{"id":11051,"date":"2025-06-11T14:51:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=11051"},"modified":"2025-06-11T14:51:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:51:16","slug":"white-house-texas-republicans-weigh-redistricting-to-protect-gop-house-majority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=11051","title":{"rendered":"White House, Texas Republicans weigh redistricting to protect GOP House majority"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">President Donald Trump&#8217;s political operation has approached Texas Republicans about redrawing the Texas congressional map ahead of next year&#8217;s midterms, in a bid to protect Republicans&#8217; fragile House majority, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told ABC News.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to comment on it,&#8221; said Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur gIjeL \" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/2f5170ec-bf2a-4c3b-960e-6b56ca3955c4\/capitol_1749603377100_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/2f5170ec-bf2a-4c3b-960e-6b56ca3955c4\/capitol_1749603377100_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/2f5170ec-bf2a-4c3b-960e-6b56ca3955c4\/capitol_1749603377100_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/2f5170ec-bf2a-4c3b-960e-6b56ca3955c4\/capitol_1749603377100_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">WASHINGTON, DC- MARCH 18: The U.S. Capitol Dome is seen behind the top of the entrance to the senate side of the Capitol on March 18, 2025, in Washington, DC.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">J. David Ake\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We&#8217;re still kind of cogitating,&#8221; said Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Currently, Republicans hold a 25-12 majority of the state&#8217;s seats. One Houston-area Democratic seat is vacant, after the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">If Republicans in Austin decided to move forward with redistricting, it&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But the source pointed out that any effort to draw Republican voters into Democratic seats could backfire &#8212; leaving more seats vulnerable to legal challenges, or for Democratic pickups in a wave election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;There&#8217;s an old Southern saying: Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered,&#8221; the source said to ABC News about the potential risks of redrawing the map.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A second Republican source familiar with the discussions told ABC News that Texas GOP figures have discussed the potential for redistricting with the White House.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Republicans currently have a 220-212 majority in the U.S. House, with three vacancies. They began the session with a narrow five-seat majority and could face a potential redrawing of the Wisconsin congressional map depending on the outcome of several lawsuits filed with the state supreme court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, said the conversations show that Republicans are &#8220;definitely&#8221; worried about losing seats in November, given that the current map, approved in 2021, was drawn by Republicans for the coming decade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">There is one active federal lawsuit over the current map, brought by advocates who have argued it discriminates against voters of color.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s any question about that. I mean, why else would you want to do that knowing how unsettled that could make the electorate feel?&#8221; Veasey said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Asked about GOP worries about losing control of the House, Babin said, &#8220;We&#8217;re always concerned about the midterms. Who wants to go into the minority? I don&#8217;t.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Redistricting before the next census would be unusual, but not unprecedented in Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In 2003, Republicans led by former Rep. Tom DeLay pushed through an early redrawing of the maps to wrestle control of the majority of the state&#8217;s seats from Democrats, sparking a political fight that made its way to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The White House and Gov. Greg Abbott&#8217;s office did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I can&#8217;t control it, so I don&#8217;t care,&#8221; said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, who suggested that his district could be one of those redrawn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;If we were to really go through with it, districts like mine would obviously be the ones that are targeted because I live in the suburbs. I&#8217;m the one you have to take from the rural areas and put in the suburbs, so I&#8217;d be basically going back to my old district I guess.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Republicans&#8217; conversations come as some Democrats have, once again, set their sights on making gains in Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The Texas Democratic Party has launched a new organizing effort with the Texas Majority PAC, an outside group backed by liberal megadonor George Soros, the PAC announced this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Texas Republicans are expected to huddle on the topic with White House representatives this coming Thursday, lawmakers told ABC News.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \"><em class=\" \">ABC News&#8217; Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump&#8217;s political operation has approached Texas Republicans about redrawing the Texas congressional map ahead of next year&#8217;s midterms, in a bid to protect Republicans&#8217; 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11053,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11051\/revisions\/11053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}