Republicans in Texas yesterday released the first draft of a new congressional map aimed at picking up five seats in next year's midterms.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott added redistricting to the special session agenda at the urging of President Trump and his political team.

Republicans currently control 25 of the 38 congressional districts in Texas.

Under the new maps, the President Trump would have carried 30 of 38 seats, all by more than 10 points.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is in Texas meeting with Democrats as they weigh their options on how to fight their redistricting efforts,

which could include leaving the state.

Jeffries is supposed to hold a news conference today at the state capital in Austin.

Meanwhile, the Texas Tribune has new reporting that California Governor Gavin Newsom has told

aides he will move forward with a plan to redraw his state's congressional lines to install

more Democrats if Texas Republicans pass their own updated math.

What Donald Trump is doing to the rule of law is he is breaking it.

What he is doing to our democracy is subverting it.

And those are active verbs.

Those are not he will subvert or he may undermine.

Like he is doing these things. He is already going after his

political enemies by misusing the Department of Justice. He is already breaking federal law and the

U.S. Constitution. And he already is acting like an authoritarian. And as we move towards the next phase of challenges for our democracy,

which are free and fair elections in 2026, we need to have no illusions.

He has no expectation that he is going to follow what the law is or be constrained.

He is completely outcome-determined.

That's the part that's unusual. The Supreme Court actually starting in Texas in 2003

clarified that states can redistrict gerrymander whenever they want. It doesn't need to be

...