White House, Texas Republicans weigh redistricting to protect GOP House majority [View all]

Source: ABC News

June 11, 2025, 9:26 AM


President Donald Trump's political operation has approached Texas Republicans about redrawing the Texas congressional map ahead of next year's midterms, in a bid to protect Republicans' 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 on the topic as preliminary, and most declined to discuss the initial conversations, which were first reported by The New York Times. "I'm not going to comment on it," said Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas. "We're still kind of cogitating," said Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas.

Currently, Republicans hold a 25-12 majority of the state's seats. One Houston-area Democratic seat is vacant, after the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas. If Republicans in Austin decided to move forward with redistricting, it'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.

But the source pointed out that any effort to draw Republican voters into Democratic seats could backfire -- leaving more seats vulnerable to legal challenges, or for Democratic pickups in a wave election. "There's an old Southern saying: Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered," the source said to ABC News about the potential risks of redrawing the map.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-texas-republicans-weigh-redistricting-protect-gop/story?id=122714541