BY MATT BERG & CROOKED MEDIA |
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We are so not qualified to be doing this.”
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Donald Trump is scheming to stack Congress with more Republicans by redrawing the Texas voting map. Members of his own party worry the plan will backfire.
- President Donald Trump knows that Republicans are likely to lose control of the House next year. After all, the party that controls the White House normally loses ground in the midterms — and Republicans will be defending a wafer-thin majority in the lower chamber. Most Americans hate Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill,” despise the White House’s core policies, and disapprove of how MAGAworld has steered the United States for the past six months. So, naturally, he’s trying to rig the midterms with a little good ol’ fashioned gerrymandering.
- Trump’s big idea is to push local politicians in Texas to redraw the state’s congressional map in a way that moves conservative voters into districts now held by Democrats. But if Dem voters turn out big, the plan could yield the exact opposite result if it reduces the margin for safety in previously red districts. Texan Republicans worry that could happen next year: All 25 House members from Texas gathered to discuss the idea in D.C. last month, and most of them expressed reluctance about it, according to the Texas Tribune.
- But never mind! The plan is moving forward, anyway. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) called a special session following the deadly floods in his state to discuss unfinished legislative issues, including disaster response, which kicked off today. Trump quickly stole the spotlight, urging Texas lawmakers to focus on redrawing the state’s congressional map to advance his big idea. Trump’s people think Republicans could pick up four or five seats, according to the New York Times.
- “This may end up biting Republicans in the ass,” Beto O’Rourke, who narrowly lost the Texas governor’s race in 2022, told CNN.
- “Those Republicans could start having crazy districts that don't make sense. They could represent whole new areas, be vulnerable to Republican primaries, be vulnerable to a Democratic challenger,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) told Pod Save America. Even if the move works in Texas, it might spark bigger problems for the GOP elsewhere.
The Texas move could ignite a redistricting arms race, in which Democratic strongholds change their own maps to make up for possible GOP gains. All eyes are on California.
- Democratic voters like to criticize Democratic lawmakers for playing too nice, especially when Republicans steal their lunch money and laugh in their face. This time, Dems are signaling they’re ready to throw down. Even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — who does not have a reputation as a progressive firebreather — hinted that lawyers in every state are looking at the possibility of redistricting in favor of Democrats.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is talking about plans to counter Texas with more blue seats in California. That’s easier said than done. California doesn’t have the same rules as the Lone Star State, or many other Republican states that allow politicians to redraw maps. Instead, California has an independent commission for that — y’know, to ensure it’s not done for nefarious political purposes.
- Still, Newsom says he thinks there could be a workaround, and sounds confident that Californians would rally behind the measure. “We can do a special session. I can call for one today, if I chose to. We can then put something on the ballot, and I could call a special election,” Newsom also told Pod Save America. “We could change the constitution with the consent of the voters, and I think we would win that. I think people understand what's at stake in California. I think we come out of record numbers. I think it would be an extraordinary success.”
Let’s be clear: Gerrymandering is undemocratic. But Democrats aren’t letting Republicans walk all over them this time — even if this fight creates more divisive and hyperpartisan politics.
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Migrants at a detention center in Miami were shackled with their hands behind their backs, then forced to kneel and eat from styrofoam plates “like dogs,” according to a Human Right Watch report. The report explored overcrowding and poor conditions at three detention centers in the state: “The Trump administration’s one-track immigration policy … will only worsen the conditions described in this report,” the watchdog group warned.
The United Nations’s food agency accused Israeli snipers and tanks of shooting at a crowd of Palestinians seeking food over the weekend. The incident left at least 80 people dead, according to local health officials. Israel said it had fired warning shots “to remove an immediate threat.”
The Trump administration has been accused of flouting orders from federal judges who ruled against it more than one-third of the time, according to a Washington Post analysis. An idea: Maybe judges should try ordering Trump to do the wrong thing… and then see if he does the right thing, by accident?!
Nearly 300 NASA employees signed a public letter of dissent in protest of the Trump administration’s policies and cuts to the agency. The letter, titled “ The Voyager Declaration,” follows similar employee-led efforts at the NIH and EPA. They forgot to include the section calling for Elon Musk to be launched into space, adrift toward Mars. Next time…
Wanna visit the U.S. from abroad? That’ll cost you $250. That’s the new “visa integrity fee,” thanks to a provision quietly slipped into Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Anyone visiting on a nonimmigrant visa — including tourists and international students — have to pay, and the fee cannot be waived. But travelers may be able to get reimbursed after their visit, although those rules remain murky. What an absolutely genius way to encourage people to come here! Bravo.
Amazon quietly raised prices on thousands of low-cost products after Trump took office, despite pledging to keep prices steady, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. In the same period, Walmart lowered prices on similar goods by nearly 2 percent, the outlet found. “That $50 million wedding ain’t gonna pay for itself!” Jeff Bezos says to himself, maniacally laughing.
The pilot of a passenger jet in North Dakota was forced to make an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid crashing into a B-52 bomber military plane on Friday. The pilot explained the chilling situation to passengers, which was recorded and posted to TikTok. “I just remember the plane going, like, sideways … and just looking straight out the window and just seeing grass, like you weren’t seeing the skyline anymore,” the woman who recorded the video told NBC News. |
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Billy Joel said that he’s doing “OK” and is not “deathly ill or anything” after being diagnosed with a brain disorder, which led to the cancelation of upcoming concerts in North America and England.
Adam Sandler opened up about his character in “Happy Gilmore 2,” which premiers on Friday: “He's older. He’s a little thicker, as you can tell from one of these camera angles,” Sandler joked on “Good Morning America.” “But Happy Gilmore’s life isn't perfect right now at the beginning of the movie. And he’s a family man, and he’s gettin’ back into the golf game.”
Chicago is seeing the benefits of the so-called “pope economy,” aka being the hometown of Pope Leo. You can buy everything from beer to baby onesies with the leader of the Catholic church’s mug emblazoned on it. “What I like to say is, ‘Not everyone’s Catholic, but Chicagoans kind of all practice the religion of Chicago.’ Or just the fact that he’s one of our own, it doesn’t matter really what religion or beliefs you have,” a gift shop owner said.
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