The White House wants more states to redraw House maps to help GOP. Democrats are readying a fight

By MEG KINNARD and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press WASHINGTON AP The White House is eyeing redistricting efforts beyond Texas to help Republicans hold the U S House in and Democrats are preparing to escalate in response with one senator vowing to go nuclear if needed What s shaping up to be a multi-state redistricting battle could mark the opening round for House control ahead of next year s midterms when Democrats see retaking the House as the party s best chance to break Republicans hold on Congress and President Donald Trump is determined to keep the GOP s majority Democrats under pressure from their base to match GOP tactics have grown more forceful in their messaging and are taking concrete moves to push back even as the party enters at a disadvantage If they re going to go nuclear then so am I revealed Sen Elissa Slotkin They re forcing us into this position because they re trying to pick their voters At Trump s urging Texas Republicans are looking to redraw congressional maps to favor GOP candidates during a -day special legislative session that started this week Trump has announced he wants to carve out five new winnable GOP seats But Trump personnel are now going beyond just Texas looking to redraw lines in other states such as Missouri according to a person familiar with conversations but unauthorized to speak publicly about them Democrats have fewer options More of the states the party controls do not allow elected partisans to draw maps instead entrusting groups such as independent commissions to draw fair lines Still party leaders are exploring their legal options and shifting their posture A party long known for believing it s on the moral high ground is signaling it s ready to fight dirty We can t fight with one hand behind our backs Rep Pete Aguilar chair of the House Democratic Caucus described reporters Tuesday Texas state Rep Jolanda Jo Jones looks through U S Congressional District maps during a redistricting hearing at the Texas Capitol Thursday July in Austin Texas AP Photo Eric Gay Democrats explore their own redistricting map plans House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries may have fewer options to match Republicans but it hasn t stopped him from exploring them Earlier this month Jeffries crew spoke with New York Gov Kathy Hochul s office about redistricting after the news in Texas according to a person familiar with the conversations Drawing new congressional lines now could run afoul of the state constitution and undoubtedly draw legal challenges but it doesn t appear to be off the table What I m going to say is all is fair in love and war Hochul reported Thursday adding that she s going to see what our options are If there s other states that are violating the rules that are going to try and give themselves an advantage all I ll say is I m going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries Jeffries and his advisers have also examined legal strategies in other states with Democratic trifectas including California where he in the past few days met with the state s congressional delegation Two can play this match California Gov Gavin Newsom a likely Democratic contender for president in explained on social media in response to Trump s redistricting push An independent commission handles redistricting in his state Newsom has floated the notion of California s Democratic-controlled legislature doing a mid-decade redistricting arguing it wouldn t be expressly forbidden by the ballot initiative that created the commission He s also mentioned the possibility of squeezing in a special polling to repeal the popular commission system before the elections get underway either of which would be a long shot Related Articles Trump administration sues New York City over sanctuary city policies Trump administration appeals to Supreme Court to allow million research-funding cuts Trump s AI plan calls for massive information centers Here s how it may affect resource in the US How Trump could use a building renovation to oust Fed Chair Powell Migrant sent to El Salvador prison by the Trump administration says he was beaten by guards Democrats see redistricting fight as an avenue to pushback Beyond the behind-the-scenes maneuvering Democrats see the redistricting fight as an opportunity to meet the moment politically delivering the kind of aggressive pushback their voters have demanded Arizona Sen Ruben Gallego in a series of social media posts pushed Democrats to fight back saying the party should gerrymander to help Democrats and arguing they should dilute heavily Democratic districts to secure more seats everywhere It s time for Democrats to understand the existential threat Republicans aren t playing around and they will do this as long as it takes to keep power he warned Gallego later notified the Associated Press it s entirely about ensuring that we re also fighting back That sentiment has gained traction beyond Congress Former Texas congressman Beto O Rourke reported Sunday on CNN that Democrats need to be to be absolutely ruthless about getting back in power Next month former President Barack Obama is heading to Martha s Vineyard for a benefit benefitting the National Democratic Redistricting Committee a group that has filed and supported litigation in several states over GOP-drawn districts Eric Holder Obama s former attorney general who chairs the outfit is expected to attend along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi according to a copy of the invitation first informed by Politico The group has been critical of Texas efforts in a release earlier this week accusing Texas Republicans of following Donald Trump s orders to try to cheat their way to a House majority because they are terrified of facing voters after taking healthcare care away from millions of Americans and giving a massive tax cut to the wealthy Redrawing maps could be risky for GOP Redrawing of congressional maps holds risks During the s Texas GOP-controlled Legislature redrew the congressional map to bolster the party s majority But the advantage proved short-lived in a backlash to Trump s presidency helped Democrats flip two seats that Republicans had assumed were safely red There had to be folks that drew these lines and everything that had a very strong opinion of exactly where they ought to be stated West Virginia Sen Jim Justice a Republican Now just to say Okay we re going to redraw this we re going to redraw that And by god if you re going to redraw we re going to redraw I don t like that Missouri Sen Josh Hawley stated Thursday that he has not yet spoken to any Republicans in his state about redistricting but that it s up to the Missouri legislature and governor to make the call I d love to have more Republicans Hawley disclosed Anthony Izaguirre in Albany N Y contributed to this account Kinnard revealed from Chapin S C and can be reached at http x com MegKinnardAP