Dear John,
Democratic lawmakers in the Texas legislature have made the difficult decision to leave their jobs, homes and families, and flee the state. Why did they do this? Because Republicans in the state legislature, responding to a demand by Trump, have introduced a controversial mid-decade redistricting plan. The plan has the potential to significantly dilute the voting power of Black and Latino voters, and secure more GOP seats in the House, to shore up their current razor-thin, one vote majority. By fleeing the state, Democrats are denying the quorum needed to pass the plan.
The lawmakers, who are scattered across blue states, intend to remain there until the state’s currently ongoing 30-day special session ends on August 21, regardless of any potential fines or pressure. “I fled the state today alongside my Democratic colleagues,” wrote Texas state Rep. Linda Garcia in a now-viral Instagram post. “I did it for democracy and I did it with my son.” The decision has not come without its consequences: those who fled to Chicago have faced a bomb threat, and Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has requested that the FBI to locate and investigate all the lawmakers.
The special session was called by Gov. Greg Abbott in the wake of the catastrophic flooding last month that killed more than 100 Texans, and displaced many more. But rather than prioritizing emergency relief, Republicans have used the special session to push their redistricting plan, as well as a slate of dangerous bills aimed at restricting reproductive freedom by effectively banning abortion pills and criminalizing anyone who helps a teen travel out of state for abortion care without parental consent.
Democratic governors are pushing back against the power grab, and are threatening to meet Texas with their own mid-decade redistricting plans aimed at picking up more Democratic seats in Congress. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said, in response, “We are at war.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “Two can play this game.” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said, “Their fight is our fight!”
“It would be a betrayal of what is just and right for Democrats to remain silent in the face of Trump’s crass manipulation to rig the democratic system by which Americans elect their representatives,” wrote voting rights expert Stephen Rohde in Ms. this week. “Democratic lawmakers cannot be mesmerized by the uncertainty over whether they are adopting Republican tactics or be lulled into an apathy of conformity believing that they should placidly remain above the partisan fray."
In Congress, senators are trying to save the $10 million worth of U.S.-funded contraceptives that are currently sitting in a warehouse in Belgium, slated to be incinerated as a part of Trump’s USAID cuts rather than being delivered to the refugee camps, war zones and regions with fragile health systems that they were intended for. The supplies include long-acting contraceptives such as implants and IUDs, as well as birth control pills, many of which remain sealed, viable and do not expire until 2031. The U.N. and other NGOs have offered to distribute them, but the administration has refused, inaccurately claiming that the supplies are “abortifacients,” which USAID is prohibited from purchasing.
As we wrote in Ms. this week, every blister pack of pills, every unopened IUD, was meant to offer a woman a sliver of agency—a way to survive and build a future in places where those options are often stolen from her. To burn them is to declare that her future was never the priority.
Here’s where you come in: advocates are urging members of the public to call or email their senators and representatives to demand they urge the State Department to release the contraceptives. You can click here to find out how you can call or email. It takes less than a minute to add your voice. Trump and Rubio might not care—but members of Congress should, given the prospect of tough midterm election challenges.
For equality,
