Hochul Calls for Redrawing New York’s Congressional Map in Response to Texas Redistricting

Name: Hochul Calls for Redrawing New York’s Congressional Map in Response to Texas Redistricting
Uploaded: 2025-08-05T10:13:55.000Z
Description: '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,' Hochul said.

'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,' Hochul said.

Rudy Blalock

Published: 8/4/2025, 10:52:53 PM EDT

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday vowed to “fight fire with fire” as she pledged to pursue a rapid redrawing of New York’s congressional maps in response to Republican redistricting actions in Texas.

“I have newsflash for Republicans in Texas. This is no longer the Wild West. We're not going to tolerate our democracy being stolen in a modern day stagecoach heist by a bunch of law breaking cowboys,” Hochul said in a Monday press release, as she hosted Texas Democratic lawmakers who left their state in protest.

According to Hochul, Republicans led by President Donald Trump are orchestrating what she called “nothing short of a legal insurrection against our Capital.”

Hochul’s remarks came as at least 51 Texas House Democrats left Texas on Monday to thwart a Republican-backed redistricting bill. The Democratic walkout denied the Texas House the two-thirds quorum required to move forward on a plan critics say would secure Republican control by redrawing and, opponents allege, gerrymandering several districts in the GOP’s favor.

“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,” Hochul said.

She added, “'All is fair in love and war'—that's why I'm exploring with our leaders every option to redraw our State congressional lines as soon as possible.”

The Texas walkout was designed as a last-ditch effort to thwart legislation that Democrats argue would unfairly advantage Republicans in future elections.

At least 51 of the chamber's 62 Democratic representatives left Texas to deny Republicans the two-thirds quorum required for legislative business, a spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus told The Epoch Times. The Texas House requires 100 of its 150 members to be present to conduct official proceedings.

Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement Sunday, “This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity.”

The Texas House of Representatives on Monday voted 85–6 to arrest those who were absent when the House went into session that afternoon.

Republican state House Speaker Dustin Burrows said on the floor Monday that he is "prepared to recognize a motion to place a call on the House and any other motions necessary to compel the return of absent members," noting that if such a motion were to succeed he would "will immediately sign the warrants for the civil arrest" of the lawmakers who said they would not be there.

He said in the direction of Democrats: “Come back and fulfill your duty, because this House will not sit quietly, while you obstruct the work of the people. The people of Texas are watching. And so is the nation. And if you choose to continue down this road, you should know there will be consequences."

Shortly after his remarks, a motion passed in the Texas House to send out arrest warrants to the Democratic lawmakers who left the state.

The U.S. Department of Justice under Trump has claimed some Texas congressional districts constituted illegal “coalition districts,” while Trump himself said on July 15 he hopes to net five additional House seats through “simple redrawing.”

On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the arrest of the Democratic lawmakers who left the state.

“Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty and are holding flood relief and property tax cuts hostage,” Abbott said in a post to social media on Aug. 4.

In a separate post, Abbott said he directed the Texas Rangers to investigate the Democrats for potential violations of Texas law, including bribery. “Any Democrat who solicited or accepted funds to break quorum may have violated bribery laws,” he said.

Democrats said they would not be “complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal,” according to the same statement from Wu.

This is not the first time Texas Democrats have left the state to prevent contentious legislation—in 2021, they fled to Washington for 38 days over an election bill.