Texas GOP Rushing Through Redistricting Scheme

Texas Republicans are speeding through an unusual mid-decade redistricting process in an attempt to deliver President Donald Trump a House majority in 2026, all before the clock runs out on a 30-day special session.

To meet Trump’s demands, the Texas GOP has just a couple weeks left to redraw gerrymandered congressional districts to yield an additional five GOP seats. Leaving little time for the traditional public input process, Republicans have scheduled three in-person public hearings in the House and four virtual hearings in the Senate beginning this week – even though they haven’t released a draft of the map for Texans to comment on.

The state held more than a dozen hearings during the 2021 redistricting process.

State Sen. Phil King (R), the Senate redistricting committee chair, told colleagues Monday during a floor debate he’s planning to give the public ample opportunity to be heard.  

“I really want to put in place the same level of transparency that Chairwoman (Joan) Huffman instituted in 2021,” King said. 

But without a proposed map to consider, Texans are forced to speak up about changes they haven’t seen.

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D), a senior Democratic House member, said it’s unclear whether Republicans are intentionally withholding a draft of the map until after public hearings are held.

“But I can certainly tell you that it’s a poor strategy, whether it’s by accident or by design,” Martinez Fischer told Democracy Docket. “I think there are people who are just checking boxes so they can testify in a court room that they did these public forums and they gave people an opportunity to be heard.” 

Martinez Fischer said Democrats are skeptical of a process that includes only a handful of public meetings for a redistricting process that will change a map that serves 31 million people and 254 counties.

“You don’t get to cheat on democracy and say you had to do it because we were in a special session,” Martinez Fischer said. “There is a correct way to do this, and from what I can see thus far, this is not the way to make sure that people are given fair notice and an opportunity to be heard.” 

Martinez Fischer said a redistricting map should be like a piece of legislation when it comes to the public input process.

“The idea that we would send an idea to a committee and have the committee start discussing the idea, telling the entire world, ‘Please come give us your comment on this idea,’ but nobody knows what the idea is – it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Martinez Fischer said. 

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) added redistricting to the special session agenda citing “constitutional concerns” raised in a July 7 letter by the U.S. Department of Justice. The department argued Texas impermissibly used race in drawing four majority-minority districts, three located in Houston and one in the Dallas area. 

Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D), whose Houston district was included in the DOJ letter, slammed Republicans for holding hearings on a map that hasn’t been released.

“No one’s seen the map,” Garcia said. “We’re being told that it’s being crafted at the White House by the political operatives there.” 

Democrats repeatedly pressed King on Monday to explain why Texas was beginning a mid-decade redistricting process, but he declined to connect the effort with the DOJ letter. And Republicans haven’t indicated if those Houston and Dallas districts are, in fact, on the chopping block.

But the House announced Tuesday it will hold three statewide public hearings located at the Texas Capitol, Houston and the Dallas area.

“It’s certainly highly coincidental,” Martinez Fischer said. “And as we say…there are no coincidences in Austin.”