Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) has expressed serious concerns about GOP efforts regarding rezoning in Texas, referring to the situation as a “five-alarm fire.” He urged Democrats to respond decisively.
“What’s happening in Texas is alarming. Donald Trump has already indicated his intentions to push similar measures not just here but nationwide,” Casar, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, stated in a recent interview with Rolling Stone.
This week, President Trump conveyed his hope that Republicans would secure five extra House seats through a rezoning plan that the Texas legislature is set to discuss in upcoming special sessions.
He mentioned that a “very simple redraw” could yield these additional seats for the GOP and expressed a willingness to support similar actions in traditionally Democratic states, potentially to bolster Democratic representation there as well.
“I believe we could gain five seats, while other states might also add a few,” Trump remarked on Tuesday. “Texas will have the most significant changes.”
It’s still uncertain whether Casar’s district, which includes parts of Austin, will be impacted.
“I honestly don’t know, and it seems that most congressional members feel the same way. Even Republicans admit they’ve never seen these proposed maps, and there’s a growing sense of unease,” Casar noted.
He recently won re-election by nearly 35 points and criticized the current Texas map as “already illegal,” labeling it a product of gerrymandering.
“What Trump aims to do by attempting to gerrymander five extra seats effectively undermines the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” he emphasized.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) mentioned last week that constitutional concerns would be addressed in the next legislative meeting with the Department of Justice.
House Democrats are condemning Trump and his Republican counterparts, arguing that the push to alter Texas’s legislative boundaries is an attempt to maintain Republican control ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
“It’s obvious why Republicans are pursuing this—they know they’ll likely lose their majority next year,” stated Sen. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), who leads the House Democrats’ campaign efforts, during a press briefing. “They can’t win with their failed policies, so they’re concocting a plan to rig the Texas map to protect their tenuous majority.”
In light of these developments, Casar suggested that Democrats should explore all possible strategies to resist such moves. “That means considering quorum breaks, filibusters, organizing protests, and pressuring House leaders, along with funding campaigns against Republican Congress members who support this,” he said.
