of those seats, and Democrats 12, with one seat vacant following the death of Sylvester Turner in March. Some swing district Republicans, including California Representative Kevin Kiley and New York Representative Mike Lawler, have spoken out against partisan gerrymandering on both sides of the aisle, in a rare display of internal party dissent. Mr Lawler wrote on X: 'Gerrymandering is wrong and should be banned everywhere — including in New York, Texas, California, and Illinois. I'm introducing legislation to ban it,' inviting Democrats to sign on. Democrats, including Mr Newsom and Ms Hochul, have mounted an aggressive push in recent days to counter Republican redistricting by drawing up similar plans in their own states. Standing with Texas legislators at a press conference in Illinois, on Tuesday, Ken Martin, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, promised that the party is 'bringing a knife to a knife fight' rather than standing by. He added that the GOP plan in Texas is 'a test case for the rest of the country' and a 'model for other red states to lie, cheat and steal away to victory'. While the Democrats spoke of the need to fight back against the Republican redistricting plan, such a move is limited by the state's constraints. The rules of redistricting can be vague and variable – each state has its own set of rules and procedures. Politicians are gauging what voters will tolerate when it comes to politically motivated map-making. Texas, New York and California are not the only states seeking to redraw congressional lines. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said he was 'very seriously' looking to redraw the state's map, claiming the 2020 US census was flawed.
Sky News
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Texas Governor threatens Democrats with arrest after politicians flee to block redistricting vote
Texas's Republican governor has threatened to send troops to arrest Democrats who fled the state in a bid to block efforts to redraw its political map. Greg Abbott also said he will start trying to remove the absent Democrats from office, and that the Texas Rangers have been directed to investigate them for possible breaches of bribery laws. The governor added in a statement that the Democrats "abandoned their duty to Texans" and that "there are consequences for dereliction of duty". However, state troopers have no jurisdiction outside of Texas, and the state's Democratic Party chair, Gene Wu, estimated on Sunday that about 57 Democrats had already left. Sought by Donald Trump ahead of next year's mid-term elections, the proposed changes to Texas's congressional districts would make it more likely for Republicans to retain control of the state's House of Representatives. The party currently holds 25 of Texas's 38 seats, but the new boundaries would hand Republicans an advantage in five seats. The GOP planned to hold a vote on the new district map on Monday during a special legislative session over the deadly Texas floods. As the minority party, and therefore unable to vote the plan down, dozens of Democratic representatives left the state to stop proceedings. Without the Democrats in attendance, the House does not have a quorum, meaning the minimum number of representatives necessary to conduct a vote. What is gerrymandering, and is it illegal? Gerrymandering means the manipulation of political mapmaking to give an advantage to a party. District maps must be redrawn every 10 years after each census to balance the population in districts, but in some states, there are no limits on how often districts can be redrawn. If a political party controls both the legislature and the governor's office - or has such a large majority that it can override vetoes - it can effectively draw districts to its advantage. Gerrymandering is not illegal under the US Constitution, and the Supreme Court previously ruled that federal courts have no authority to decide whether partisan gerrymandering goes too far. However, the Supreme Court has upheld challenges to gerrymandering on racial grounds in Alabama and Louisiana. 'Fulfil your duty,' says House speaker Texas Republicans also voted to issue arrest warrants for absent Democratic politicians. In the state House of Representatives on Monday, they compelled the sergeant-at-arms to "send for" their return "under warrant of arrest, if necessary". Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows promised before the vote that "all options will be on the table". He added: "To those who are absent, return now. Come back and fulfil your duty." Under Texas laws, a representative refusing to show up is a civil violation of legislative rules, and they can be fined $500 for every day they are not at the state Capitol. 'There's nothing illegal' about plans: Abbott In an interview with Fox News, Mr Abbott defended the redistricting plan - calling it gerrymandering - and said it was intended to better reflect voters who supported Mr Trump in the 2024 election. He said: "Gerrymandering can be done, or drawing lines can be done on the basis of political makeup, as in Republicans versus Democrats. And there's nothing illegal about that." Most of the Texan Democrats went to Illinois, headed by Democrat Governor JB Pritzker, while others travelled to blue states New York and Massachusetts. At a press conference in Chicago on Monday, Mr Wu said: "We're not here to play political games. "We're here to demand an end to this corrupt process." California threatens counter-redrawing In response to the Texas proposal, California Governor Gavin Newsom has said he is considering gerrymandering his state's districts to slash five Republican seats. The Democrat governor said he would call a special election for the first week of November if Texas does not pause its own redistricting, and added: "California will not sit by idly and watch this democracy waste away." Speaking anonymously, a Trump administration official told Sky's US partner network NBC News on Sunday that there were no plans to use federal agents to assist in arresting Democrats. "Gov. Greg Abbott can handle his own state," the official said.
New York Times
04-08-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Texas Democrats Fled the State to Fight Redistricting
The Texas Legislature was left today without the ability to pass any bills after the state's Democrats fled en masse. Republicans were planning to vote this week to approve a new political map that was drawn at the behest of President Trump to flip five U.S. House seats in favor of Republicans. Democrats, who lack the voting power to stop the map's approval, left the state to prevent the Legislature from achieving the quorum needed to conduct business. They said they were willing to remain out of Texas for weeks. Texas Republicans threatened to call for the arrest of the Democrats or strip them of their seats in the Legislature. But neither appeared likely. Instead, the state's attorney general said, the Democrats would eventually come back on their own because their jobs and families are in Texas. Here's what to know about the standoff. In the meantime, Texas Democrats have gathered in blue states to discuss plans to fight the redistricting. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed today to counter Trump's push for aggressive partisan redistricting with her own. 'If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they're leaving us no choice; we must do the same,' she said. For more: Our chief political analyst, Nate Cohn, explained how the new Texas map would change the outlook for control of the House. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
04-08-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
The Texas Redistricting Fight, Explained
Democratic members of the Texas House left the state on Sunday in an effort to block Republicans from approving a redrawn political map of U.S. House districts in the state this week. The new map, drawn at the behest of President Trump, is meant to flip five seats now held by Democrats in the Republicans' favor. Without those Democratic members in attendance, the Texas House would not have a quorum needed to conduct its business and pass the bill to adopt the proposed map. Republicans say that Democrats are shirking their responsibilities as elected officials. The clash over the issue has been brewing in Texas for months, and it has drawn in other states because of the potential consequences for the entire country. Here is what we know about the fight. Why do Texas Republicans want this new map? Mr. Trump has pushed Texas Republicans to redraw the state's congressional districts so that Republicans would be likely to win more seats, and thus have a better chance of retaining control of the U.S. House after the midterm elections in 2026. Republicans currently have only a slim majority in the U.S. House, and voters in midterm elections have tended historically to side with the party that is not holding the presidency. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has gone along with Mr. Trump's request. When he summoned a special session of the Texas Legislature last month, redistricting was one of the issues he put on the agenda. A bill advanced in the special session would redraw boundaries so that congressional districts now held by Democrats in deeply blue Dallas, Houston and around Austin and San Antonio contain enough Republican voters to flip control. Two more competitive districts in the Rio Grande Valley along the U.S.-Mexico border would be easier for Republicans to capture. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
