Donald Trump is backing Texas Republicans’ plans to redraw the state’s congressional map in their favor because he is “terrified” the GOP will lose its majority at the midterms, according to Sen. Adam Schiff.
In a message to supporters, the California Democrat who has long been a target of Trump’s fury said it is a “true badge of honor” that the president so frequently attacks him. But Schiff warned Trump is now targeting democracy itself by supporting redistricting efforts that could hand the GOP up to five additional House seats next year.
“Trump is at it again. But this time his attacks aren’t just against me, he’s going after our very democracy,” Schiff wrote, via Raw Story. “You see, Trump is terrified of losing his majority in the midterms. And his solution isn’t to end his pointless tariff wars, stop the indiscriminate masked ICE raids, or rethink his deeply unpopular Big Ugly Bill. It’s to demand Republicans in Texas redraw their Congressional maps.”
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Schiff, who served as the lead impeachment manager during Trump’s first trial in 2020 and helped spearhead the House Intelligence Committee’s probe into Russian election interference in 2016, called the Texas redistricting effort “sad” and “tragic” while backing California Democrats’ retaliatory plan that could oust five sitting Republicans in the Golden State in November 2026.
“I was proud to stand with our Governor, Gavin Newsom, as he introduced California’s Election Rigging Response Act,” Schiff said. “The people of our state will vote this November. If we win, we’ll nullify anything Texas does. If we lose... then Trump may very well have two more years of unchecked power.”
“Donald Trump has poked the bear. It’s time to fight back,” he added.
Trump confirmed he supports the Texas redistricting plan, claiming the GOP, who currently have a razor-thin majority in the House, deserve the extra seats in the deep-red state.
“I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats,” Trump told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Aug. 5.
Trump escalated his attacks on Schiff last month, suggesting he should be jailed while reviving old and disputed allegations of mortgage fraud against the senator.
In response, Schiff wrote on X that Trump’s outrage was the “latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies,” adding the “smear will not distract from his Epstein files problem.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
