TEXAS REPUBLICANS are on the brink of passing newly drawn congressional maps to help the GOP win more House seats in the 2026 midterm elections after a grueling political battle that sparked a redistricting arms race across the country.

The Texas state House convened Wednesday morning with plans to vote on a new bill to implement the map, which could help House Republicans win five more seats next year.

The final vote had been delayed by several weeks after Texas Democrats fled the state to deny the legislature a quorum.

The drama has continued since the Democrats returned this week, with public safety officers following the lawmakers around to ensure they don’t skip town again.

Several Democrats slept in the legislative chambers rather than be followed by law enforcement.

NBC News reports Texas Republicans expedited the procedural process to bring up the final vote, which could happen as early as Wednesday evening.

Once passed by the House, the bill will go to the state Senate, where it passed in the previous special session. From there, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) plans to sign it into law.

There is little Texas Democrats can do to stop the bill’s passage by the GOP majority, although they're trying to throw up roadblocks.

Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu introduced an amendment that would allow a new House map to take effect only after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly releases files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

State Rep. Chris Turner (D) proposed an amendment seeking to nullify the new map by arguing it violates the Voting Rights Act.

That’s not the only political fight happening in Texas.

State Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lead over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Senate Republican primary has been cut in half, according to a new survey from Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center.

Republicans are suing to stop Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) from calling a special election to vote on new gerrymandered maps favorable to Democrats.

California Democrats unveiled their newly drawn congressional maps on Tuesday, with the aim of picking up five House seats in 2026.

Former President Obama praised Newsom's efforts at a Tuesday fundraiser on Martha's Vineyard.

"I believe that Gov. Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach," Obama said, according to remarks obtained by The Associated Press. "He said this is going to be responsible. We’re not going to try to completely maximize it. We’re only going to do it if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers. Otherwise, this doesn’t go into effect."

Newsom has grabbed the national spotlight for his retaliatory redistricting efforts and for co-opting President Trump’s style on his social media accounts.

The Hill’s Amie Parnes writes:

“In an effort to egg Trump on — and rally his own troops in the Democratic Party — Newsom has taken a page from Trump’s playbook, mirroring everything from the president’s rants to his social media habits cover.”

Newsom is winning the attention wars, getting loads of media coverage that has helped propel him to the top of the Democratic presidential primary polls.

A new survey from Politico finds Newsom at 25 percent support in California, followed by former Vice President Harris at 19 percent, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 13 percent and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) at 10 percent.

Many Democrats are thrilled to see Newsom fighting Trump.

"Standing up for Dem values doesn’t mean you have to play by the old rules, and Newsom in particular is showing he’ll go as low as he needs to to take on Trump," said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons.

Still, Newsom's style has not been well-received everywhere.

“The Democrats are trying to find their footing and it's quite embarrassing, actually,” MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said Wednesday. “Gavin Newsom, have you see what he's doing online? It’s like, take a deep breath. Don’t try to turn the ship 180 degrees. They don't know what to do. I have a good idea, instead of trying to school Donald Trump, talk into the camera about affordability. Talk about making groceries more affordable. Talk about what you’ll do for housing. Talk about what you’d do for energy prices which keep going up.”

• The Democratic Party is facing a registration crisis, according to a new analysis from The New York Times:

“Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a lot. That four-year swing toward the Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters, a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from.”

• The Wall Street Journal reports that Elon Musk is pumping the brakes on launching his independent political party, in part because he’s developed a friendship with Vice President Vance and might support his potential presidential campaign in 2028.

????Perspectives:

• Washington Examiner: Is socialism as popular as the media think?

• New Republic: Dem establishment’s shunning of Mamdani is disqualifying.

• New York Post: Newsom’s desperate bid to claim the ‘new Trump’ mantle.

• Racket: What’s the point of selling Fannie and Freddie?

• After Babel: We are rushing into the same mistakes with social media.

Read more: 

• Trump’s war on mail-in voting could boomerang on GOP.

• Pesticides test MAHA-MAGA alliance.

• Trump targets museums as last remaining segment of ‘woke’.

• Philanthropic organizations commit $37M to fund public media stations.

• Education Department threatens funding for Northern Virginia schools over trans student policies.

• A federal judge rejected the Trump administration’s bid to unseal grand jury materials used to charge disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein with sex trafficking, instead saying the government is the “logical party” to make any sweeping disclosures. 

   

• A federal judge tossed a defamation lawsuit against Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) filed after she took to the House floor to accuse a man of being a predator.
  
  

• Bed, Bath & Beyond Chairman Marcus Lemonis announced Wednesday the store will no longer open retail stores in California, saying, “This isn’t about politics — it’s about reality.”
  
  

• The Trump administration launched its first TikTok account, even as the fate of the social media app in the U.S. remains unclear.

©  AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

U.S. and NATO military officials met Wednesday as they sought to hash out an agreement that provides Ukraine with future security guarantees against Russian aggression.

“Great, candid discussion among NATO Chiefs of Defence, today,” Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, NATO’s military chief, posted on X.

“We are united, and that unity was truly tangible today, as always,” he added.

President Trump has opened the door to U.S. involvement in securing Ukraine, although he's ruled out NATO membership and U.S. boots on the ground.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the U.S. efforts on Ukrainian security. NBC News reports that Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hosted several European Chiefs of Defense on Tuesday evening to discuss the matter.

Trump reportedly called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban this week to to win his support for Ukraine to join the European Union (EU).

However, Russia said Wednesday that discussions around Ukrainian security guarantees are a “road to nowhere” unless Moscow is involved in the talks.

“This will not work,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

A day earlier, Lavrov signaled Moscow would slow-walk a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, even as the White House says Putin already agreed to it.

The Trump administration is working to secure the meeting between the two leaders, with Trump set to join a trilateral meeting, if that goes well.

“I thought it would be better if they met without me, just to see,” Trump said in an interview on “The Mark Levin Show.” "I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship.”

Meanwhile, the summits Trump has been holding have put his threats of new sanctions against Russia on ice.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) posted on X earlier this week that Congress is ready to pass sanctions if Trump says the word.

ELSEWHERE…

Israel is preparing to take over Gaza City.

“I instruct you to use all tools and all power to strike the enemy until it is subdued, and to protect I.D.F. soldiers,” Defense Minister Israel Katz told troops in a statement released by the military.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Israel called up 60,000 reservists ahead of the invasion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a new ceasefire proposal that Hamas has reportedly agreed to.

In the interview with Levin, Trump described both himself and Netanyahu as war heroes.

“Bibi is a good man. He’s in there fighting. He’s fighting. You know, they’re trying to put him in jail on top of everything else. How about that?” Trump said. “He’s a war hero, because we work together. He’s a war hero. I guess I am, too.”

The Trump administration announced Wednesday it would impose sanctions on four members of the International Criminal Court, saying they are engaged in efforts to unjustly “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute" Americans and Israelis.

????Perspectives:

• New York Post: Trump redefines what it means to be commander-in-chief.

• The Guardian: There is no Trump doctrine. Only chaos.

• The Australian: Albanese’s Palestine call comes at worst time for allies.

• The Hill: Palestinians deserve a state.

• BIG: Data centers aren’t the main villain behind higher electric bills.

Read more: 

• Trump’s GOP allies warn against Ukraine entanglement.

• Putin’s hand strengthens amid Trump’s push for peace deal.

• CDC funding changes inject ‘chaos’ into local health programs.

• Trump administration considering stake in Intel, Lutnick says.

• Some prices to rise at Home Depot despite earlier stance, CFO says.

©  Ryan Cummings,Kelly Cummings

The Justice Department launched an investigation into Washington, D.C.’s crime reporting data after Trump accused local officials of understating the severity of crime in the nation’s capital.

The investigation comes amid the president's surge of troops in D.C. for what he’s described as a public safety emergency.

The District’s own crime data shows a decline in crime following a spike in 2023.

Last month, a D.C. police commander was suspended for allegedly manipulating data to make it seem that crime had fallen.

A new poll finds that a strong majority of residents in Washington oppose Trump’s takeover of the police department.

Still, the Trump administration is relishing the fight.

Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller visited Union Station on Wednesday to meet with National Guard troops stationed there.

Miller railed against what he called “stupid white hippies” who were at Union Station protesting the crackdown.

Vance praised what he described as progress in cleaning up the historic train hub.

“I think Union Station is a great example of what’s possible when you actually have the political willpower to bring law and order and common decency back to the public spaces of the United States of America,” he said.

• Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former intelligence officials, many of them from the Biden administration.

“Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right,” Gabbard posted on X. “Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath to the Constitution and put their own interests ahead of the interests of the American people have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold. In doing so, they undermine our national security, the safety and security of the American people and the foundational principles of our democratic republic.”

Gabbard previously revoked clearances for former President Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), among others.

• Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, created a legal defense fund as he prepares to fight a Trump administration investigation into the purchase of his Maryland home.

Trump has accused Schiff of illegally obtaining favorable lending terms. Schiff denies the allegations.

“It’s clear that Donald Trump and his MAGA allies will continue weaponizing the justice process to attack Senator Schiff for holding this corrupt administration accountable,” Marisol Samayoa, a spokesperson for Schiff, said in a statement. “This fund will ensure he can fight back against these baseless smears while continuing to do his job.”

• Trump on Wednesday called for the resignation Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook following allegations by the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that she committed mortgage fraud.

FHFA Director William Pulte wrote on social media Wednesday morning that Cook had designated two of her houses as her primary residences.

“Lisa D. Cook, committed mortgage fraud by designating her out-of-state condo as her primary residence, just two weeks after taking a loan on her Michigan home where she also declared it as her primary residence,” he said.

Trump called for Cook to step down shortly after.

????Perspectives:

• The Liberal Patriot: Abundance for national security.

• The Nation: The perils and absurdities of Trump’s DC occupation.

• Freddie de Boer: Brat summer was fake.

• The Hill: The news media has lost control.

Read more: 

• Laura Loomer flexes influence, racks up wins with Trump.

• ‘Cornhusker Clink’: DHS to open new ICE migrant detention facility.

• Noem: Trump wants border wall painted black so it is too hot to climb.

• Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. deported to Mexico.

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