Rep. Moran defends effort to redraw Texas congressional map

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – East Texas Congressman Nathaniel Moran was interviewed on NewsNation last week to discuss redistricting efforts in Texas and trade talks in Europe.

“I think it’s pretty laughable that Governor Newsom should be talking about stacking the deck or playing by a different set of rules. California right now is 43 Democrats and 9 Republicans,” Moran said in a July 28 interview.

Moran, a Republican and the U.S. Congressman for Texas District 1-Tyler, was commenting on California Governor Gavin Newsom, who’s come out against Republican efforts to redraw the Texas congressional map in order to create more Republican-leaning seats in Congress.

“This moment requires us to be prepared to fight fire with fire — and we won’t hesitate to act if Texas Republicans move ahead with this ridiculous power grab,” Newsom said.

The Texas Tribune reported that Newsom has proposed redistricting California to include fewer Republican-leaning districts in response to those efforts to redistrict Texas’ congressional maps.

“If you look at Illinois, they basically already redistricted out all but just a handful, I think just three Republicans,” Moran said. “So for Democrats to cry foul in this circumstance is pretty laughable because they they have done this exact measure.”

On Sunday, several Texas State House Democrats said they were leaving the state in order to prevent the new congressional maps from coming to a vote, prompting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to call for their arrest.

“I support the immediate arrest of these rogue lawmakers who’ve fled their duties. These radical Democrats are spitting in the face of every Texan they swore to represent,” Paxton said. “This is cowardice and dereliction of duty, and they should face the full force of the law without apology.”

Moran also commented on President Trump’s ongoing trade negotiations with Europe and the United Kingdom.

“You’re not going to solve every problem that exists between those two large entities. Just in a couple months,” Moran said. “But you could come up with a framework that would hopefully get us past this August deadline so that we can keep tariffs lower, give more certainty to both sides of the Atlantic, and allow businesses to make decisions going forward, knowing that we’re getting closer and closer to a more fair and more reciprocal trade relationship.”

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