Trump's New Census Plan and Texas Redistricting Battle

Trump's Proposed Census Overhaul

• 💡 President Trump has ordered his administration to develop a new census that excludes individuals residing in the country illegally.
• 🎯 This initiative aims to create a census based on "modern-day facts and figures," potentially altering congressional apportionment.

Concerns Over Current Apportionment

• 📊 Vice President JD Vance argues that states like California receive disproportionately more House seats due to their high undocumented immigrant populations.
• 💰 He contends this unfairly subsidizes these states through federal benefits, while states like Ohio have fewer representatives.
• ⚖️ Congressman Andy Biggs echoes this sentiment, stating that current redistricting practices in states like California and Illinois have gerrymandered districts to favor Democrats.

Texas Redistricting Crisis

• 🚨 Texas Democrats have fled the state to prevent a quorum for Republican-led redistricting efforts, facing a deadline to return.
• 🏛️ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has threatened to remove lawmakers from office if they do not return, with arrest warrants planned.
• 🕵️ Texas Senator John Cornyn noted the FBI's involvement in tracking the lawmakers, raising questions about potential illegal contributions and bribery from figures like George Soros.
• 💸 Democrats are facing a $500 daily fine for breaking quorum, with a group led by Beto O'Rourke covering initial costs, and an investigation into potential bribery is underway.
• 🔄 Texas Governor Greg Abbott plans to continue calling special sessions until redistricting is resolved.

Redistricting Disparities and Voter Impact

• 📈 A Wall Street Journal column suggests Democrats have gerrymandered aggressively, controlling lines for fewer GOP seats compared to Republican control over Democrat seats.
• 🗳️ Congressman Biggs highlights that in California, 40% of voters are Republican, yet only 17% of the state legislature is Republican due to gerrymandering.
• 📉 The last census is blamed for inaccuracies, with Arizona expecting two seats but receiving none, and California not losing seats it arguably should have.
• 🚫 The inclusion of non-voting, non-entitled individuals in the reapportionment enumeration is seen as a fundamental flaw that should have been addressed years ago.
• 🗣️ President Trump is advocating for Texas to gain five more seats and for GOP-led states to shift more districts from Democrats to Republicans, asserting that Texas voters have been disenfranchised by redistricting.