Obama praises Texas Democrats amid redistricting furor [View all]
Source: Politico
08/14/2025 06:45 PM EDT
Former President Barack Obama met Thursday with Texas House Democrats to praise them for leaving the state to stop a GOP-backed redistricting effort.
Obama also pointed to the response by California — which launched its own redistricting retaliation on Thursday — as a result of the Texas Democrats’ own protest, which he views as a temporary offset. He told them he prefers congressional maps to be drawn by independent commissions rather than politicians, but recognized the need for a Democratic response.
“He acknowledged what Texas is doing is wrong, and you have to be able to stand up in this moment,” state Rep. Ann Johnson, who attended the meeting, told POLITICO.
“He was very clear: If we are all playing to our higher angels as politicians, we should want the people determining our lines,” she said. “We should be brave enough to let the voters pick our lines and compete on fair ideas. And that’s what he wants. That’s what all of us want.” Obama was joined on call by former Attorney General Eric Holder, chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/14/obama-praises-texas-democrats-for-walkout-00510616
= new reply since forum marked as read