The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives passed Wednesday a redrawn congressional map that creates up to five new winnable GOP seats in Congress, further deepening a national redistricting battle between states.
Republicans want to make it easier for the GOP to hold on to its slim U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterm elections, so that Democrats have little ability to thwart President Donald Trump ’s agenda. Trump directed Texas and other conservative-controlled states to put forth rare mid-decade redistricting plans as Republicans anticipate a difficult midterm election.
In response, California’s Legislature is poised to approve new maps adding more Democratic-friendly seats later this week, in a move former President Barack Obama has applauded.
Texas Democratic lawmakers delayed the vote for 15 days by leaving the state in protest, depriving the House of enough members to do business. With House approval, the maps now need to be approved by the state Senate and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott before they become official.
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Texas governor says new maps will ‘better reflect the actual votes of Texans’
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott says he’ll sign into the law the redrawn U.S. House districts that give his party five more winnable seats. He had put escalating pressure on Democrats to come home during their two-week walkout that had delayed the vote.
“While Democrats shirked their duty, in futility, and ran away to other states, Republicans stayed the course, stayed at work and stayed true to Texas,” he said.
Vance describes Russia’s Putin as ‘more soft-spoken than you’d necessarily expect’
“You know that the American media has a particular image of him,” Vice President JD Vance told “The Ingraham Angle.” “He’s soft-spoken in a certain way. He’s very deliberate. He’s very careful. And I think fundamentally, he’s a person who looks out for the interests as he sees it, of Russia. And I think one of the reasons he respects the president of the United States is because he knows the president looks out for the interests of the American people.”
Vance, who has never met Putin in person, added that he’s spoken with the Russian leader “a number of times.”
Federal Reserve official says she won’t be ‘bullied’ by Trump
Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s governing board, responded Wednesday after Trump called on her to resign on social media after a member of his administration accused her of mortgage fraud.
“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said in a statement issued by the Fed.
Bill Pulte, the head of the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, alleged on the social platform X that Cook had claimed two primary residences — in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta — in 2021 to get better mortgage terms. Mortgage rates are often higher on second homes or those purchased to rent.
Cook also said, “I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”
Vance suggests Trump surprised European leaders and Zelenskyy when he stepped away to call Putin
Trump told reporters as he sat down with Volodymyr Zelenskyy early in the day on Monday that he intended to call Russian President Vladimir Putin after a day of talks with the Ukrainian president and key European leaders. But the vice president on Wednesday suggested in an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that Trump surprised the leaders when he abruptly stepped away from the talks to dial up the Russian president.
“So, we’re actually in the East Wing of the White House, and the president says, ‘You know, we’ve had a pretty good meeting. I’m going to call Vladimir Putin, see what he says about it.’” Vance said. “And everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you’re going to call him next week?’ And he’s like, ‘No, what time is it in Moscow? Let’s call him right now.’”
Trump said following the Putin call that he had begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between the Russian president and Zelenskyy. The Kremlin hasn’t publicly confirmed such a possibility.
It’s all over in the House and lawmakers are free to leave
The Texas House has given final approval to the new congressional voting maps, and Republicans used their majority to push it through. Within seconds, House Speaker Dustin Burrows removed the “call of the House.” The chamber doors were unlocked and House members are now allowed to leave.
Texas House approves new congressional map
Texas Republicans have taken the first step toward approving new congressional maps that would give their party as many as five new seats in the House of Representatives
The maps need to be approved by the state Senate and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott before they become official.
California to vote Thursday on measures to combat Texas gerrymandering effort
California Legislature is scheduled to vote Thursday morning on the three measures to advance Democrats’ partisan plan to neutralize the GOP-led gerrymandering effort in Texas. The legislative package would establish new congressional districts, authorize the redrawn map to replace the existing one and declare a November special election to seek voters’ approval.
Each measure would require a two-third vote to pass, but California Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers and do not need any Republican vote to pass their agenda.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who’s leading the campaign in favor of the new map, must sign the proposals by Friday to give local elections officials enough time to prepare for the special election. Democrats hold 43 out of California’s 52 U.S. House seats and want to win five more.
If voters agree, the proposed map would replace one drawn by an independent commission that took effect in 2022. The new map would only take effect if another state moves forward with their own mid-decade redistricting and would remain through the 2030 elections.
Floor opens up for debate in last step before final passage
Republicans have swatted down a series of Democratic amendments to the new congressional map and opened the floor to debate. More than a dozen Democratic representatives have spoken against the legislation, and more are lined up to talk.
Trump can end temporary protections for migrants from Central America and Nepal, court says
A federal appeals court on Wednesday sided with the Trump administration and stayed a lower court’s order keeping in place temporary protections for 60,000 migrants from Central America and Nepal.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco granted the emergency stay pending an appeal as immigrants rights advocates allege that the administration acted unlawfully in ending Temporary Protected Status designations for people from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal.
Temporary Protected Status is a designation that can be granted by the Homeland Security secretary, preventing migrants from being deported and allowing them to work. The Trump administration has aggressively sought to remove the protection, thus making more people eligible for removal. It’s part of a wider effort by the administration to carry out mass deportations of immigrants.
Congressional maps aren’t the only thing on the agenda at the Texas Capitol
As the House debated the redistricting bill, families of girls killed at Camp Mystic in flooding last month in Texas were giving tearful testimony in the same building to senators considering summer camp safety reforms.
Democrats have criticized House Republicans for putting the redistricting bill ahead of flood relief and response efforts. Twenty-seven girls were killed when the camp was flooded.
▶ Read more about the flooding in Texas.
At least 600 CDC employees are getting final termination notices, union says
The notices follow a recent court decision that protected some Centers for Disease Control and Protection employees from layoffs but not others.
Many have been on administrative leave since the U.S. Health and Human Services Department sent layoff notices to thousands of employees at federal health agencies in April.
But now, according to a union that represents CDC employees, at least 600 have been fired.
The permanent cuts include about 100 people who worked in violence prevention.
Gabbard slashing intelligence office workforce, cutting budget
The Office of National Intelligence will reduce its workforce by 40% and cut its budget by more than $700 million annually, the Trump administration announced Wednesday.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement, “Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence.”
She said the intelligence community “must make serious changes to fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution by focusing on our core mission: find the truth and provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers.”
Texas lawmaker who led a pre-debate protest tried to join a call with other Democrats
State Rep. Nicole Collier said she was told she had to get off the phone after she joined a Zoom call about redistricting that included prominent Democrats.
Collier joined the call from a bathroom in the House chamber. She said she wasn’t allowed to participate from the floor, and other lawmakers could be heard in the background.
She was about to answer a reporter’s question when she announced that she had to leave, saying, “They said it’s a felony for me to do this.”
She didn’t specify who told her that.
“Apparently, I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” she said.
She then said to someone nearby who was not visible, “Well, you told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom.”
Participating in the call, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, of New Jersey, accused Republicans of trying to silence a Black woman who is “an American leader.”
“The fact that she can’t even let her voice be heard is frickin’ outrageous,” Booker said.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows’ office said Collier wasn’t breaking the chamber’s rules or breaking the law. His office doesn’t know why Collier made her statements or exactly what happened.
Guard commander calls mission not ‘out of the ordinary’
The commander of the National Guard members deployed in Washington says their mission isn’t “out of the ordinary” though troops are out in larger numbers than usual.
They are providing “an extra set of eyes and ears, more than anything else, for our law enforcement partners and helping them maintain control the situation,” said Col. Larry Doane, head of Joint Task Force District of Columbia, the military unit overseeing the Guard.
He spoke to The Associated Press outside Union Station, where D.C. Guard members have been stationed since Trump ordered a federal intervention into policing in the nation’s capital last week. They have been joined by newly arrived troops from South Carolina.
“This is our community, too,” Doane said. “We’re from here. This is our town, too. And safe and beautiful is what we’ve been asked to do, and those are two words I can get behind.”
Trump point person on Smithsonian says goal of review is to eliminate ideology
Lindsey Halligan, one of Trump’s special assistants, said a review of Smithsonian museums that he ordered will basically be an audit of the institution.
Halligan told Fox News Channel that the goal is to learn how museum placards were written in what she says is an “ideological fashion.” They also want to know how exhibits are voted on and how they’re put together for the millions of people who visit annually, she said.
Halligan also said there is an “overemphasis on slavery” at the Smithsonian.
A lawyer, Halligan said it’s awful that the United States was involved in slavery but “I think there should be more of an overemphasis on how far we’ve come since slavery.”
“There’s a lot of history to our country, both positive and negative, but we need to keep moving forward,” she said. “We can’t just keep focusing on the negative. All it does is divide us. We really need to unite the country.”
Prosecutors have a new policy on gun charges in DC, source says
Federal prosecutors in the nation’s capital have stopped seeking criminal charges for people possessing rifles or shotguns in Washington, D.C., according to a person familiar with the new policy.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro informed her office of the policy change in a memo sent within the past month, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal matter.
Pirro said in a statement that the change is based on guidance from the Justice Department and the Office of Solicitor General and conforms with two landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions on gun rights.
The new policy also coves large-capacity magazines, but it doesn’t apply to handguns. Pirro’s office will continue to pursue felony charges for cases in which somebody is accused of using a shotgun or rifle in a crime of violence or has a criminal record that makes it illegal to have a firearm.
Local authorities in Washington can prosecute people for illegally possessing unregistered rifles and shotguns.
— By Michael Kunzelman
Barack Obama says it’s OK for California to hit back on redistricting
Obama made his comment at a fundraiser Tuesday night for the main Democratic redistricting group.
The former president said that he has long backed a nonpartisan approach to redistricting. But he agrees with California Gov. Gavin Newsom that Democrats there should try to replace their nonpartisan-drawn map with one drawn to maximize Democratic seats in response to the GOP’s Texas move. Voters would need to approve the new California map.
“I think that approach is a smart, measured approach,” Obama said.
Far more Democratic-controlled states’ maps are drawn by independent commissions than Republican ones, putting the party at a disadvantage in the new redistricting fight.
Data shows rise in arrests during DC police surge
The average number of people arrested each day in Washington during the first 10 days of Trump’s federal takeover increased by about 20% as hundreds of federal officers joined police on the streets of the nation’s capital.
Law enforcement data shows the average number of daily jail bookings increased from 64 to 78 during the 10-day period since the president moved to exert control over the police department and call out the National Guard, as compared with the previous 10 days.
Those totals include arrests by both local police and federal officers, but not immigration arrests, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss data that has not been publicly released.
Law enforcement have made more than 550 arrests since the beginning of the surge, officials have said. About 40% of those have been immigration arrests, according to data sent to law enforcement that was viewed by The Associated Press.
— By Lindsay Whitehurst
US Rep. Greg Casar is also at the Texas Capitol rally
Casar may challenge Doggett in a new Austin district. Like Green, he is calling the new maps a violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Casar was leading chants of “We’re not going back.”
Metropolitan Police Chief Pam Smith urges calm, measured collaboration with federal law enforcement
Smith said D.C. police had not yet received any subpoenas as part of the Justice Department’s inquiry into the accuracy of the District of Columbia’s crime statistics.
The broader operation was garnering mixed opinions from local police and residents.
Smith said that she’s spoken with the Trump administration about community relations following protests and residents in multiple neighborhoods heckling federal agents who were conducting raids and other law enforcement activities. She added that the MPD had “come a long way in establishing positive relationships with our community” and wanted to maintain that dynamic amid the surge in federal agents.
“We do a lot of community engagement with our federal partners. This isn’t new, so we want to try to see how we can enhance that and build upon that. What we don’t want is for community members to interfere and get involved in things that is a police related manner,” said Smith.
US Reps. Al Green of Houston and Lloyd Doggett of Austin join Texas Capitol protest
Green said the new map is “something that Jim Crow would love.”
Doggett said even if Democrats lose the vote today, they will fight to win the new districts.
“We need a check in this president,” Doggett said. “We are going to keep fighting Trump in these five districts. We’re together in this.”
Vance, other Trump administration officials, have lunch with National Guard troops at Shake Shack
Asked at Union Station whether the White House would extend the federalization of Washington’s police force after 30 days, Vance replied, “If the president of the United States thinks that he has to extend this order to ensure that people have access to public safety, that’s exactly what he’ll do.”
Amid questions about whether the Trump’s actions have really made Washington safer, Vance suggested that crime statistics “all over the country” have been “massively underreported.”
After speaking to reporters, the vice president, as well as Hegseth and Miller, remained at the station’s Shake Shack for lunch with National Guard members.
Judge denies Justice Department request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts
The ruling Wednesday by federal Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan came after the judge presiding over the case against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell also turned down the government’s request.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her conviction on sex trafficking charges for helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls and young women.
Epstein died in jail awaiting trial. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.
Most DC residents are opposed to Trump’s federal intervention in the District
According to a new poll from The Washington Post-Schar School, about two-thirds also believe that Trump ordering the National Guard and FBI to patrol D.C. will not make the city safer.
The poll shows many D.C. residents don’t agree with Trump’s assessment of the District as a crime-ridden area. Fewer describe crime as a highly serious problem than did a few months ago.
Most residents report noticing more federal law enforcement officers in D.C. over the prior week. Among those who noticed more law enforcement, about 6 in 10 said it made them feel less safe
Heated exchange over map’s impact on Black voters
Debate had been relatively calm and technical until Democratic State Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, who is Black, confronted bill author and Republican State Rep. Todd Hunter over the provision’s elimination of two House seats held by Black Democrats.
“We weren’t asked any questions or engaged,” Gervin-Hawkins said, referring to the Texas Legislative Black Caucus and accusing Hunter of ignoring minority interests.
“For 17 to 18 days you left,” Hunter shot back. “And now you’re coming on the microphone and asking why I didn’t come find you?”
ICC denounces US sanctions
The International Criminal Court has denounced the imposition of new U.S. sanctions against four of its judges and prosecutors. In a statement, The Hague-based ICC called the sanctions “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution” and “an affront against the Court’s states parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world.”
The sanctions freeze any assets held by the two ICC judges and two ICC prosecutors in U.S. jurisdictions.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he imposed the sanctions because the tribunal’s investigations into alleged war crimes by U.S. and Israeli soldiers and officials. Neither Israel nor the U.S. is a member of the ICC, which is charged prosecuting international war crimes.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, said the U.S. should withdraw the sanctions.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the step.
Protesters are staying loud
Opponents of the redistricting bill are staging protests inside the Capitol rotunda every two hours during the floor debate.
About 200 have gathered again to chant and cheer while lawmakers debate one floor above. Many protesters are holding signs that read “Put Texans Here” and “Fight the Trump Takeover.”
Debate centers around race
Much of the floor debate over the new Texas map revolves around whether it increases or decreases the number of majority-minority districts in the state.
That’s because the Voting Rights Act requires that maps give minority groups enough districts where they have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. That would be the only grounds under which a court could block the map. Democrats and their allies have already filed court papers urging the presumed map be rejected for that reason.
Republicans are arguing that the map actually increases the number of majority-minority House seats in Texas. Democrats are countering that the map does so only by playing numbers games and overall hurts minority representation.
Republicans in little mood for talking
Democrats can’t stop the vote on the redistricting bill but are doing what they can to slow things down. Republicans are in no mood.
Democrats are trying to prolong the debate by filing amendments and asking a lot of questions.
Republicans have twice used the majority to enforce time limits and keep the bill moving toward a vote.
Texas Democrats say it’s about democracy
Texas Democrats objecting to the new maps say the idea of lawmakers redrawing districts to help their party win elections flies in the face of the nation’s values.
“In a democracy, people choose their representatives,” said state Rep. Chris Turner. “This bill flips that on its head and lets politicians in Washington, D.C., choose their voters.”
What about that aid for flood victims?
Texas Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows has brushed off the protests by Democratic lawmakers, saying ahead of Wednesday’s session that he’s focused on important issues including responding to last month’s deadly floods.
Republicans had accused Democrats of delaying aid to flood victims by leaving the state. But redistricting is the only item scheduled for Wednesday’s session.
Trump is making more decorating changes at the White House
It looks like Trump is adding portraits along the West Wing colonnade, or the walkway that borders one side of the Rose Garden.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who is also one of Trump’s close personal friends, shared photos of herself with the president on the colonnade.
In one photo, separate sheets of brown paper are taped to the wall. In the second, Trump and Pirro stand back and watch as military aides hold up framed portraits.
A White House spokesperson says Trump is playing with different ideas and designs.
Trump’s sanctions have halted ICC’s war crimes work
The Trump administration already managed to halt the International Criminal Court ’s work by sanctioning its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan. He lost access to his email and bank accounts, and the court’s American staffers were told they risk arrest if they return home. Those are just some of hurdles court staff face under pressure from Trump, according to interviews with current and former ICC officials, international lawyers and human rights advocates.
Trump sanctioned the court after a panel of ICC judges in November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, finding reason to believe the pair may have committed war crimes by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.
▶ Read more about the Trump administration’s pressure on the war crimes court
US sanctions more ICC officials for probing allegations of American and Israeli war crimes
The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on the International Criminal Court. The sanctions announced by the State Department on Wednesday target two judges and two prosecutors who it said had been instrumental in efforts to prosecute Americans and Israelis at the The Hague-based international war crimes tribunal.
They are judges Kimberly Proust of Canada and Nicolas Guillou of France, and prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration will “take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our troops, our sovereignty, and our allies from the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions.”
The Associated Press
