Former President Barack Obama is praising Texas House Democrats over their efforts to thwart Republican redistricting in the state. During a virtual call, he slammed the GOP plan as an "assault on democracy."

Austin

Former President Barack Obama has publicly commended Texas House Democrats for their attempts to block Republican redistricting efforts in the state. During a virtual call, Obama described the GOP's actions as an 'assault on democracy' and credited the Democrats with drawing national attention to the issue. 

Despite the Democrats' efforts, including breaking quorum to delay legislative sessions, the Republican majority in Texas is expected to pass the redistricting plan once enough Democrats return. The discussion also noted similar redistricting maneuvers in California, with both states seeking to secure congressional seats for their respective parties. The outcome of these efforts could impact the narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Obama praises Texas Democrats for redistricting fight

Former President Barack Obama has praised House Democrats in Texas over their efforts to thwart Republican redistricting in that state. During a virtual call, Obama was critical of the GOP efforts, calling them an assault on democracy. I think we became a little bit complacent over the years. We assumed that things would continue to get better, that our democracy would become more inclusive, that it would become more fair. What we forgot is that history doesn't always move in a straight line, and it's not always two steps forward and another two steps forward. Sometimes it's two steps forward and a step back. Former U.S. Attorney General and current chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee Eric Holder also spoke virtually with those Texas lawmakers. Hunter Woodall joins me now at the family table. So Hunter, let's catch our audience up on what's happened today. Special session one, thwarted by the lack of a quorum, ended. Special session two, which Governor Greg Abbott vowed to start as soon as possible, has already commenced. That's exactly right, Major. So Republicans are adamant they want to pass this redistricting plan, and they have all the power to do it. And essentially, once Texas Democrats come back, they get enough numbers, every sign is that Texas Republicans will be able to pass this. And that's some of that political gravity we've talked about, where they had so much power, Democrats' only route to really denying them this was this quorum break. But also, they feel like now the Democrats have called national attention to this, and they feel like they've done their job, to an extent. And that was where this call with former President Obama was so interesting. It was essentially him saying, you've done your part, you've really galvanized the country, you've gotten attention to this in a way that really has gotten people to look at this. And it is believed that a sufficient number of House Democrats will return to the state, and this second special session will have a quorum, and in the not-too-distant future, this redistricting plan will be approved. That's the expectation. You know, Texas Democrats, they're still expecting to put up a fight over this, but they just don't have the numbers. And Texas Republicans, you know, they've rallied around this because President Donald Trump wants to see this pass. And as we know, essentially, with the Republican Party, if Trump wants to see something, Republicans usually fall in line and make it happen. And Texas House Democrats, who are looking at the state of California, the state of California, under Governor Gavin Newsom, and Democrats supportive of his efforts, have released a new map? Not quite yet. We're still waiting to see what this map looks like. But the idea is, you know, in Texas, Republicans are taking five Democratic seats and making them favorable to Republicans. We know that matters a lot, because right now, the majority in the U.S. House that Republicans have is essentially three seats, so this really could matter. The idea is California counters what Texas is doing. They're trying to take five Republican seats, we believe, and make them more Democratic. That's going to be a challenge, though, because some of these seats also, in any given year, you know, they can go either way. And California does have a fair amount of Republicans, so both Texas and California, they're saying, hey, five seats here, five seats here. We don't really know what will happen. There are always risks when you redistrict, especially in a midterm election cycle where there's a lot of attention, there could be a wave, and no redistricting I've ever seen can withstand a wave. Hunter Woodhull, appreciate your time.

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Jerusalem

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Breakdown