AUSTIN, Texas — The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday kicked off a heated debate over a new congressional map creating five new potential GOP seats that is expected to pass the chamber later in the day as part of a growing national redistricting battle.
The plan is the result of prodding by President Donald Trump, eager to stave off a midterm defeat that would deprive his party of control of the House of Representatives. Texas Democratic lawmakers delayed a vote for 15 days by leaving the state in protest, depriving the House of enough members to do business.
State Rep. Todd Hunter, who wrote the legislation formally creating the new map, noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed politicians to redraw districts for nakedly partisan purposes. “The underlying goal of this plan is straight forward: improve Republican political performance,” Hunter, a Republican, said as debate began.
Democrats responded that that was counter to the country’s values. “In a democracy, people choose their representatives,” said State Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat. “This bill flips that on its head and lets politicians in Washington DC choose their voters.”
The Texas State Senate, also controlled by Republicans, needs to also pass the map and GOP Gov. Greg Abbott must sign them before they become official. The House debate was expected to be the lengthiest and greatest obstacle to the Republican push, but both parties expected the legislation to ultimately pass given the GOP’s significant majority in the chamber.
Democrats said they’re preparing to challenge the new map in court.
Some House Democrats returned from their flight on Monday, only to be assigned round-the-clock police escorts to ensure their attendance at Wednesday’s session. Seven who refused were confined to the House floor, where they protested on a livestream Tuesday night, led by Rep. Nicole Collier, who represents a minority-majority district in Fort Worth. Her staff removed a pillow, blanket and bag of personal effects early Wednesday.
As lawmakers trickled into the chamber, several Democrats gave Collier a hug, said “Thank you,” and took photos with her. In a social media post Tuesday night, Collier put a call from 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on her cellphone’s speaker. Harris told Collier that, “We are all in that room with you.”
House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced as debate started that doors to the chamber were locked and any member leaving was required to have a permission slip before exting.
Furious national Democrats have vowed payback for the Texas map, with California’s Legislature poised to approve new maps adding more Democratic-friendly seats later this week. The map would still need to be approved by that state’s voters in November.
Normally, states redraw maps once a decade with new census figures. But Trump is lobbying other conservative-controlled states like Indiana and Missouri to also try to squeeze new GOP-friendly seats out of their maps as his party prepares for a difficult midterm election next year.
