Trump’s Texas Power Grab

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a dramatic act of protest on Sunday, Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives began to flee the state. It is a last-ditch attempt to stop President Trump and Texas Republicans from adopting an aggressively redrawn congressional map that would eliminate Democratic seats — and could help lock in a Republican majority in next year’s elections. Shane Goldmacher, a Times political correspondent, explains this new chapter in the era of unvarnished partisan warfare.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From New York Times, I'm Michael Barrow.
0:04.0	This is the Daily.
0:12.1	In a dramatic act of protest on Sunday night, Democratic lawmakers in Texas began to flee their own state.
0:22.1	It's a last-ditch attempt to stop President Trump and Texas Republicans
0:26.7	from redrawing the state's congressional maps in a way that will eliminate
0:31.9	Democratic seats and could help lock in a Republican majority in next year's elections.
0:39.2	Today, my colleague, Shane Goldlocker,
0:42.6	on a new chapter in the era of unvarnished partisan warfare.
0:58.4	It's Monday, August 4th.
1:06.4	Hey.
1:07.3	Hello.
1:09.3	Do you want me to sit here, right?
1:11.3	Yeah, the place you've always sat for... I'm just checking? I don't know.
1:12.5	For years.
1:15.5	Okay. Thanks for being here, Shane.
1:17.6	Thank you.
1:18.9	As we speak, the eyes of the country, or at least the eyes of lots of people in politics, are on Texas.
1:26.0	Because dozens of its state democratic lawmakers have literally
1:30.1	fled the state. So let me start this episode with a simple question. Why is all of this
1:36.5	happening in Texas and why is all this happening right now? Let me start this episode with a very
1:43.9	simple answer
1:44.9	because Donald Trump wants it, and he wants it now.
	...

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