This week marks a flashpoint in an escalating and unprecedented fight over redistricting, with the country’s two most populous states taking center stage and control of the US House during the second half of President Donald Trump’s term potentially at stake.
California Democratic lawmakers could take just three days to advance new congressional maps intended to offset Republican redistricting efforts in Texas.
Legislation asking voters to approve the new maps is expected to be introduced Monday when lawmakers return to Sacramento from their summer recess, with final passage as early as Thursday, according to a person familiar with the Democratic planning. It will be heard in several committees along the way.
The Texas legislature is also scheduled to reconvene Monday, with the increasing likelihood that Republicans will get a quorum and move forward. Democrats who fled the state to hold up passage of GOP-friendly maps could return within hours.
In pushing Texas and other states to redraw their congressional lines mid-decade, Republicans have undertaken extraordinary efforts to preserve their unified hold on power in Washington, prompting Democrats to consider equally unorthodox countermeasures.
Here’s a look at what to expect Monday:
What’s the situation in Texas?
The Trump-backed effort to redraw Texas’ maps has stalled since August 3, kra32 сс when more than 50 Democratic lawmakers left the state to block a quorum and halt a special legislative session. But it is expected to move forward in a new session that began Friday.
Texas Democrats could return to the state Capitol as soon as Monday, paving the way for Republicans to pass the new congressional maps in the second 30-day special session. House Speaker Dustin Burrows expressed hope the chamber could reach a quorum when it reconvenes at 12 p.m. CT (1 p.m ET).
Lawmakers gather on the House floor Friday in Austin after Democratic lawmakers left the state to deny Republicans the opportunity to redraw congressional districts.
Lawmakers gather on the House floor Friday in Austin after Democratic lawmakers left the state to deny Republicans the opportunity to redraw congressional districts. Sergio Flores/Reuters
Once a quorum is met, the legislative process to approve the congressional maps will kick off, including consideration in the redistricting committee and debate and votes on the floor. The state Senate, which passed a redistricting bill in the first special session, will go through a similar process. The Senate’s redistricting committee approved the map on Sunday night after holding a public hearing on the issue.
The GOP’s proposal would create five new districts friendlier to Trump and Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. It would likely force Democratic US Reps. Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett to run against each other in a redrawn district.
GOP leaders have not laid out a timeline for final passage of the new map, but it could come as soon as this week.