After Republican Sen John Cornyn of Texas called on the FBI to help locate & #arrest Democrats who left the state to block a vote on a new congressional map, Trump said, “They may have to.”
“A lot of people have demanded they come back. You can’t just sit it out. You have to go back, you have to fight it out,” said Trump.
#Legal experts & even #Republican state AG #KenPaxton say it would be difficult to enforce consequences against the Democratic lawmakers.
#Texas House rules allow for fines of $500 every day the #Democrats are absent. The #House also issued civil warrants for the missing lawmakers to be arrested & returned to the House.
After Republican Sen John Cornyn of Texas called on the FBI to help locate & #arrest Democrats who left the state to block a vote on a new congressional map, Trump said, “They may have to.”
“A lot of people have demanded they come back. You can’t just sit it out. You have to go back, you have to fight it out,” said Trump.
NY Gov #KathyHochul: “I'm tired of fighting this fight w/ my hand tied behind my back. … #politics is a political process.…we’re sick & tired of being pushed around when other #states don’t have the same aspirations that we always have had. I hold those dear. But I cannot ignore that the playing field has changed dramatically. Shame on us if we ignore that fact & cling tight to the vestiges of the past. That era is over. Donald #Trump eliminated that forever.”
NY Gov Kathy Hochul: “I'm tired with fighting this fight w/ my hand tied behind my back. With all due respect to the good govt groups, politics is a political process. And to think we're gonna do this with a purity test & make sure it’s completely fair to everyone involved —the reason we are able to draw the lines as Democrats is because the majority of the people in the state elected us to be leaders — & when we say that we cannot use that power to its fullest we are abdicating the responsibility that we all have. (If) Republicans take over the legislature, they can have at it. But until then we’re in charge, & we’re sick & tired of being pushed around when other states don’t have the same aspirations that we always have had. I hold those dear. But I cannot ignore that the playing field has changed dramatically. Shame on us if we ignore that fact & cling tight to the vestiges of the past. That era is over. Donald Trump eliminated that forever.”
NY Gov Kathy Hochul: “I'm tired with fighting this fight w/ my hand tied behind my back. With all due respect to the good govt groups, politics is a political process. And to think we're gonna do this with a purity test & make sure it’s completely fair to everyone involved —the reason we are able to draw the lines as Democrats is because the majority of the people in the state elected us to be leaders — & when we say that we cannot use that power to its fullest we are abdicating the responsibility that we all have. (If) Republicans take over the legislature, they can have at it. But until then we’re in charge, & we’re sick & tired of being pushed around when other states don’t have the same aspirations that we always have had. I hold those dear. But I cannot ignore that the playing field has changed dramatically. Shame on us if we ignore that fact & cling tight to the vestiges of the past. That era is over. Donald Trump eliminated that forever.”
“We’re not going to tolerate our #democracy being stolen in a modern-day stagecoach heist by bunch of law breaking cowboys,” New York Gov. #KathyHochul said Monday, flanked by several of the [#Texas] lawmakers who fled. “If #Republicans are willing to rewrite rules to give themselves an advantage, then they’re leaving us with no choice: We must do the same. You have to fight fire with fire.”
#HakeemJeffries on how #Democrats will respond to the #Texas#redistricting scheme: "We are going to respond & respond forcefully, however we also will operate within the constraints of the #VotingRightsAct which is not what the Texas Democrats (sic; he meant #Republicans) are doing. We need fair maps & one national standard.”
Hakeem Jeffries: "We are going to respond & respond forcefully, however we also will operate within the constraints of the Voting Rights Act which is not what the Texas Democrats (sic; he meant Republicans) are doing. We need fair maps & one national standard.”
Hakeem Jeffries: "We are going to respond & respond forcefully, however we also will operate within the constraints of the Voting Rights Act which is not what the Texas Democrats (sic; he meant Republicans) are doing. We need fair maps & one national standard.”
#HakeemJeffries on the #Texas#redistricting scheme: "These extremists want to be able to choose their voters as opposed to allowing the Texas voters to choose the people who should be privileged to represent them in Washington. It's #theft. That's what #gerrymandering in its extreme form is."
Rep Hakeem Jeffries: “These extremists want to be able to choose their voters as opposed to allowing the Texas voters to choose the people who should be privileged to represent them in Washington. It's theft. That's what gerrymandering in its extreme form is."
Rep Hakeem Jeffries: “These extremists want to be able to choose their voters as opposed to allowing the Texas voters to choose the people who should be privileged to represent them in Washington. It's theft. That's what gerrymandering in its extreme form is."
“All options must be on the table — including Democratic state legislatures using their power to fight back & pursue #redistricting mid-cycle in order to protect our #democracy,” the group’s president, Heather Williams, said in a statement.
#Democrats in #California have said they could hold a special election in November to ask voters to adopt a ballot measure that would give Democrats more favorable districts next year.
#Texas#Democrats to flee state, blocking plan to pad GOP’s control of #Congress By leaving, Democratic state legislators can stall a #Republican plan that would give the #GOP 5 more seats to protect their narrow #House majority.
#Democrats in the #Texas legislature said they were fleeing the state Sunday to block a #redistricting plan backed by #Trump aimed at preserving the #GOP’s slim #House majority, escalating tensions as a broader fight over congressional district lines unfolds throughout the country ahead of the 2026 #midterms.
