Hochul Will ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ Against Texas Republicans
Over the weekend, Democratic lawmakers from the Texas state house fled for Illinois and New York in an attempt to prevent the Republican-controlled legislature from meeting and thwart the passage of a gerrymandered congressional map backed by President Donald Trump. On Monday, Governor Kathy Hochul met with several of the exiled Democrats, praised their drastic act of opposition, and vowed New York would “fight fire with fire.”
“If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they’re leaving us no choice: We must do the same,” she said during a press conference Monday. “That’s why I’m exploring with our leaders every option to redraw our state congressional lines as soon as possible.”
New York @GovKathyHochul: "If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage then they're leaving us no choice. We must do the same...I'm exploring with our leaders every option to redraw our state congressional lines as soon as possible." pic.twitter.com/wZe8odFGVe
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 4, 2025
Hochul said that the state’s legislative leaders, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, as well as their members are in favor of rewriting the redistricting rules on the books. “We’re already working on a legislative process reviewing our legal strategies, and we’ll do everything in our power to stop this brazen assault,” she said.
Last week, members of the New York State Legislature introduced legislation that would allow for mid-decade redistricting as opposed to the current schedule, which calls for redistricting every ten years, pegged to the U.S. Census. As with any amendment to the state constitution, the measure would have to be passed by both chambers in two consecutive legislative sessions before being presented to voters as a ballot question for their final approval. Under that process, the earliest the state could see new congressional maps would likely be prior to the 2028 election cycle.
It was in 2014 that the state implemented an independent redistricting commission tasked with drawing both the congressional and legislative districts every decade. Though the bipartisan panel was introduced to keep party politics out of the redistricting, its most recent attempts have been the subject of great controversy on both sides of the aisle. After the commission failed to come to an agreement on a pair of maps in 2022, the Democratic-led legislature put forth its own heavily gerrymandered lines, prompting a lengthy court battle and a heavily disputed final map drawn by a court-ordered independent special master.
When asked by a reporter if she thought the commission should be altered or even disbanded in some way in light of the most recent drawn-out redistricting saga, Hochul said “yes.” “I’m tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back. With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process,” she said.
Hochul said that Republicans can “have at it” if the party manages to take control of the legislature in future years but that Democrats have a responsibility to use the power they have now. “This is a war. We are at war, and that’s why the gloves are off. And I say, ‘Bring it on,’” she said.
Related