'Whatever daddy Donald Trump asks': Casar speaks out against GOP redistricting

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Legislature is now just five days away from convening for a special session, focused on flood relief and response, THC legislation and, much to the dismay of Democrats, congressional redistricting. And while no bills or plans have been formally filed, President Donald Trump said Tuesday the Texas GOP should push for five new Republican seats.

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, said this redistricting plan is being snuck in amidst the devastating Central Texas flooding. He is now sounding the alarm for Texas voters to encourage them to pay attention.

"This is a five alarm fire happening in Texas right now, and whether you are a liberal or a conservative voter back home in Texas, we can all agree that we should be focused on relief and rebuilding in Texas after these floods, not be focused on redistricting," Casar said.

The reporting that Trump is pushing for five additional Republican seats is a dramatic shift in the redistricting news. The GOP already holds a 25 to 12 advantage in the Texas congressional delegation. At 66% of seats, that is a higher share than Trump received in the 2024 election at 56%.

Five additional seats would make that disparity even larger, bringing the share of seats to nearly 80%. Some redistricting experts have said that Republicans likely will not be able to draw five GOP seats without violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which requires Black and Latino opportunity districts in Texas.

Casar said that is the point, accusing Trump of attempting to bring the entire Voting Rights Act before the Supreme Court, hoping to see it struck down.

"What Donald Trump probably wants is the Supreme Court to take a look at a map, and he's going to try to get that Supreme Court to approve the map and essentially do away with the voting rights act as we know it," Casar said.

The Supreme Court has previously reaffirmed that partisan gerrymandering does not violate the Voting Rights Act. It has, however, repeatedly struck down congressional maps found to not include Black-opportunity districts, most recently in Alabama and Louisiana. Any new Texas map would likely be sued, and could be tied up in court until the midterm elections.

In order to stop the new maps from being created, House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries reportedly told Texas Democrats to "quorum bust," or leave the state in order to prevent the legislature from meeting. Democrats used the tactic back in 2003 when Republicans did mid-decade redistricting to draw out several Democratic incumbents.

Casar said Democrats should be using any tactic possible, including quorum busting.

"Every tactic should be on the table, from quorum busts to filibusters people having marches and speaking out in large numbers, because what Trump is trying to do is eliminate the Voting Rights Act and suppress millions of Texas voters," Casar said.

New maps could also end up endangering Republicans, in a map known as a "dummymander." The only way to draw new Republican seats in Texas is by making existing Republicans more vulnerable. If the 2026 environment is good enough for Democrats, a poorly-drawn or overambitious Republican map could lead to Democratic gains instead of Republican ones.

And if those new maps are drawn, Casar agreed with remarks made by Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Washington, and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, that Democrats should fund challengers against any potentially vulnerable Republicans.

"Those Republican members of Congress need to watch their left flank and their right flank if Donald Trump gets his way," Casar said. "The Democrats absolutely should run well funded campaigns against every single Republican that lets this happen, and we're going to make sure of that."

Casar said that he believes Texas Republicans will ultimately go along with pushing for five seats because they "haven't found a spine yet" to resist a Trump order.

"I hope that they find a spine," Casar said. "But for now, it seems that they continue to just do whatever daddy Donald Trump asks of them."

Special session begins Monday, though no redistricting bills have been filed yet.