Democratic Leader Jeffries to hold closed-door meeting about redistricting in Austin

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, is headed to Austin on Wednesday to have a closed-door meeting about Republican attempts to redraw Texas’ congressional map.

“On Wednesday, the (House Democratic Caucus) and (Senate Democratic Caucus) will host a member-only meeting with Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Austin from 8-9pm,” a Monday text to Texas House Democrats reads. “Please hold you calendars for this time. More information to come.”

Jeffries’ arrival in Austin comes as Jeffries has reportedly encouraged the Texas House Democrats to flee the state to stop redistricting efforts. Fifty-one of the 62 House Democrats would have to fail to appear, preventing the House from reaching the two-thirds threshold to conduct business. All 11 Senate Democrats could also fail to appear after former State Sen. Kelly Hancock resigned and lowered the Senate’s quorum threshold.

National focus on the Texas Legislature

The push for redrawing Texas’ congressional map appears to have come from President Donald Trump, who said he hopes to pick up five seats from the Lone Star State. If successful, Texas would have 30 Republican U.S. Representatives to eight Democratic U.S. Representatives — a 79-21% split. Republicans are already overrepresented in Texas, holding 66% of congressional seats while only gaining 58% of total congressional votes in the 2024 election.

Those five seats could be crucial for the second half of Trump’s term, as he currently holds a slim 219-212 majority in the U.S. House, with four vacant seats (three caused by Democratic member deaths).

In 2018, the last midterm election with Trump in office, Democrats flipped 41 seats. They flipped two Texas seats in that election, with Republicans taking home only 50.4% of the statewide House votes (while still holding onto 64% of House seats).

Other states have also started to consider redrawing their congressional maps. Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-California, and JB Pritzker, D-Illinois, discussed the potential of redistricting to offset Republican gains in Texas and met with Texas House members last Friday. Politico said leaders in New York and Maryland are also exploring their potential redistricting options.

On the other side, a Republican majority in Ohio has to draw a new map this year since the last one was not approved with bipartisan support. Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has floated a redraw of his state’s congressional map. Punchbowl News reported Trump is pressuring Missouri leaders to eliminate their sole Democratic district.

Jeffries briefly talked about Texas’ redistricting on July 23, during his final briefing before the U.S. House August recess.

“Republicans are running scared. Every single data point illustrates that reality, including the fact that Republicans are trying to gerrymander, in the middle of the decade, the Texas Congressional map to try to undermine the ability for the nation to have free and fair elections,” he said. “It’s all because Republicans are running scared.”