House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is set to meet with Texas Democrats on Wednesday, his office confirmed to POLITICO on Tuesday. The visit comes as President Donald Trump has been actively urging lawmakers to redraw Texas’s congressional map in a way that benefits Republicans, potentially awarding them five additional House seats. Texas typically undergoes a redistricting process every 010 years to align with the census, but Trump has emphasized the need for an immediate adjustment to secure more Republican representation.
Democrats, who currently hold only 12 of the state’s 38 congressional seats, recognize the threat posed by this redistricting effort. They are exploring various strategies to counter the move, including the possibility of a quorum break, where a required number of lawmakers refuse to attend the special session needed to finalize the new map. However, such a tactic comes with significant risks, including fines of up to $500 per day and the potential for arrest for members who leave the state to avoid participation.
Democratic Representative Al Green, representing Texas’s 9th Congressional District, will join Jeffries in Austin on Wednesday. Green has stated that the minority leader’s visit could help energize voters and mobilize the Democratic base. ‘This is all hands on deck for us in the Democratic Party,’ Green told POLITICO. ‘This is not just about Texas. They will take this to other places.’
Green also criticized the proposed redistricting effort, calling it ‘racist’ due to the targeting of districts where people of color are overrepresented. He noted that the four districts in question all have elected officials of color, suggesting a deliberate effort to dilute their influence. In contrast, a recent Democratic poll indicates that the redistricting plan may not be well-received by voters, with 63% of likely voters across 22 congressional districts stating that the map changes are unnecessary. Only 41% of Republicans believe the effort to redraw the map in favor of the GOP is unnecessary.
Despite the opposition, the Texas Republican Party maintains that redistricting is essential for preserving GOP control and advancing Trump’s America First agenda. This disagreement highlights the deepening political divide over the impact of redistricting on representation and the potential consequences for minority communities.