Mary Ellen Klas, Columnist

The White House Plans for Texas Could Backfire

Trump is pushing the state to redistrict in hopes of holding the House in the midterms. There’s a real chance it does the opposite.

June 20, 2025 at 11:00 AM UTC

By Mary Ellen Klas

Mary Ellen Klas is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former capital bureau chief for the Miami Herald, she has covered politics and government for more than three decades.

The art of the deal?
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America

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President Donald Trump’s push for Texas lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional districts in hopes of preserving the slim Republican majority in the US House is yet another example of the president putting his own fortune above his party’s.

In an ideal world, it’s also a good idea — because it could lead to more competitive elections and a more representative democracy. Of course, that’s the opposite of Trump’s intention: He wants to make it more difficult for voters to punish him for his unpopular policies.