The first domino in a growing national redistricting battle is likely to fall Wednesday as Republicans who control the Texas legislature got the quorum they need to pass a new congressional map creating five new winnable seats for the GOP. Their upcoming vote follows prodding by President Donald Trump to stave off a midterm defeat that would deprive his party of control of the House of Representatives.
Democrats have vowed a blue-states payback for the Texas map, with California lawmakers poised to approve a retaliatory gerrymandering for the state's voters to consider in November.
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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 spokesman 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
Texas Republicans have their quorum as protesters shout outside
About 200 are gathered in the rotunda for a rally supporting Democrats as Republicans prepare to approve new congressional maps on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025.
About 200 people have gathered in the Texas Capitol’s rotunda for a rally supporting Democrats as Republicans prepare to approve new maps answering Trump’s call to giving GOP candidates for Congress a bigger advantage in the next elections.
They’re holding signs saying “End Gerrymandering — Save Democracy,” “Defend the Constitution” and “Fascism is here.”
Meanwhile, enough lawmakers have arrived inside the chamber to give Republicans the quorum they need to proceed.
Democrats applauded as they head into House chamber
As the Texas House floor session was about to begin, about two dozen demonstrators supporting Democrats sang “Fighting for Democracy, we shall not be moved” outside the chamber.
A few held signs saying “Let Her Out.” Rep. Nicole Collier’s staff later removed the pillows, blanket and a bag of personal effects she used during her sleepover in the chamber.
As lawmakers trickled in to the chamber, several Democrats stopped to give Collier a hug and say “Thank you” and take photos with her. Meanwhile a handful of supporters clapped and cheered the arriving Democrats.
GOP House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced that the public gallery will be cleared if there are disruptions. The public gallery was mostly empty as the session was gaveled in.
Resistance widens to Trump’s troop deployments in U.S. cities
A bill introduced by Democratic Rep. Sam Liccardo of California would require a report outlining the cost of any National Guard deployment unrelated to a natural disaster, as well as its legal basis. It would also require reporting on any Guard interactions with civilians and other aspects of the operation.
Forty four Democrats have signed on, including Washington’s non-voting delegate, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. While the measure stands little chance of passing while Republicans control the chamber, it’s shows a widening Democratic response to Trump’s unprecedented moves.
“Are L.A. and D.C. a test run for a broader authoritarian takeover of local communities?” Liccardo asked. He added that the country’s founders were suspicious of “executive control of standing armies.”
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said “Democrats continue to side with criminals over law abiding Americans.”
▶ Read more about Trump’s military deployments to U.S. cities
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.
Khan and Niang have been leading the court’s prosecution office since the ICC’s top prosecutor Karim Khan stepped aside temporarily in May pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Khan denies the allegations.
▶ 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 White House and Trump are now on TikTok
The official @whitehouse account was launched Tuesday afternoon, with Trump prominently featured in the first video.
The president several times has extended a deadline banning TikTok from operating in the U.S. to buy more time to bring the social media platform under American ownership. Congress passed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest or face a ban.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the decision to join TikTok shows the administration’s commitment to keeping the public informed through as many audiences and platforms as possible.
She notes that Trump was popular on TikTok during the presidential campaign and says “we’re excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before.”
Joint Chiefs chairman huddles with European counterparts
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is participating in a virtual meeting of NATO defense leaders amid a renewed push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, a U.S. defense official said.
U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, also was taking part in Wednesday’s meeting as Western countries devise possible future security guarantees for Kyiv that could help forge a peace agreement.
The defense official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Caine also met with European military chiefs Tuesday evening in Washington to discuss best options to provide to political leaders.
It wasn’t immediately clear who took part.
A Texas Democrat gets an encouraging phone call
Democratic Texas state Rep. Penny Morales Shaw shows her support for fellow Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier who refuses to leave there House Chamber due to a required law enforcement escort, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Texas Democratic state legislator leading a protest in the Texas House chamber has received encouragement from 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“We are all in that room with you,” the former vice president said.
State Rep. Nicole Collier posted video on social media of her listening to the call from Harris, who told her she should not feel alone as Democrats work to thwart GOP plans to redraw congressional districts to favor Republicans.
Collier said the call from Harris showed “we are making a difference” and that “people are watching and they are ready to hold this government accountable.”
Texas Legislature set to pass new congressional map in redistricting battle
Seven Democrats slept in the Texas House chamber House overnight to protest both a Republican plan for redrawing congressional districts that was set for a vote Wednesday and the GOP’s requirement for Democrats leaving the Capitol to be shadowed by police officers. Fort Worth Rep. Nicole Collier led the protest.
State law officers shadowed Democrats outside the Capitol, tailing them as they drove and shopped and watching their homes and apartments to ensure they’d show up Wednesday to give Republicans the quorum they need to approve the maps without any Democratic votes.
Democrats returned after their two-week walkout raised national attention to the GOP’s plan to fulfill Trump’s wish for Republicans to pick up five seats in the 2026 elections.
▶ Read more on redistricting developments at the Texas capitol
Trump calls on Federal Reserve official to step down, extending pressure campaign
Trump said on social media that Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s governing board, should resign after a member of his administration accused Cook of committing mortgage fraud by claiming two different homes as her principal residences.
Bill Pulte, director of the agency that oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, urged the Justice Department to investigate Cook, who was appointed to the board by former president Joe Biden in 2022 and was re-appointed the following year to a term that lasts until 2038.
The allegation represents another front in the Trump administration’s attack on the Fed, which has yet to cut its key interest rate as Trump has demanded. If Cook were to step down then the White House could nominate a replacement. And Trump has said he would only appoint people who would support lower rates.
Yosemite visitors may face prosecution for protesting at the national park
Shannon “SJ” Joslin was fired after hanging a pride flag from El Capitan while some visitors face potential prosecution for alleged violations of protest restrictions that have been tightened under President Donald Trump. (AP video by Brittany Peterson)
A Yosemite National Park ranger was fired after hanging a pride flag from El Capitan, and the National Park Service and the Justice Department are pursuing “possible criminal charges against several park visitors who are alleged to have violated federal laws and regulations related to demonstrations,” NPS spokesperson Rachel Pawlitz said.
Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a biologist who studies bats, was fired for “failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct” after hanging a 66-foot wide transgender pride flag on the famous climbing wall on May 20 before taking it down voluntarily.
Hanging the flag was their way of saying, “We’re all safe in national parks,” Joslin, 35, told The Associated Press, and their firing sends the opposite message: “If you’re a federal worker and you have any kind of identity that doesn’t agree with this current administration, then you must be silent, or you will be eliminated.”
▶ Read more about the crackdown on demonstrations inside National Parks
Feds offer money for crime tips amid DC police takeover
Federal law enforcement are offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest in the nation’s capital as part of the president’s crackdown on crime.
The U.S. Marshals Service posted a QR code people can scan to send tips about what federal officials have described as a “crime emergency.”
Washington has historically struggled with crime but has driven violent crime rates down recently. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday morning that there have been more than 550 arrests in Washington, D.C. since Trump ordered the police surge earlier this month.
Trump wants the government to own 10% of Intel Corp.
Intel has received about $2.2 billion of the $7.8 billion pledged under the Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act — money the Trump administration wants converted into non-voting Intel shares.
This would deepen the Trump administration’s involvement in the computer industry as the president ramps up pressure for more U.S. companies to manufacture products domestically instead of relying on overseas suppliers.
It also would make the U.S. government one of Intel’s largest shareholders and blur the traditional lines separating the public sector and private sector in a country that remains the world’s largest economy.
▶ Read more about why Trump wants the government to own part of major companies
Trump is leveraging presidential power for Republican control
Some of his steps to intervene in elections — like pushing Republican legislators to redraw maps for GOP advantage — are typical but controversial political maneuvers, taken to his trademark extremes. Other uses of his presidential power have no modern precedent, such as ordering his Department of Justice to investigate the main liberal fundraising entity, ActBlue, and demanding detailed voter files from each state.
Then came Trump’s falsehood-filled rant on social media pledging to lead a “movement” to outlaw voting machines and mail balloting.
“Those are actions that you don’t see in healthy democracies,” said Ian Bassin, executive director of Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan organization that has sued the Trump administration. “Those are actions you see in authoritarian states.”
▶ Read more about Trump’s attempts to predetermine the results of U.S. elections
The Associated Press
