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lisa gilbert
Texas Republicans Advance Trump-Backed Plan 'to Rig Our Elections'
"Republican lawmakers in Texas should be ashamed," said one campaigner. "They are to blame for the gerrymandering arms race that we will now see across the country."
Aug 20, 2025
The GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives voted Wednesday in favor of a plan pushed by US President Donald Trump to redraw the state's congressional map to create five new Republican districts ahead of next year's midterm elections.
Following seven hours of debate, Texas state lawmakers voted 88-52 to approve a rare mid-decade gerrymandering—redistricting typically occurs after the decennial census—urged by Trump as Republicans cling to just a three-vote margin of power in the US House of Representatives.
While the Republican Party of Texas hailed the House's approval what it called the "Big, Beautiful Map," the Texas Democratic Party lamented that, "at Trump's request, Texas Republicans voted to rig our elections."
"These maps drag us back to the 1950s, stripping minority communities of fair representation. Authoritarianism is here—and we're going to keep fighting like hell for our state and country," the party added.
Wednesday's vote followed a standoff between Texas Democrats who fled the state for two weeks to thwart a vote on the measure and their Republican colleagues, whose congressional allies asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help track down the absconding Democrats and force them back to Austin.
Such an outcome was avoided when the Democratic lawmakers returned to Texas of their own volition. However, the drama didn't end there, as House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-83) informed the returning Democrats that they could not leave the Texas Capitol building without a law enforcement escort. On Monday, Rep. Nicole Collier (D-95)—who was forced to sleep in the Capitol—filed a lawsuit challenging the Legislature's authority to place lawmakers under police surveillance.
Democracy defenders decried Wednesday's vote, which sends the gerrymandering plan to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass during a Thursday evening session.
"Let's be clear: Today's vote on new congressional maps is nothing more than Texas Republicans openly colluding with President Trump to strip everyday Texans of their voice and representation in government and ensure political gain in the 2026 midterm elections," Taifa Smith Butler, president of the pro-democracy group Dēmos Action, said in a statement.
"Their extreme, divisive, and unprecedented actions have no place in our democracy and should be condemned by all," Smith Butler asserted. "These tactics, likely to spark copycat actions all around the country, should be called out and exposed for the malfeasance, corruption, and theft of the people's choice that they are."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at Stand Up America, said the Texas GOP plan "isn't about fair representation, it's about entrenching Republican control for a generation and silencing Texans of color."
"It's a blatant attempt by Donald Trump, [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott, and congressional Republicans to dodge accountability in the midterms for the fallout of their billionaire tax handouts paid for by cuts to Medicaid and other programs Texans rely on," he continued.
"Republican lawmakers in Texas should be ashamed," Edkins added. "They are to blame for the gerrymandering arms race that we will now see across the country."
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said: "The Trump gerrymander push is authoritarian, anti-democratic, and yet another tell of a wannabe dictator. We watch Texas today with the clear understanding that this is not an isolated push, but the beginning of a national power grab across multiple states to try and impact the 2026 midterm."
"The immediate impacts in Texas—depriving voters of fair representation, and the disparate impact on voters of color, as districts with majority or large populations of voters of color are broken up—will be mirrored throughout the nation," Gilbert added. "We cannot allow this to proceed. And if needed, California and other states must make offsetting gerrymanders of their own."
Republicans are also weighing plans for congressional redistricting in other states—including Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio—ahead of next year's midterm elections.
Governors and lawmakers in some Democrat-controlled states have vowed to respond in kind, with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul saying earlier this month that members of her party should "fight fire with fire." The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced last week that it would proceed with plans for retaliatory redistricting, starting with a special November ballot initiative.
Dēmos Action's Smith Butler also took aim at Republicans' treatment of Collier.
"It is nothing short of a disgrace that Republicans would escalate their reprehensible, anti-democratic actions even further by confining [Collier] in the Capitol," she wrote. "They are weaponizing law enforcement to silence and intimidate Collier, a Black woman leader fighting for her constituents, namely Black and brown voters whose political power is being erased."
"This is not just about intimidating or attacking one legislator; it is a blatant effort to curb Black political power, dismantle democracy, and silence every Texan who believes in justice," Smith Butler added. "Texas Republicans are pushing an extreme mid-decade redistricting that would entrench power at the expense of Black and Latino voters. We must defend Rep. Collier and her constituents, and reject these racist, authoritarian tactics."
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Public Interest Law Firm to Sue DOGE Within Minutes of Trump's Swearing In
Other critics of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency have also argued that it runs afoul of regulations governing federal advisory committees.
Jan 20, 2025
The public interest law firm National Security Counselors says it will file a lawsuit in federal court challenging the "Department of Government Efficiency," a nongovernmental entity spearheaded by President-elect Donald Trump to help advise on cuts to government spending and regulation, within minutes of Trump's swearing in, according to The Washington Post.
The complaint alleges that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) meets the requirements to be considered a "federal advisory committee"—groups that are known as FACAs—and therefore must follow regulations outlined in a 1972 law governing how FACAs operate. FACAs must, for example, file a charter with Congress, keep regular minutes of meetings, and ensure meetings are open to the public. DOGE doesn't appear to have taken those steps, according to the Post.
The watchdog group Public Citizen has also criticized DOGE for failing to adhere to FACA requirements, which stipulate that "membership of the advisory committee [must] be fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed by the advisory committee." To help remedy this, the co-presidents of Public Citizen—Lisa Gilbert and Robert Weissman—last week requested that the Trump transition team co-chairs appoint them to serve on DOGE.
"As things stand, DOGE's membership falls far short of satisfying FACA's fair-balance requirement," the two wrote. They also point out that the duo tapped to lead DOGE, billionaire and GOP megadonor Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, both stand to potentially benefit financially from lessened federal regulation. CBS News reported Sunday that Ramaswamy is expected to depart DOGE and announce a bid for Ohio governor.
Kel McClanahan, the executive director of National Security Counselors who authored the lawsuit, told the Post that "we're not trying to say DOGE can't exist. Advisory committees like DOGE have been around for decades. We're just saying that DOGE can't exist without following the law."
Another source the Post spoke with, Sam Hammond of the Foundation for American Innovation—who has been a fan of DOGE's efforts—told the paper that until Trump actually treats DOGE as a FACA, it doesn't need to follow FACA reporting rules. "DOGE isn't a federal advisory committee because DOGE doesn't really exist. DOGE is a branding exercise, a shorthand for Trump's government reform efforts," he said.
But early January reporting from the Post indicates that DOGE is more than just a branding exercise. Citing anonymous sources, the outlet reported that aides with DOGE have spoken to staffers at more than a dozen federal agencies to "begin preliminary interviews that will shape the tech executives' enormous ambitions to tame Washington's sprawling bureaucracy." There has also been a hiring sprint. DOGE is aiming to have nearly 100 staff in place by Trump's inauguration, according to the paper.
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Hey Elon and Vivek! Here's What a Real 'Department of Government Efficiency' Would Do
A new report identifies what a DOGE "based on evidence, not ideology, would include—from slashing drug prices to ending privatized Medicare to reducing the wasteful Pentagon budget."
Jan 15, 2025
While the U.S. Senate on Wednesday held confirmation hearings for several of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, the watchdog Public Citizen sounded the alarm about a new commission and its billionaire leaders, who don't require congressional oversight but could significantly impact federal agencies, regulations, and spending.
Despite being called the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE is not a government department. It is a presidential advisory commission that Trump announced after his November win. He has asked billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead it.
Public Citizen co-presidents Lisa Gilbert and Robert Weissman on Monday wrote to Trump's transition team, asking to join DOGE. While their group has concerns about the commission's "structure and mission," including potential conflicts of interest regarding Musk and Ramaswamy's financials, the watchdog leaders made the case that they could serve "as voices for the interests of consumers and the public who are the beneficiaries of federal regulatory and spending programs."
"There is nothing 'efficient' about hitting a pre-determined target for spending cuts, least of all one that is infeasible."
The pair highlighted that their appointment "would be an important step towards compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act," and outlined some ideas they have "to slash drug prices, end privatized Medicare, reduce the wasteful Pentagon budget."
Weissman expanded on the group's recommendations in a Wednesday report titled DOGE Delusions: A Real-World Plan to Reject Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Misguided Agenda, Crack Down on Corporate Handouts, Tax the Rich, and Invest for the Future.
"Every sign from DOGE suggests that it aims to use 'efficiency' as a cover to shrink government, benefit corporations by cutting regulations, and advance a predetermined ideological agenda," Weissman said in a Wednesday statement. "This report identifies what an efficiency agenda based on evidence, not ideology, would include—from slashing drug prices to ending privatized Medicare to reducing the wasteful Pentagon budget."
The report's introduction notes that Trump and Musk's suggestions that DOGE would cut $2 trillion in yearly spending, even though "many commentators have pointed out the effective impossibility of cutting $2 trillion annually from the federal budget, given that all federal discretionary spending—including the Pentagon budget and veterans' benefits—totals less than $2 trillion."
Musk even
admitted last week that $2 trillion is unlikely, after which experts said his lower target of $1 trillion is still "too large."
"Few would argue with the purported goal of 'government efficiency,' but there is nothing 'efficient' about hitting a pre-determined target for spending cuts, least of all one that is infeasible," Weissman wrote. "Nor is there anything 'efficient' about ideologically driven notions of shrinking government or corporate profit-driven plans to roll back regulatory protections."
"Additionally, 'efficiency' is not a primary value," he continued. "Whatever the government does, it should strive to do efficiently (mindful of other considerations), but the real question is what the government should be doing in the first place."
The 35-page report features sections on ending Big Pharma's price gouging, shutting down privatized Medicare, cutting Pentagon waste and curbing contractor greed, taxing the rich and corporations, taxing high earners and the wealthy, eliminating oil and gas subsidies, regulating efficiency, the costs of not regulating, investing in the care economy, and investing to avert a climate catastrophe.
Many of the proposals overtly conflict with the priorities of the incoming Trump administration and the new Republican-controlled Congress, which are expected to swiftly and aggressively pursue tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations, expansion of Medicare Advantage, and the Big Oil-backed president-elect's campaign pledge to "drill, baby, drill" for climate-heating fossil fuels.
The GOP has promoted additional fossil fuel extraction despite the costly and devastating impacts of the climate emergency, as seen with 27 U.S. disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion in 2024—the hottest year on record—and in Los Angeles, California, which is currently enduring what could be "the costliest wildfire disaster in American history."
The Public Citizen report points out that the monetary costs of climate inaction "will severely reduce the size of the global economy. Depending on how quickly we move and how severe we let climate chaos become, the insurance giant Swiss Re suggests the annual dollar costs could be 11% to 14% of total global economic output by 2050—amounting to around $23 trillion annually—and around 7% of North American economic output. These costs will compound and grow even worse over time."
The watchdog estimates that one of its related proposals—ending handouts to fossil fuel companies—would save about $20 billion annually. Ending privatized Medicare would save $100 billion each year, and modest cuts to the Pentagon budget would save $100 billion yearly. More serious defense cuts could save $200 billion, the same figure for measures to reduce prescription drug prices. The biggest savings from the group's recommendations would come from fair tax reforms, at $500 billion annually.
"If DOGE is interested in saving taxpayers and consumers money and making sound investments that will generate a positive return to the government and society," the report concludes, "there is a clear set of evidence-based measures for it to pursue."
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