The Republican-led Texas Legislature will soon finish taking public testimony on the highly unusual and controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting sought by President Donald Trump. One hearing this weekend occurred in a city that’s been singled out by the president’s Justice Department: Houston.

From Austin to Houston to Arlington, the Republican-led Texas House Redistricting Committee has taken public testimony on the rare mid-decade redistricting effort. 

At the beginning of both House hearings in Houston and Arlington, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, highlighted how the public hearings were occurring with no revised maps. 

“People are going to be testifying neutral, that means we don’t have a map, right,” Thompson said.

The significance of holding one hearing in Houston was not lost on Texas Democrats. It took place on Saturday in the 18th Congressional District.

“When I say historic, I mean historic,” said state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, who is the committee’s vice chair. “This district gave us Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland, Craig Washington, Sheila Jackson Lee and the late, great Sylvester Turner.”

The district was one of the four heavily Democratic congressional districts that were flagged by President Trump’s Justice Department as improperly drawn. The department argues that “race-based considerations” were used in creating the districts, but many who testified say redistricting now would dilute the voices of minority voters. 

Some say Houston has already been in a tough spot.

“When we lost our congressman, Sylvester Turner, the law says the governor is supposed to call the special election immediately, but he set it for November, so that people in this district are going to go more than a year without congressional representation. That means that when there are votes on the floor, nobody’s there to vote for our district,” said Christian Menefee, the former Democratic Harris County district attorney, who is running for the 18th Congressional District. “I’m here to say enough is enough.”

Democrats who represent the Lone Star State in Congress showed up for the hearings too.

Spectrum News caught up with U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, ahead of her testimony to the committee on Saturday.

“Gov. Abbott and Texas Republicans are just ceding their authority and taking orders from President Trump around redistricting the state, the entire state. They’re not responding to the things that Texans are worried about and caring about right now. They’re prioritizing what GOP operatives up here in Washington want them to do. So that’s deeply troubling, because I expect our state’s leaders to fight for Texans,” Fletcher told Spectrum News.

One Democrat whose district was identified by the Justice Department was U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth. 

“Donald Trump is demanding loyalty maps, maps drawn not to represent but to erase, erase, and these maps will strip away the voices of Black and brown Texans who built the state and fueled its growth,” Veasey told the committee on Monday in Arlington. 

Spectrum News also spoke with U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Dallas, before she attended the Arlington hearing on Monday. 

“Once the maps drop, we’re going to evaluate them very closely and look at every option possible to protect the voters in my district,” Johnson told Spectrum News. “They deserve to be able to have their voices heard and to be able to have a community of interest and not be racially gerrymandered throughout the state, and so we’re going to absolutely protect their right to vote.” 

State Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, chair of the House Redistricting Committee, was asked if the committee plans to hold hearings after the maps of the proposed new districts are released.

“Will the public have an opportunity to weigh in through a public hearing and testimony on any proposal, if any, that this committee hears, and the answer to that question is 1,000%,” Vasut said. 

Meanwhile, the Texas Senate Redistricting Committee has stayed put at the Texas Capitol, hearing testimony virtually.

Democrats have pushed Republicans to invite the testimony of the Justice Department official who wrote to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott arguing for redistricting, but it is unclear if the official will appear. 

“I’m fine with sending an invitation; I do wish to consult with legal counsel about that,” said state Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford.

Texas Republicans on both committees, besides the chairs, have rarely spoken up throughout the few days of hearings.

But state Rep. Katrina Pierson, R-Rockwall, a former spokesperson for Trump’s 2016 campaign, mentioned on Saturday how the president has made gains among minority voters.

“Do you believe that those voters should be accurately reflected in the state of Texas?” Pierson said.

That is the argument Texas Republicans are making for why they should pursue redistricting, despite the barrage of criticism that the purpose is simply to elect more Republicans to the House of Representatives next year and reduce the chances of Democrats winning the majority.

View this article in Spectrum News.