August 8, 2025 • 7 mins
Jim joined Mendte In The Morning to discuss how 50 Democrats could be in trouble due to denying voting, on a redistricting proposal in Texas. This could hurt the Midterms for Dems.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, the never ending Texas redistricting story continues, and they
are going to meet again today. And the big question
is going to be as the Texas House meets, will
they have one hundred members there so they can have
a quorum and move forward with their redistricting plans. And
(00:24):
if not, are they going to either compel Democrats to
come back or are they going to take action against them?
Lots of questions and the man with the answer is
Jim Ryan, ABC News correspondent in Dallas. Jim as always,
thanks for thanks for joining us. Texas is a crazy
place right now. Tell us what is going to happen today.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yes, here's my prediction, Larry, one o'clock, the gabble will fall,
the Texas House Speaker will call the session to order
to take up this redistricting proposal, and I'll do a headcount,
he'll look around, and probably the gavel will fall again
about a minute later, and he'll adjourned for the weekend
because now very unlikely that there will be a quorum
(01:07):
present to take up this matter. So yeah, more than
fifty state lawmakers Democrats are outside the state, outside the
reach of state law enforcement. Now Texas, you know John Cornyn, Senator,
US Senator has asked the FBI to get involved, not
necessarily to arrest those Democrats who are outside the state,
but to investigate them on grounds that they may be
(01:30):
breaking bribery laws. And according to Cordant least to Kach Patel,
the FBI director, has not said publicly what his plan is,
but Cornan says that Patel has agreed to go ahead
and launch this investigation.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Explain the bribery charges.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Well, because these democrats are you know, they're being hit
with five hundred dollars a day fines, not to mention
the lodging, the food, the transportation, to leave the state altogether.
Cornyan says that and Governor Greg Abbott say that that
may be a bribe, a violation of bribery laws because
they're not using these funds to run for office. They're
(02:08):
using these funds to stay away from the legislative branch
down there, to stay away from the state House, to
avoid a vote on an issue that's before the panel.
And so yeah, that's it's kind of a fuzzy line,
but the FBI is being asked to take a look
at that. Now. The Texas Attorney Attorney General has asked
(02:29):
a court in Illinois to consider a way to enforce
the arrest warrants that have been issued here in Texas.
So you know, his goal is to see them, you know, cuffed,
put onto a plane, brought back to Austin, and forced
to vote on this matter.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Let's talk about the numbers for a second and correct
me if I'm wrong about any of this. There's eighty
eight Republicans, right, there's one hundred and fifty members. There's
eighty eight Republicans, and there are a few Democrats that
show up, right, I mean they're twelve, they're twelve short
of a quorum, right, And there are are some Democrats
that are going is that right?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yes, and not because they support the redistricting map that's
before them, but because they think that you know, it's
a foregone conclusion that the clock will run out on
this special session and Governor Rabbit's going to call another one.
There will be another one, potentially. The most the state
has ever seen was five five special sessions. Dolph Briscoe,
the storied governor of Texas, called five special sessions back
(03:25):
in the seventies, not for redistricting, but for school finance,
for property tax other issues, So this could go on
and on and on, and some Democrats have said, look,
this is going to happen anyway. Also, their reasoning is
if we go ahead and vote on this now and
lose the Democrats, that the Republicans will almost certainly win
and this map will go into effect. But challenging it
(03:47):
in court becomes easier if they just go ahead pass it,
it becomes law or is signed by the governor, at least,
then it'll be easier to file suit based on this map.
So you know, they have a couple of reasons not
to leave the state.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, I've heard a lot of people say exactly what
you just said, is that why don't they just let
the courts handle this. This is what the courts do.
It's going to pass eventually anyway, and the sooner the
courts get it, the better shot you have of stopping it,
And so you're just holding up progress. That seems to
make sense.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Jim, Well, that's that's kind of the logic that's going around.
But at the same time, I think the Democrats who
have left the state see the handwriting on the wall.
They've seen the courts turnover become much more conservative here
at the state level, the district level, the Texas Supreme
Court would be the one asked to take a look
at this if in fact it's signed by the governor,
(04:43):
and it's unlikely that it would not approve that map. So,
you know, I think that they're being in a way
realistic about it, maybe pragmatic and knowing that even the
courts are likely to approve this map.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
But then it's going to be appealed and appealed in
the field, and it's gonna it's gonna keep going up
and maybe get a ruling on whether this can happen
mid decade forever. Whatever they're doing, and I think they're
just grandstanding. Whatever they're doing at this point, they're actually
holding up the process. They're holding up not just the
process and the legislature, but the legal process. So it
(05:16):
doesn't their actions, except for their getting a lot of press,
don't seem to make any sense, well.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Right, and you know, they're making no bones about it.
They are holding up the process on purpose. They're denying
a quorum in Austin to prevent a vote on this,
and in the meantime, trying to create a national attention
to this because there are national implications Obviously, if Texas
elects five more Republicans to Congress strictly from Texas, then
(05:42):
the buffer for President Trump, his comfort zone in Congress
becomes more comfortable. It's a razor thin lead right now.
The Republicans have This would bolster that somewhat.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Yeah, and is that a foregone conclusion. We keep hearing
they're going to gain five seas. No, it's not.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
It's not fact that the lines may have been drawn
such that the Republicans might actually lose one or two.
It's hard to say, but you know, they've taken a
look at voting records and tried to form these lines,
and again they're making no bones about it. The chairman
of the state Senate committee that's looking at redistricting said yesterday, Yeah,
it's a he's not concerned about the fairness of the districts,
(06:22):
or about you know, the map that was drawn in
twenty twenty one, or about the Justice Department claim that
the twenty twenty one map was improperly drawn. He says, flatly,
I want to see more Republicans in Congress, and so
that's the goal here. So, yeah, the Governor Abbott hasn't
really said that in so many words. He says, he's
(06:42):
just going along with what the Justice Department wants. State
lawmakers here lower are saying, you know, yeah, this is
what we're going after.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Getting back to the math real quick. So there's eighty
eight that show up. I've been told that there's been
six Democrats that are showing up. So there's six short
I've also heard and you can tell me if I'm
right about this. There are Democrats that are still in
Texas that have not flown out and they can be
brought in to get to have a quorum. Are there
six of them? Do we know how many there are?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I think it doesn't, but I don't you know, nothing
is being enforced if they're still in Texas. I don't
you talk about grandstanding is happening on both sides. You're right,
you're right, you know, so issuing in a restaur warrant
for somebody that sounds really serious. You're not going to
see anybody cuffed up and dragged into the by Texas
rangers in white hats. It's not going to happen. So
(07:34):
it's hyperbole as much as anything else, coming from both sides,
from the Democrats who are out of state and from
the Republicans who are still here.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Yeah. I don't mean to seem sound like I'm eight
years old, but they started it. Somebody started Jim Ryan,
ABC News corresponded in Dallas. Thanks so much, Jim, have
a good weekend you too. Lear
Well, the never ending Texas redistricting story continues, and they
are going to meet again today. And the big question
is going to be as the Texas House meets, will
they have one hundred members there so they can have
a quorum and move forward with their redistricting plans. And
(00:24):
if not, are they going to either compel Democrats to
come back or are they going to take action against them?
Lots of questions and the man with the answer is
Jim Ryan, ABC News correspondent in Dallas. Jim as always,
thanks for thanks for joining us. Texas is a crazy
place right now. Tell us what is going to happen today.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yes, here's my prediction, Larry, one o'clock, the gabble will fall,
the Texas House Speaker will call the session to order
to take up this redistricting proposal, and I'll do a headcount,
he'll look around, and probably the gavel will fall again
about a minute later, and he'll adjourned for the weekend
because now very unlikely that there will be a quorum
(01:07):
present to take up this matter. So yeah, more than
fifty state lawmakers Democrats are outside the state, outside the
reach of state law enforcement. Now Texas, you know John Cornyn, Senator,
US Senator has asked the FBI to get involved, not
necessarily to arrest those Democrats who are outside the state,
but to investigate them on grounds that they may be
(01:30):
breaking bribery laws. And according to Cordant least to Kach Patel,
the FBI director, has not said publicly what his plan is,
but Cornan says that Patel has agreed to go ahead
and launch this investigation.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Explain the bribery charges.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Well, because these democrats are you know, they're being hit
with five hundred dollars a day fines, not to mention
the lodging, the food, the transportation, to leave the state altogether.
Cornyan says that and Governor Greg Abbott say that that
may be a bribe, a violation of bribery laws because
they're not using these funds to run for office. They're
(02:08):
using these funds to stay away from the legislative branch
down there, to stay away from the state House, to
avoid a vote on an issue that's before the panel.
And so yeah, that's it's kind of a fuzzy line,
but the FBI is being asked to take a look
at that. Now. The Texas Attorney Attorney General has asked
(02:29):
a court in Illinois to consider a way to enforce
the arrest warrants that have been issued here in Texas.
So you know, his goal is to see them, you know, cuffed,
put onto a plane, brought back to Austin, and forced
to vote on this matter.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Let's talk about the numbers for a second and correct
me if I'm wrong about any of this. There's eighty
eight Republicans, right, there's one hundred and fifty members. There's
eighty eight Republicans, and there are a few Democrats that
show up, right, I mean they're twelve, they're twelve short
of a quorum, right, And there are are some Democrats
that are going is that right?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yes, and not because they support the redistricting map that's
before them, but because they think that you know, it's
a foregone conclusion that the clock will run out on
this special session and Governor Rabbit's going to call another one.
There will be another one, potentially. The most the state
has ever seen was five five special sessions. Dolph Briscoe,
the storied governor of Texas, called five special sessions back
(03:25):
in the seventies, not for redistricting, but for school finance,
for property tax other issues, So this could go on
and on and on, and some Democrats have said, look,
this is going to happen anyway. Also, their reasoning is
if we go ahead and vote on this now and
lose the Democrats, that the Republicans will almost certainly win
and this map will go into effect. But challenging it
(03:47):
in court becomes easier if they just go ahead pass it,
it becomes law or is signed by the governor, at least,
then it'll be easier to file suit based on this map.
So you know, they have a couple of reasons not
to leave the state.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, I've heard a lot of people say exactly what
you just said, is that why don't they just let
the courts handle this. This is what the courts do.
It's going to pass eventually anyway, and the sooner the
courts get it, the better shot you have of stopping it,
And so you're just holding up progress. That seems to
make sense.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Jim, Well, that's that's kind of the logic that's going around.
But at the same time, I think the Democrats who
have left the state see the handwriting on the wall.
They've seen the courts turnover become much more conservative here
at the state level, the district level, the Texas Supreme
Court would be the one asked to take a look
at this if in fact it's signed by the governor,
(04:43):
and it's unlikely that it would not approve that map. So,
you know, I think that they're being in a way
realistic about it, maybe pragmatic and knowing that even the
courts are likely to approve this map.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
But then it's going to be appealed and appealed in
the field, and it's gonna it's gonna keep going up
and maybe get a ruling on whether this can happen
mid decade forever. Whatever they're doing, and I think they're
just grandstanding. Whatever they're doing at this point, they're actually
holding up the process. They're holding up not just the
process and the legislature, but the legal process. So it
(05:16):
doesn't their actions, except for their getting a lot of press,
don't seem to make any sense, well.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Right, and you know, they're making no bones about it.
They are holding up the process on purpose. They're denying
a quorum in Austin to prevent a vote on this,
and in the meantime, trying to create a national attention
to this because there are national implications Obviously, if Texas
elects five more Republicans to Congress strictly from Texas, then
(05:42):
the buffer for President Trump, his comfort zone in Congress
becomes more comfortable. It's a razor thin lead right now.
The Republicans have This would bolster that somewhat.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Yeah, and is that a foregone conclusion. We keep hearing
they're going to gain five seas. No, it's not.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
It's not fact that the lines may have been drawn
such that the Republicans might actually lose one or two.
It's hard to say, but you know, they've taken a
look at voting records and tried to form these lines,
and again they're making no bones about it. The chairman
of the state Senate committee that's looking at redistricting said yesterday, Yeah,
it's a he's not concerned about the fairness of the districts,
(06:22):
or about you know, the map that was drawn in
twenty twenty one, or about the Justice Department claim that
the twenty twenty one map was improperly drawn. He says, flatly,
I want to see more Republicans in Congress, and so
that's the goal here. So, yeah, the Governor Abbott hasn't
really said that in so many words. He says, he's
(06:42):
just going along with what the Justice Department wants. State
lawmakers here lower are saying, you know, yeah, this is
what we're going after.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Getting back to the math real quick. So there's eighty
eight that show up. I've been told that there's been
six Democrats that are showing up. So there's six short
I've also heard and you can tell me if I'm
right about this. There are Democrats that are still in
Texas that have not flown out and they can be
brought in to get to have a quorum. Are there
six of them? Do we know how many there are?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I think it doesn't, but I don't you know, nothing
is being enforced if they're still in Texas. I don't
you talk about grandstanding is happening on both sides. You're right,
you're right, you know, so issuing in a restaur warrant
for somebody that sounds really serious. You're not going to
see anybody cuffed up and dragged into the by Texas
rangers in white hats. It's not going to happen. So
(07:34):
it's hyperbole as much as anything else, coming from both sides,
from the Democrats who are out of state and from
the Republicans who are still here.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Yeah. I don't mean to seem sound like I'm eight
years old, but they started it. Somebody started Jim Ryan,
ABC News corresponded in Dallas. Thanks so much, Jim, have
a good weekend you too. Lear
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