Former President Obama on Tuesday blasted the Texas GOP’s attempts to redraw the Lone Star State’s congressional lines as “a power grab” that threatens democracy.
“We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy,” Obama said in a post on the social platform X.
The former president shared a post from All On The Line, a campaign affiliated with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), promoting a virtual event on redistricting.
Texas Republicans’ proposed redistricting plan, which is backed by President Trump and could net the GOP five more congressional seats, has spurred conversations about redrawing maps in other states — and prompted Texas Democrats to flee their state.
Texas Democratic legislators over the weekend broke quorum in a last-ditch bid to stall progress on the proposed changes, denying the state House the numbers needed to move forward after the GOP-friendly draft advanced out of committee along party lines.
The quorum break comes with big risks for the participating Democratic legislators, including $500-a-day fines and the threat of arrest after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to find, arrest and return the members. Abbott has also floated bribery charges.
The GOP moves have drawn sharp pushback from Democratic leaders, including some blue state governors who have floated plans to counter any Republican gains with redistricting in their own states.
Trump, on the other hand, argued on Tuesday that Republicans are “entitled” to pick up five additional House seats in Texas.
The All On The Line campaign, whose post Obama shared on X, formed when the National Redistricting Action Fund, an NDRC affiliate, merged with another group founded by Obama aides.
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