Trump and Abbott End Run Around Democrat 2026 Hopes, and a Total Freak-Out Ensues
Republican prospects for keeping the House of Representatives in 2026 have been hanging on by a thread, but President Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott are getting ready to execute an end run around that.
In a move that left Democrats stunned and fuming, Abbott has called a special session so that the GOP-controlled legislature can redraw the Texas congressional lines. That came after the Trump-led DOJ found that several districts in the state were likely illegal gerrymanders. The projection is that Republicans could pick up as many as five seats, most of which would be in the Rio Grande area.
The margins in the House are razor-thin, and with the GOP recently losing the Wisconsin Supreme Court, it remains likely that Democrats will find a way to nuke the state's currently Republican-leaning map. So what do you do when the left fights with fire? You fight fire with fire, and Texas currently has 38 total congressional seats with only 25 being held by the GOP despite the Republican legislative super majority in the state. In other words, there's room to maneuver, and the only way to beat Democrats at their own game is to play it the way they play it.
The news of the special session sent national Democrats into a panic. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called an emergency meeting and urged his party members in Texas to do "extrodinary actions" to prevent the redistricting from happening.
During the Democratic call on Monday evening, which lasted for more than two hours, the Democratic leader in the U.S. House, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, spoke with about 40 Democrats in the Texas House.
Mr. Jeffries called the coming special session an all-hands-on-deck moment that would require extraordinary actions to block Mr. Trump and Texas Republicans, according to a person familiar with his remarks who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
As of now, the plan seems to be a walkout to deny a voting quorum. If that sounds familiar, it's because Texas Democrats did the same thing in 2021, trying to block a very mundane elections reform bill. They ran to Washington and sang songs in front of the Capitol, but ultimately, they failed. There is no reason to believe they'd be successful this time. If anything, it seems like Texas Republicans are ready to be even more cut-throat. That could include arresting the members for abandoning their duties, which is allowed under the state's constitution.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made clear that he's ready to do what's necessary.
Fines can also be levied by the day, and that will add up quickly to tens of thousands of dollars per Democrat member if they stay away from Austin for very long. There's also been some speculation that Abbott could declare their seats vacant if they run away and deny a quorum, given they are required by law to appear. How doable that is, I'm not sure, but again, it seems all options are on the table.
Overall, this redistricting attempt is excellent news because Democrats have been filing lawsuits and trying to chip away at the Republican majority leading into 2026. If they are going to do that, then the GOP needs to leave no stone unturned in the states they control. If that means mid-decade redistricting, then so be it.
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