Trump on Texas Redistricting Fight: “We Are Entitled to 5 More Seats”

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: 3:05pm- At least fifty-one Texas House Democrats fled the state as part of an effort to deny the Texas House a quorum—effectively preventing a vote on redistricting while also prolonging a vote on providing financial relief for families impacted by last month’s devastating floods that killed more than 120 people. In response, Governor Greg Abbott has argued that fleeing the state to prevent the legislative process simply because you don’t like the expected outcome of an upcoming vote amounts to an “abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office.” 3:15pm- Fun Fact: Did you know that the total number of House members briefly expanded from 435 to 437 in 1959 when both Hawaii and Alaska became states. Congress temporarily approved of the expansion to prevent any existing state from losing a seat immediately upon the Hawaii/Alaska admission. 3:40pm- While appearing on CNBC, President Donald Trump said of Texas redistricting efforts: “We are entitled to five more seats.” 3:45pm- In response to Texas’s redistricting attempt, Governor Gavin Newsom has pledged to redistrict California—presumably removing several Republican congressional seats. Interestingly, Republicans currently hold just 17% of the congressional seats in CA—despite nearly 40% of the state voting for Donald Trump in 2024. Doesn’t that suggest the state is already heavily gerrymandered? Comparatively, Democrats currently hold 32% of the House seats in Texas (with one vacant seat in a district that is reliably blue—so, the real number is closer to 34%). Kamala Harris won 42% of the Texas statewide vote in 2024.