Good Monday evening. In this edition: Hochul vows retribution for Texas redistricting plans; and Senate begins August recess without resolving nominations standoff.
Plus, India, Switzerland, Mace and Johnson.
Redistricting
Democratic state lawmakers fled Texas in an attempt to deny the legislature the quorum it needs to adopt a new congressional map that heavily favors the Republican Party.
Texas Republicans, at the urging of President Trump, are seeking to approve a new map, mid-decade, that creates five more conservative-leaning districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who called a special legislative session to approve the redistricting plan, accused Democrats of having "absconded from their responsibility" and threatened to have them removed from office — and even arrested upon their return to the state.
"I believe they have forfeited their seats in the state legislature because they are not doing the job they were elected to do," he told Fox News on Monday.
It's unclear, however, whether the governor has the authority to remove the Democrats from office.
On Sunday night, he cited a 2021 nonbinding advisory opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) as a justification, but that would certainly be challenged in court.
The Democratic lawmakers, who are incurring daily fines of $500 for breaking the quorum, traveled to the blue states of Illinois, New York and Massachusetts — and haven't said for how long they plan to be out of state.
"We will not be complicit in the destruction of our own communities. We're not here to play political games. We're here to demand an end to this corrupt process."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), who is running for a third term and is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, accused Texas Republicans of "attempting to cheat" and said his staff was providing logistical support to the Texas Democrats.
The governor's own state is heavily gerrymandered, resulting in a 14–3 split between Democrats and Republicans in its congressional delegation.
A handful of Democratic states have threatened to try to alter their own maps in response to the Texas effort, which is expected to ultimately go through.
Typically, redistricting occurs once every 10 years on the heels of the census, making the mid-decade shuffle unusual, but not unprecedented.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said she was open to all options to try to fight back against Texas Republicans, including altering her own state's map.
The governor said she was interested in changing or removing the state's independent redistricting commission, a bipartisan body charged with drawing fair maps that was enshrined in the state's constitution in 2014.
"I'm tired with fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back. With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process," she told reporters.
New York Democrats have proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow the state assembly to redraw its maps if another state changed its own mid-decade.
But the amendment would have to pass in two consecutive legislative sessions and be approved by voters through a ballot measure, meaning 2028 is the earliest election that a new map could go into effect.
Gov. Hochul said the extraordinary measure would be justified since the Texas map would have implications for control of Congress, affecting the entire nation.
"The playing field has changed dramatically, and shame on us if we ignore that fact and cling tight to the vestiges of the past," she said. "That era is over. Donald Trump eliminated that forever."
California has floated changing its lines as well, seeking to counter GOP gains in Texas with a more favorable map for Democrats in California.
However, the state would run into the same issue as New York in having to first alter its constitution.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), whose district would likely be redrawn under a new California map, said he plans to introduce a bill that would ban mid-decade redistricting efforts nationwide.
"Fortunately, Congress has the ability to protect California voters using its authority under the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution," he said in a statement.
"This will also stop a damaging redistricting war from breaking out across the country."
Senators left town on Saturday night for their coveted August recess without reaching a resolution on how to process President Trump's civilian nominees more quickly.
Democrats have been slow-walking nominees all year, making Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) jump through procedural hurdles to process even noncontroversial nominations.
Despite approving 10 more before departing the Capitol, more than 100 civilian nominees remain unconfirmed, frustrating the president, who initially wanted senators to skip their break to continue processing his picks.
But after a particularly exhausting stretch on Capitol Hill that saw four vote-a-ramas, matching the record set in 1995, there was little desire on either side of the aisle to continue slogging through votes.
President Trump has urged Republicans to break through the Democratic logjam by changing the chamber's rules.
Republicans have floated allowing recess appointments, shortening debate time, or allowing nominations to be confirmed in groups, among other ideas, but no decisions have been made.
Senate leaders were engaged in talks throughout the week to try to resolve the impasse, but no deal was ultimately struck.
Democrats demanded the White House unfreeze previously appropriated funds for foreign aid and the National Institutes of Health in exchange for dozens of nominees.
They also offered to confirm dozens more if the White House would commit to sending no more rescissions bills to claw back funding that has already been approved.
The leaders thought they had an agreement, but President Trump refused to give his final approval, calling it "political extortion" and sending lawmakers home to "explain to [their] constituents what bad people the Democrats are."
"This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted," the president wrote on Truth Social.
"Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!"
Sen. Thune and other Republicans have signaled that a rule change is likely when they return in September unless Democrats stop slow-walking nominees.
A rule change could be done through a simple majority vote, known as the "nuclear option," which would be sure to enrage Democrats and increase the likelihood of a government shutdown.
Before leaving town, senators approved three of the 12 annual appropriations bills with large bipartisan majorities, however, the prospects of getting both chambers to agree on all 12 bills before the Sept. 30 deadline is exceedingly unlikely.
House Republicans are seeking steeper spending cuts than the Senate, and Democrats are under tremendous pressure to combat the president's every move.
A continuing resolution (CR) covering all or some federal agencies is the most likely outcome, but would still require Democratic buy-in.
The White House has also refused to rule out more rescissions packages, making Democrats less likely to agree to a spending deal.
The Senate and House are both slated to next return for legislative business on Sept. 2 when they'll have less than a month to figure out government funding.
In other news…
President Trumpsaid he will "substantially" increase the 25% tariffs he imposed on India for the country's continued purchase of Russian oil. New Delhi called the move "unjustified and unreasonable" and said it had no plans of discontinuing its practice of buying and reselling the oil. The president has also set a Friday deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face sanctions.
The Swiss governmentannounced it will present the Trump administration with a "more attractive offer" in an effort to try to reduce the sky-high 39% tariffs its country was slapped with last week. The announcement came after an emergency cabinet meeting, where officials also discussed plans to shield their economy and workers if they fail to reach a new deal before the tariffs go into effect on Thursday.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) announced her candidacy for South Carolina governor, telling the New York Times she was prepared to be a "super MAGA governor." She joins a crowded GOP primary to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster (R) that already includes her colleague Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) and state Attorney General Alan Wilson (R).
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) made stops in Jerusalem and the West Bank on Sunday and Monday as part of a weeklong trip that also includes other Republican lawmakers. The visit follows the postponement of a trip to Israel in June, when he was supposed to address the country's parliament, the Knesset. The trip was organized by a conservative pro-Israel advocacy group.
With Congress on break, Word for Word will also be taking some time off. Expect only intermittent editions as warranted by the news until lawmakers return in September. Have a great month!
For your radar…
The U.N. Security Council meets Tuesday to discuss the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 3pm ET.
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