White House, Texas Republicans weigh redistricting to protect GOP House majority

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: ABC News

June 11, 2025, 9:26 AM


President Donald Trump's political operation has approached Texas Republicans about redrawing the Texas congressional map ahead of next year's midterms, in a bid to protect Republicans' fragile House majority, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told ABC News.

Texas Republican lawmakers, who met on the topic at the U.S. Capitol Monday night, described the conversations on the topic as preliminary, and most declined to discuss the initial conversations, which were first reported by The New York Times. "I'm not going to comment on it," said Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas. "We're still kind of cogitating," said Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas.

Currently, Republicans hold a 25-12 majority of the state's seats. One Houston-area Democratic seat is vacant, after the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas. If Republicans in Austin decided to move forward with redistricting, it's not clear how they would reconfigure the map. One Republican source familiar with the discussions said that as many as five seats currently held by Democrats could be targeted.

But the source pointed out that any effort to draw Republican voters into Democratic seats could backfire -- leaving more seats vulnerable to legal challenges, or for Democratic pickups in a wave election. "There's an old Southern saying: Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered," the source said to ABC News about the potential risks of redrawing the map.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-texas-republicans-weigh-redistricting-protect-gop/story?id=122714541

[SSJVegeta]

1. DO IT

Anything more than it is could make the whole delegation Democratic in a small blue wave. 20 R+5-8 seats could easily turn into D+2-3 or more under the right conditions-which midterms often provide for the opposition.

[groundloop]

2. So the GQP has approx 56% of voters in Texas yet holds 68% of the House seats......

AND THAT'S NOT ENOUGH FOR THEM !!!!!!!!

[ificandream]

3. GOP motto: Cheaters prosper.

[Paladin]

4. Texas Repubes, "still kind of cogitating."

Yeah, this has "clusterfuck" scrawled all over it...

[SouthBayDem]

5. History repeating itself

In 2003 Republicans got their turn. They had finally been able to wrest control of both houses of the Legislature away from the Democrats in the 2002 elections, opening the door for yet another attempt at redistricting, this time under their exclusive control. After a tumultuous series of events during which Democrats twice broke the quorum (the minimum number of members present) needed for each house of the Legislature to conduct business on the floor, the Republicans finally prevailed with a new map of congressional districts that put up to seven Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives at risk of defeat during the 2004 elections.

(Source: The Texas Politics Project)

Wikipedia also has a Cliff's Notes overview of the 2003 Texas redistricting.