Ep 15: The Texas Map That Could Break America

 In this episode I dig into how Trump’s push to redraw Texas’s congressional map has exposed one of the most aggressive power plays in recent political history. Working hand in hand with Texas Republicans, the plan aims to lock in more GOP seats before voters ever cast a ballot in 2026. I follow the fight from the statehouse to the national stage — walkouts, lawsuits, threats of arrest — and examine the high-stakes game of political retaliation now brewing in other states. It’s a case study in how the rules of democracy can be bent, broken, and rewritten in real time. 

Episode Transcript

Raheel Khan (00:02):
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of
Khannecting the Dots.
At the end of my last episode, Ipromised we'd dive into
U-S-A-I-D one of the agenciesgutted by Doge, and how those
cuts affected global health andUS influence.
And we will get there.
But there are two urgent storiesunfolding right now.

(00:23):
One here in the US and one inthe Middle East that demand our
attention.
In this episode, we'll focus onthe US story, and in the next
I'll tackle the Middle Eastbefore returning to the DOGE
related topics.
What's happening here at home issomething many people are likely
tuning out as boring politicaltheater.
Honestly, I felt the same way.

(00:44):
Redistricting controversiesnever sound interesting until I
dug in and I realized what'shappening in Texas goes far
beyond the usual partisan games.
This is an outright attack onthe very idea of democratic
representation, and as citizenswho believe in democracy, we
can't afford to tune this oneout.

(01:05):
Yes.
I know.
We hear words like"dire","brazen","democracy ending" so
often that it can start to soundlike hyperbole.
Like the boy who cried wolf,right?
But if the wolves keep coming,what are we supposed to do?
Shut up and get eaten?
That's not just hypothetical.

(01:25):
Over the last several years,especially since Trump's second
inauguration, our democraticnorms have been under constant
attack.
This controversy isn't aboutfine tuning district lines or
correcting population shifts.
This is about Trump, his JusticeDepartment, and Texas
Republicans, working in perfectcoordination to rig the 2026

(01:49):
elections before they evenhappen.
This is a power grab, pure andsimple.
Before we get into the detailsand fallout, let's hear from the
man himself, how Trump isjustifying what he's doing.
In a CNBC interview, Trump madehis argument crystal clear: Now

(02:20):
part of his claim is technicallytrue.
Trump did get about 6.4 millionvotes in Texas, more than any
presidential candidate in statehistory.
But here's the math thatdestroys Trump's argument.
Trump won 56% of Texas votes.
The new map would giveRepublicans 79% of the seats.

(02:42):
That's not representation,that's rigging the game to
ignore 44% of Texas voters.
And if getting the highest votein history means you deserve
more seats, then what about whenBiden set records in 2020?
By Trump's own logic, shouldn'tDemocrats have deserved more
seats then?
Of course not, because Trump'sargument is nonsense.

(03:04):
Higher vote totals over time arejust what happens when
population grows.
What Trump is really saying iswe should get to rewrite the
rules whenever it benefits us.
Although this may seem liketypical Trump bluster, the kind
we've all learned to tune outit's important to understand why
what Trump is trying to do hereis so dangerous.

(03:26):
Let's start with the basics.
Every 10 years after the censusstates redraw their
congressional districts toaccount for population changes.
That's normal.
That's how it's supposed towork.
And gerrymandering it isn't new.
Politicians have been riggingdistrict lines for almost 200
years ever since MassachusettsGovernor Albridge Gerry carved

(03:50):
up a state in 1812.
Over the years, some states havetried to fix this by creating
independent redistrictingcommissions, taking the power
away from politicians entirely,but those reforms take years to
implement and require broadpublic support.
As of today, only nine stateshave so far succeeded.
But what's happening now isdifferent.

(04:12):
Instead of waiting for thecensus every 10 years, like it's
always been done, Trump istrying to make gerrymandering
faster and more frequent.
Take Texas, for example, theylast redrew their maps in 2021
after the last census.
The next census is in until2030.
So why are they trying toredistrict just four years
later?

(04:33):
Because as I pointed out above,Trump told them to.
It's really that simple.
Trump has been pushing for thissince early 2025.
Declaring Republicans areentitled to pick up five
additional house seats in Texas.
He sees it as crucial to keepingGOP control of the house,
especially with midtermelections, typically favoring

(04:55):
the party not in the WhiteHouse.
And Texas Republicans, theydidn't even pretend this was
about anything else.
Here's State Representative,Todd Hunter, the Corpus Christi
Republican carrying theredistricting bill.
"Different from everyone else.
I'm telling you, I'm not beatingaround the bush.
We have five new districts andthese five new districts are

(05:16):
based on political performance."Political performance does not
guarantee electoral success.
That's up to the candidates, butit does allow Republican
candidates the opportunity tocompete in these districts."
There you have it.
No legal justification, nodemographic necessity, just raw
political calculation.

(05:36):
Now, some Texas Republicans didoffer an official rationale.
They claimed there were concernsabout the constitutionality of
current districts, partlyreferencing pressure from
Trump's Justice Department aboutrace-based districting.
But here's the problem with thatstory.
For years, Texas has beenarguing in federal court that
race wasn't considered indrawing their maps.

(05:59):
Now they're saying the JusticeDepartment is forcing them to
redraw because of racial issues.
And they're quickly going alongwith it.
The contradiction is so glaringthat plaintiffs in ongoing
lawsuits are using it to probefor possible false statements
under oath.
What's really happening issimple.
Trump wants more Republicanseats.
Texas Republicans are happy todeliver, and they're scrambling

(06:21):
to find any legal cover for apurely political power grab.
So how did Texas Democratsrespond?
They did the only thing theycould.
They left.
Over 50 Democratic legislaturespacked up and left Texas,
denying Republicans the quorumneeded to pass the new maps.

(06:41):
Most flew to Chicago whileothers went to New York and
Boston.
This isn't the first timesomething like this happened.
Texas Democrats use the sametactic during voting rights
fights.
Understanding that sometimesbreaking the process is the only
way to preserve democracyitself.
But Republicans aren't havingit.
Governor Greg Abbott threatenedfines.

(07:03):
He talked about sending statetroopers to drag Democrats back.
He even filed a lawsuit at theTexas Supreme Court to remove
democratic lawmakers from officeentirely.
Just think about that for asecond.
Abbott wants to remove electedofficials, not for corruption,
not for criminal behavior, butfor refusing to participate in

(07:23):
rigging elections.
Gene Wu, the Democratic Caucuschair, and one of the targeted
lawmakers, put it perfectly.
Denying the Governor a quorumwas not an abandonment of my
office.
It was a fulfillment of myoath".
Even Senator John Cornyn gotinvolved.
Writing to FBI Director CashPatel requesting federal
assistance to track down theTexas Democrats, Trump himself

(07:46):
said the FBI"may have to helpfind and arrest of lawmakers"
who fled.
The escalation Continues.
There have been bomb threats athotels where Democrats are
staying.
Department of Public SafetyOfficers have visited lawmakers,
relatives homes, and Abbott hasthreatened to expand the map to
six, seven, or even eightRepublican seats if Democrats

(08:07):
don't return.
Texas Attorney General KenPaxton had set a Friday deadline
for the Democrats to return toTexas, and when they didn't, he
announced a lawsuit to remove 13Democratic lawmakers who"made
incriminating public statementsregarding their refusal to
return." He also sued BetoO'Rourke's organization and got
a temporary restraining orderhalting their fundraising to

(08:29):
support the Democrats who arebeing fined$500 per day,
ostensibly for preventing theTexas legislature from voting.
The walkout tactic can delay theredistricting, but it can't stop
it forever.
The current special session endsAugust 19th, but Abbott has
threatened to call session aftersession until Republicans get

(08:50):
their way.
As before, Republicans willlikely find a way to get their
quorum and pass their maps.
The Democrat strategy exposeRepublican actions for what they
are, a naked power grab.
And other states, they are nothappy Texas republicans aren't
just facing resistance fromtheir own Democrats.

(09:12):
Democrats across the country arepreparing coordinated
retaliation.
When DNC chair Ken Martin stoodwith Texas Democrats in Chicago,
he put it perfectly.

(09:41):
Democratic governors areresponding in kind.
In New York.
Governor Kathy Hochul held apress conference alongside
fleeing Texas Democrats and madeher intentions crystal still
clear.

(10:10):
Hochul is preparing to bypassNew York's independent
redistricting commission toredraw maps that could eliminate
several Republican seats.
In Illinois.
Governor JB Pritzker isproviding logistical support to
Texas Democrats.
And when asked about potentialdemocratic retaliations said
simply,"remember, all bets areoff".
Here's what MassachusettsGovernor Maura Healy had to say

(10:31):
about the Texas effort.

(10:55):
And California Governor GavinNewsom is preparing what he
calls a trigger plan.
If Texas adopts its GOP favoringmap, California will bypass its
independent redistrictingcommission and redraw its own
lines to cut Republicanrepresentation in half.
When news of this redistrictingscandal broke in mid-July,
here's how Newsom framed thestakes.

(11:34):
And just this past Friday,Newsom stood with Nancy Pelosi
and Texas Democrats saying,"wewill nullify what happens in
Texas".
California.
Lawmakers have an August 22nddeadline to get a redistricting
map on the November ballot, butthe move isn't set in stone.
It will happen only if Texaspushes ahead with its new maps.

(11:55):
It's a warning shot and it wouldbe a temporary fix until the
next census.
Former Republican governorArnold Schwarzenegger, who
championed California'sindependent redistricting
system, is opposing both theTexas and the Democratic
retaliation.
His warning, once the rules arebroken, they're broken for
everyone.
And that's what's happening andexactly what Trump wants.

(12:19):
A system where power, not law,determines outcomes.
So can the court stop thisnonsense?
Supreme Court has essentiallygiven politicians permission to
rig maps for partisan advantage.
In 2019, they ruled that federalcourts can't stop gerrymandering
just because it's unfair to onepolitical party.

(12:39):
As long as you're not explicitlydiscriminating based on race,
you can draw districts howeveryou want to help your team win.
So Republicans can be aspartisan as they want, and the
only way to challenge them is toprove they're targeting voters
specifically because of race,which is incredibly hard to
prove.
Those contradictory legalarguments we talked about

(12:59):
earlier.
They've given opponents someammunition to work with, but
even if lawsuits succeed, thelegal battles will stretch into
2026, potentially past the nextelection, and that might be the
plan.
Creates so much legal chaos thatcourts can't intervene in time.
Run on the clock and holdelections under rigged maps.

(13:20):
While lawyers are still arguingin courtrooms.
The message is clear.
Don't count on judges to savedemocracy.
They've already told us theywon't.
This fight isn't stopping withTexas.
Republicans are alreadyspreading this playbook to other
states.
Vice President JD Vance visitedIndiana last Thursday to discuss

(13:42):
redistricting with GOPofficials.
Indiana's Republican supermajority legislature could be
called into special session atany time.
Trump is pushing MissouriRepublicans to target a
democratic seat in Kansas City.
Ohio is already redrawing itsmaps.
Officially due to a court order,conveniently timed to
potentially add more Republicanseats.

(14:05):
Now a few Republicans havestarted to push back.
Representative Kevin Kiley ofCalifornia is introducing
legislation to ban mid decaderedistricting nationwide.
Although his language seemsprimarily focused on California,
leading many Democrats to beskeptical.
Democratic representative TomSuozzi, co-chair of the

(14:25):
Bipartisan Problem SolversCaucus said"If Mr.
Kylie directs the same passionequally toward what's going on
in Texas, we might havesomething to talk about".
Representative Mike Lawler ofNew York is pushing a separate
bill to ban gerrymanderingentirely.
Of course, these bills arehighly unlikely to pass.
Trump and House Speaker MikeJohnson have urged Republicans

(14:47):
to use all the tools at theirdisposal to maintain power.
And Republicans are rushingbecause Texas has one of the
earliest candidate filingdeadlines in the country.
They only have about threemonths to get this done.
That's part of why we're seeingthe escalated timeline, the
desperate legal maneuvering, thethreats to remove Democrats from
office.

(15:07):
If Texas succeeds, every redstate will follow the same
playbook.
We'll end up with a system wheremaps change not every decade,
but every election cycle.
Where whoever controls the statelegislature, can we draw
districts to guarantee theirparty's dominance.
That's not representativedemocracy.
That's rigged electionsdisguised as fair ones.

(15:30):
The Texas redistricting fightisn't boring political theater.
It's a fundamental test ofwhether American democracy can
survive contact withauthoritarianism.
Trump and his allies aren't justtrying to win the next election.
They're trying to rig the systemso they can't lose any election,
and they're betting you'll tuneout because maps and districts

(15:50):
sound boring and there's so muchelse going on.
They wanna overwhelm us intocomplacency.
Don't let them win that bet.
Every norm we lose makes thenext norm easier to break.
Every precedent we allow makesthe next power grab more likely.
The fight is happening rightnow.

(16:10):
The pressure is intensifying.
The outcome of this battle willdetermine whether we still live
in a country where electionsmatter.
Remember, this Texas fight is acanary in the coal mine.
If we lose here, democracydoesn't just get wounded.
It gets rewritten by whoever hasthe power to hold the pen.

(16:30):
In order to prevent that fromhappening, we as citizens have
to stay focused and engaged.
We should all supportindependent, bipartisan
redistricting mandates in everystate.
And outlaw gerrymandering,completely.
Advocate for a federal ban onmid-cycle redistricting.
Reach out to our state andfederal representatives and

(16:50):
demand this action.
Remember, democracy lives anddies on the backs of its
citizens.
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