'If You Can Keep It': The Fight Over Redistricting In Texas

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🗓️ 11 August 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

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Summary

Redistricting in Texas is turning into a showdown that has nationwide implications for the House of Representatives. The situation paints another stroke in a portrait of a president who hasn't been shy about his desire to consolidate power and shore up GOP prospects ahead of the 2026 midterms.

So, what kicked this off? Last week more than 50 Democratic lawmakers fled the state to break quorum and prevent their state House vote on new redrawn congressional maps. The Democrats' revolt, threats of retaliation, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's threats have intensified the fight and sparked a national conversation.

In this installment of our politics series, "If You Can Keep It," we discuss the fight over redistricting in Texas what it means for the state of our democracy.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Do you ever look at political headlines and go, huh?
0:03.6	Well, that's exactly why the NPR Politics Podcast exists.
0:07.8	We're experts, not just on politics, but in making politics make sense.
0:12.6	Every episode, we decode everything that happened in Washington and help you figure out what it all means.
0:18.3	Give politics a chance with the NPR Politics Podcasts, available wherever you get your podcasts.
0:29.2	You're listening to the OneA podcast. I'm Jen White. And I'm Todd's Willick. An extraordinary fight is underway in Texas over redistricting.
0:39.8	It's turning into a showdown that has nationwide implications.
0:43.6	Today's conversation isn't just about redistricting, something that happens every decade or so in dozens of states across the country.
0:50.5	It's about the House of Representatives.
0:52.3	And it's about a president who has been vocal about his
0:55.1	desire to consolidate power and shore up GOP prospects in the 26 midterms.
1:00.5	Here's what President Trump told CNBC last Tuesday.
1:03.6	We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats.
1:06.7	We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas.
1:14.7	I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know.
1:18.0	And we are entitled to five more seats.
1:25.6	Republicans are entitled to five more seats based on the results of the last presidential election, the president says.
1:28.9	That's not how representation is decided in this country. So what kicked all of this off? Last week, Republicans in Texas moved to give Donald Trump
1:35.4	what he demanded. They executed a highly unusual plan to use their majorities and simply redraw
1:41.9	state congressional maps to GOP advantage in the middle of the decade.
1:47.5	And last week, more than 50 Democratic lawmakers in Texas fled the state to break quorum and
1:53.0	prevent their statehouse from voting on those new redrawn congressional maps.
	...

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