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Trump pushes Texas Republicans to redraw congressional maps to help defend GOP's House majority
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In the 2026 midterm elections battle for control of the House, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority, it seems nothing’s out of bounds.
The GOP-controlled state legislature in Texas meets in special session next week, as top Republicans in the red state push to redraw the current congressional maps to reduce the number of districts controlled by already marginalized Democrats.
It’s part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of the chamber, and cushion losses elsewhere in the country, as the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.
And President Donald Trump is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms.
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President Donald Trump, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaks to the media as he leaves the White House, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
“Texas will be the biggest one,” the president told reporters earlier this week, as he predicted the number of GOP-friendly seats that could be added through redistricting in the Lone Star State. “Just a simple redrawing, we pick up five seats.”
Hours earlier, Trump held a call with Texas’ Republican congressional delegation and sources confirmed to Fox News that the president told the lawmakers that he was aiming to redraw the maps to create five new winnable seats.
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Democrats control just 12 of the state’s 38 congressional districts, with a blue-leaning seat vacant after the death in March of Rep. Sylvester Turner.
The idea is to relocate Democratic voters from competitive seats into nearby GOP-leaning districts, and move Republican voters into neighboring districts the Democrats currently control.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called for a special session of his state’s GOP-dominated legislature to draw new congressional maps. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both conservative Republicans and Trump allies, said they needed to redistrict because of constitutional concerns raised by the Justice Department over a handful of minority-dominated districts.
But the move is potentially risky.
“There is some risk of making safe Republican seats more competitive, and I think that the incumbents are certainly worried about that,” veteran Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser told Fox News. “If you talk to Republican members of Congress, they’re going to be worried about their own seats. They don’t want to be in a seat that’s more competitive.”
Steinhauser noted “that’s the tradeoff for Republicans, if you want to grow the majority.”
But he added that “the people drawing the maps… they don’t want to make any seat too competitive because that will defeat the purpose.”
Redistricting typically takes place at the start of each decade, based on the latest U.S. Census data. Mid-decade redistricting is uncommon – but not without precedent.
Democrats are slamming Trump and Texas Republicans for what they describe as a power grab, and vowing to take legal action to prevent any shift in the current congressional maps.
The Texas state Capitol in Austin, Texas. The GOP-controlled state legislature meets in special session next week, as top Republicans push to redraw the congressional maps. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
“Democrats are going to push back aggressively because it’s the right thing to do,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
Democrats in blue-dominated states are now considering similar tactics.
“Two can play this game,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media this week.
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The next day, after a meeting, Democrats in California’s congressional delegation said they were on board with an ambitious plan to try and gain at least five seats through redistricting. Democrats currently control 43 of the Golden State’s 52 congressional districts.
But it won’t be easy to enact the change, because in California, congressional maps are drawn by an independent commission that is not supposed to let partisanship influence their work.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is floating a move to redraw the congressional maps in his blue state, to blunt a push by President Donald Trump and Texas Republicans to redistrict up to five House Democrats out of power in Texas. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Newsom this week suggested that the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature move forward with a mid-decade redrawing of the maps, arguing that it might not be forbidden by the 17-year-old ballot initiative that created the independent commission.
The governor also proposed quickly holding a special election to repeal the commission ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Both plans are considered long shots, as they would face plenty of legislative, legal and financial hurdles.
Democrats are also hoping to alter congressional maps in battleground Wisconsin, but the new liberal majority on the state Supreme Court recently declined to hear the case. Democrats and their allies are now in the midst of a second legal push for redistricting in Wisconsin.
Democrats have also filed redistricting litigation in Utah and Florida, which are both red states.
Meanwhile, Ohio is required by law to redistrict this year, and a redrawing of the maps in the red-leaning state could provide the GOP with up to three more congressional seats.
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FBI raid involving LA schools superintendent possibly tied to failed $6M AI deal, potential conflict
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The federal investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent, whose home and school office were raided Wednesday, may be tied to a failed multimillion-dollar AI school contract involving a potential conflict of interest.
Alberto Carvalho previously awarded a $6 million contract, paying $3 million up front, to education technology company AllHere.
A former salesperson employed by the firm also had her Miami property raided the same day as Carvalho, according to public records cited by the Los Angeles Times. The woman, Debra Kerr, reportedly had close ties to Carvalho during his tenure leading Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Spokesperson Jim Marshall confirmed to local media Miami Herald that “we searched a residence in Southwest Ranches today as part of this matter and have since cleared the scene.”
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho speaks during an event at the LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles on October 30, 2025. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In 2023, Carvalho secured a contract with AllHere to develop an AI chatbot called “Ed,” designed to help address student issues such as absenteeism.
It ultimately collapsed in 2024 after its founder, Joanna Smith-Griffi, was accused of embezzling funds amid data privacy risks and whistleblower concerns. She was later charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and identity theft.
Kerr further claimed in AllHere’s bankruptcy court filings that the company owed her commissions for helping secure its deal with LAUSD, according to education-focused outlet The 74.
While federal officials confirmed that search warrants were conducted Wednesday, they declined to reveal the nature of the investigation, noting that the warrants remain under seal.
Federal officials appear to carry cardboard outside a home in California. (KTTV)
However, sources told the LA Times that the investigation fell under the broad category of financial issues, and that the raid focused on Carvalho rather than the California school district.
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LAUSD released a statement saying the district is fully cooperating with federal officials.
“The LAUSD Board of Education understands that today’s news has raised questions across our school communities,” it said.
“The Board’s priority remains ensuring that our students, families, and employees experience a safe and welcoming learning environment. Teaching and learning continue across our schools. Los Angeles Unified continues to stay focused on our responsibility to serve students and our families.”
The superintendent has led the nation’s second-largest school district since 2022, overseeing the education of roughly 400,000 students. He was also unanimously reappointed to the position in September 2025.
Before moving to California, he spent 14 years leading Miami‑Dade County Public Schools, the nation’s fourth-largest school district.
The home of Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is located in San Pedro, California. (KTTV)
Wednesday’s raids mark the latest controversy to engulf Carvalho.
In 2020, he helped secure a $1.57 million donation from a company that had a pending contract with the district, the Miami Herald reported.
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FBI agents appear to conduct a search warrant at a San Pedro home connected to Alberto Carvalho. (KTTV)
The funds reportedly went to an education nonprofit he founded, and the company’s online learning program, which was ultimately plagued with problems, was quickly scrapped.
In June 2021, the school’s inspector general determined that the donation, intended to benefit teachers, did not violate any policies but created the “appearance of impropriety,” the outlet said. The foundation was subsequently urged to return the funds, which reportedly had been distributed to teachers as $100 gift certificates.
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