Lizzie Fletcher Slams 'Out-Of-Control' Trump Over Push To Redraw Texas' Congressional Map

At a House Democratic press briefing on Tuesday, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) spoke about redrawing the Congressional map of Texas.

Transcript

00:00Now I want to turn it over to one of our great leaders from the state of Texas, Lizzie Fletcher.

00:09Thank you so much, Chairwoman DelBene. Good morning. I am proud to serve as the chair of

00:16the Texas Democratic delegation in the 119th Congress and to serve with these leaders and

00:22the Texas Democrats that are all standing here today. The members gathered here represent people

00:28from all across Texas, from Houston and Southeast Texas to El Paso, from the Rio Grande Valley to

00:34North Texas. And we are gathered today to speak on behalf of our constituents, on behalf of all

00:42Texans who are in, as the leader noted, a moment of great need all across our state, who are being

00:49disenfranchised and dismissed. Governor Abbott and Texas Republicans have utterly collapsed.

00:58to pressure from President Trump. And they have surrendered Texas to political operatives from

01:05Washington, D.C., trading and dividing their constituents like commodities. They are prioritizing

01:13helping out-of-state political operatives abuse the voting rights and distort the political will

01:21of Texans so that national Republicans can try to hold on to their majority, their slim majority,

01:28their disappearing majority in the United States House of Representatives. That is what this is.

01:34This effort is not about any one member or any one district. It is an attack on the citizens of Texas,

01:42Texas, the voters of Texas, and their right and their ability to vote for candidates and elect

01:49candidates of their choosing and have representation in Washington. This effort threatens the very

01:57principle that people deserve to have a say in our government. I thank Leader Jeffries and Chairwoman Del

02:08Benne and Whit Clark for their commitment to the people of Texas and to championing our right to make our voices

02:17heard, to cast our ballots, and to have our communities represented when our state leaders have failed us and

02:26are failing us. It's not just about Texas, but Texas is a cautionary tale of what's to come when an out-of-control

02:36president and an administration demand loyalty to them rather than the people and places that

02:44Republicans are elected to represent and whom they have sworn to represent. So together with support from

02:51the House Democratic leadership, we will fight this redistricting effort in every way we can. We will

02:56fight it in the halls of Congress and I want to thank our colleague Mark Vesey for leading us all in new

03:01legislation to ban this kind of mid-decade redistricting. We will fight this in the courts as we

03:06can and we will fight it in our communities and communities across Texas. As we've heard here today,

03:12House Democrats and the DCCC are committed to Texas and we know they will be with us in the fight

03:19from now to next November and beyond. This fight is about more than the midterms, more than this map.

03:28It is about making real the founding principle of our country that we, the people, not just the

03:37privileged few, but all of the people have the right and the ability to have a say in our government.

03:44And so I'm glad to be here in the fight with these people, all of the people you see up here today,

03:49all of this amazing Texas Democratic delegation, our House Democratic leadership,

03:54and I'm so glad to be in this fight with all of them.