President Trump argued Republicans are “entitled” to pick up five additional House seats in Texas as state GOP officials try to advance a new congressional district map ahead of next year’s midterms.
Trump said during an interview Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that other Democratic states such as California, Illinois and Massachusetts are already significantly gerrymandered, giving Republicans much less representation in Congress than the percentage of the vote he won there during the 2024 election.
“We should have many more seats in California. It’s all gerrymandered,” he said. “And we have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats.”
Trump’s comments come as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), following a push from the president, and state Republicans are seeking to redraw the state’s congressional map midway through the decade. If passed, it could eliminate five currently Democratic-held seats and allow the GOP to pick them up next year.
Abbott called a special legislative session to approve the map, but Texas state House Democrats left the state Sunday ahead of the session to deny the body quorum and prevent it from being able to conduct business. They traveled to three Democratic states — Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.
Trump noted no Republicans currently represent any part of Massachusetts in the House, despite him receiving more than a third of its votes in November, and only a few serve in the House in Illinois despite him receiving a higher percentage of votes there as well.
“You notice they go to Illinois for safety, but that’s all gerrymandered,” the president said.
Texas state law penalizes state lawmakers with a $500 fine per day if they intentionally avoid attending a session to deny quorum. Abbott also ordered their arrests and directed the Texas Rangers to investigate the Democrats over possible bribery related to donations they’ve received to cover the fines.
But the state lawmakers vowed to continue with their efforts, arguing it’s necessary to fight back against what they view as a “blatant racism.”
In response to the moves from Texas and other possible Republican-led states, Democratic-led states such as California and New York have pledged to advance with their own redistricting plans to add more Democratic seats to their congressional delegations.
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