- 6 months ago
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Texas Democrats held a press briefing on Thursday on the redistricting push in Texas.
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00:00Well, good morning. Thank you for joining us this morning. I'm Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.
00:06I'm proud to represent Texas' 7th Congressional District in Houston and to chair the Texas
00:11Democratic delegation in Congress in the 119th Congress. It is my honor and great privilege
00:17today to welcome back to the great state of Texas our House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
00:24Today, my colleagues and I stand alongside our fellow Texas Democrats here in Austin.
00:30We are grateful to House Democratic leader, Jean Wu, and Senate Democratic leader, Carol Alvarado,
00:36who are standing here with us, and to the committed Texas Democrats from across the state who are
00:42standing here this morning representing the true voices of Texans and the priorities of Texans.
00:49Thank you so much for your leadership and for being with us today. Before we begin,
00:55I want to express on behalf of all of us our deepest sympathies for the thousands of families
01:02who are grieving the losses brought by the Independence Day floods in the Hill Country.
01:08Our hearts are broken with yours. Today, one month later, the first day that survivors have had the
01:17chance to address the lawmakers about the floods at a public hearing. We will be listening, and we,
01:25Texas Democrats gathered here, will do all we can to help in the recovery and the rebuilding.
01:33But it is not lost on us that the hearing on this tragedy follows a week, a frenzied week,
01:41with a rush of seven hearings redrawing Texas' congressional map, hearings where thousands
01:47and thousands of Texans showed up in opposition, and where Republicans really said almost nothing
01:55and refused to let any of them see a map. I've been there, and I can tell you, you can count on one
02:04hand the number of Republicans who spoke up, who've testified or even uttered a word in support for this
02:11redistricting. This redistricting effort is what is wrong with politics today, and the people of Texas
02:18know it. People get it. Elections have consequences, but so do your votes on the floor. The votes you
02:27take as a representative have consequences, too. And politicians who don't want to face the
02:32consequences of their votes and their choices can't just change the rules of the game in the
02:37middle of it. It is wrong, and Texans know it. But President Trump knows that people are seeing
02:45what his administration and the Republican Congress are doing, and they hate it. Taking health care away
02:52from 17 million Americans? Very unpopular. Adding trillions of dollars to our national debt so that
03:00they can transfer trillions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and perhaps the
03:06wealthiest people ever to have lived, and sticking us with the bill? Very unpopular. Hiding the Epstein
03:13files? Very unpopular. President Trump can see the writing on the wall, so he's demanded a rigged map,
03:22and he told Governor Abbott to make it happen. Texans are in an ongoing crisis, filled with grief,
03:30and loss. And instead, our leaders are focused not on relief, but on redistricting. Now, Texas already has
03:41the most racially gerrymandered congressional map in the country, and it's important to know that of
03:47Texas's 38 congressional districts in a state with the majority minority population, where the population of
03:54the state is more than 60 percent minority is more than 60 percent minority, only 13 districts allow voters
04:02of color to regularly and consistently elect their candidate of choice. And this new map cuts that number
04:11down to just eight. The map that Republicans put out yesterday, in that map more than one-third of Texans,
04:19more than 10 million people will be in a new congressional district. More than two-thirds of those Texans
04:28that are moved to new district are voters of color.
04:34The good news is Texans are not alone in this fight. We have the support of people across our country,
04:41because they see, as we do, how wrong this is. And today, we have a tremendous fighter who's joined us
04:48here in Austin to demonstrate support for Texas and for Texans. We are grateful for his leadership. We
04:57are grateful for his leadership of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Caucus,
05:02and we are so pleased to welcome him here to Austin. So I'll turn it over to our House Democratic leader,
05:08Hakeem Jeffries. Good morning. It's an honor and a privilege to be here in the great state of Texas
05:18at the state capitol with so many distinguished leaders, members of the congressional delegation,
05:24of course, Lizzie and Lloyd, Al, Sylvia, Joaquin, and Greg. Tremendous fighters for the people of this
05:30great state, along with such distinguished leaders in the state legislature, of course, led by
05:39Leader Wu and Leader Romero and all of the different caucus leaders who are here with us today.
05:46Our message to the people of Texas and to the people of this great country is simple. You deserve better.
05:54You deserve an America where hard work pays off. You deserve health care that's affordable and
06:03available when you need it. You deserve a government that works for you. You deserve better.
06:15But that's not what is being delivered right now by the Texas state government under Republican leadership.
06:24Donald Trump ordered Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans to race back to Austin
06:34for a special legislative session. Why was that done?
06:41This special session should be about lowering the high cost of living
06:48that afflicts the people of Texas as well as people all across America. It is not.
06:54This special session should be about fixing Texas' broken health care system where far too many
07:01children, women, seniors, and veterans don't have access to the health care that they need
07:10to live a life of dignity and respect. It is not. This special session should be about cleaning up
07:18corruption here in Austin so that a government that has been dominated by Republicans for the last 30 years
07:28might actually deliver for the people of this great state. It is not. This special section should be about fixing the broken energy grid
07:40that has left millions of Texans vulnerable year after year after year, particularly in the face of rising extreme weather events. It is not.
07:50It is not. In the face of great tragedy. Children who drowned to death in the Texas Hill country. Families whose lives have been shattered
08:07forever. This special session should be about relief, recovery, and resiliency in the face of a state government that failed the people of the Texas Hill country.
08:26But it is not. Donald Trump has ordered Greg Abbott and compliant Texas Republicans to race
08:38back to Austin, have a special session in order to rig the congressional map and undermine the ability of Texans
08:48Republicans to have a free and fair midterm election. That is wrong. You deserve better. The people of Texas deserve better.
09:03That's why I'm so thankful for the leadership of the members of the Texas congressional delegation
09:10and the Texas state legislature who aren't fighting for themselves unlike the other side of the aisle.
09:18They're fighting for a government that actually responds to the people of Texas in a way that is designed to solve real life everyday challenges.
09:34The people of Texas deserve better. In this great country, our system that was gifted to us by the framers of the Constitution
09:48should be one where the people of Texas are able to decide which elected officials have the ability and honor to represent them in Washington.
10:01Instead, Republican politicians want to choose their voters.
10:07That is wrong. And it will undermine the quality of life of the people of this great state.
10:18It has been said in the early days of the republic that when the people fear the government, there is tyranny.
10:31But when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
10:36So this fight is not over. It's just beginning.
10:40And led by the people standing behind me, there is an ability for the people of Texas
10:46to make their voices heard, show up, stand up, speak up for what is right,
10:51for their opportunity to determine their own destiny through the gift of democracy and free and fair elections.
11:01But the only way that will be brought about is if together we're able to stop the effort to gerrymander
11:11in a way that also violates the Voting Rights Act, the Texas congressional map,
11:16as part of their scheme to rig the midterm elections, it can be done.
11:22And if anyone can do it, it's the people of the great state of Texas.
11:28It's now my honor to yield back to Lizzie Fletcher.
11:35Thank you so much, Leader Jeffries.
11:37We'll now hear from members of our congressional delegation,
11:39starting with the dean of our delegation, Lloyd Doggett.
11:42Thank you, Lizzie. Thank you, Leader.
11:45The courage of these state House of Democrats and senators has a direct impact on the lives of our fellow Texans.
11:53For a Texas veteran who needs help from their congress member,
11:57a small business who needs help with the SBA or on taxes, under this map,
12:02when they go to that congressional office, in many cases, they will find the doors are shut by this map.
12:07For Texans who have been impacted by a compliant Republican congress,
12:13when they go to buy a tomato or an avocado, or in a few weeks when they go to buy a car or build a house,
12:21they will be paying the Trump tariff taxes that this congress could have prevented.
12:26When those who need health insurance who are working Texans in three months
12:30go to sign up for the Affordable Care Act health insurance policies, they will pay 75% more in premiums.
12:38But most importantly of all is that when we give all the power of our government to one man and his whims,
12:47whims that can cause even the appropriations process to keep the federal government operating,
12:52are shut down because they fear what the Jeffrey Epstein file might show about President Trump
12:58and the Congress recesses. When we place all the power in one man and claim that he has a monopoly
13:04on truth and that we no longer need checks and balances, then we have surrendered our democracy
13:11to autocracy. The weight of the future of our country, the lives of Texans is on the shoulders
13:19of these Texas legislators and we thank them for all they're doing to put a stop to this attempt
13:25to fix the election. Thank you.
13:30Next we'll hear from Congressman Al Green.
13:34Thank you very much.
13:37And I thank my colleagues who are here representing the state of Texas as representatives and senators.
13:45I thank you because you're making a difference. And I thank you for your hospitality that you've shown us
13:54since we've been here. It means something to me to come to Austin, Texas and see you at work.
14:03But I'm also proud of something. I am very proud to be a Democrat.
14:08And I'm proud to be a Democrat because Democrats will stop the move to privatize Social Security.
14:19We just had a Republican administrative official who has indicated that the privatization of Social
14:29Security is on the table. I'm a Democrat. Democrats own Social Security. We gave birth to it.
14:37I'm not going to surrender Democrats. We're not going to surrender as Democrats and allow Social
14:42Security to be privatized. Social Security is needed. Our people need it. By the way,
14:48people of all hues need it. This is not something for minority people. Of all hues,
14:54Democrats fight to protect Social Security. I'm proud to be a Democrat because Democrats
15:00Democrats are fighting to protect your health care. We're going to continue to fight to protect your
15:07health care. And I'm proud of what I did when I stood up before the President and told him,
15:12you're not going to, you don't have a mandate. You don't have a mandate to eviscerate. I didn't use that
15:22term then. But you don't have a mandate to eliminate Medicaid. And then I went on to say Medicare,
15:32and I went on to say Social Security. And I'm proud of this. I am not ashamed to be a Democrat who's on the
15:39front line to protect the needs of all of the people in the state of Texas. Democrats are not just
15:44fighting so that we can have Republican opportunities or Democratic opportunities. We are fighting to
15:52make sure that all of the people in the state of Texas are protected with good health care,
15:58good retirements, and that includes Social Security, good education, and that includes everybody
16:06should have a good education. And we also want to make sure
16:10that injustice does not take place in Texas as it will under this map. This map is a gross injustice.
16:21Dr. King reminded us that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. That means that if
16:27this map goes through, if it passes, it will then be an opportunity for the injustice to move to the
16:33county level, might move to various commissioners courts, or to city council level, or school boards,
16:42or to the state reps, or to state senators, and not just in Texas, but around the country. Injustice
16:49anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And finally, the president was being very, very clever
17:00when he sent his letter by and through his agent in the Justice Department indicating that racial
17:08gerrymandering had taken place in Texas. Now, who believes that? Who believes that the Texas legislature
17:17and the Texas Senate drew maps so that they could intentionally allow minorities to have
17:25seats, intentionally? The attorney general himself said that's not true. That's not true.
17:35Senator, prominent senator said that the map was colorblind, and it still is according to them.
17:42So the president used that term because he knew that it would incite people. He wanted to incite
17:50people to believe that what he wanted done would be justified because minorities were somehow being
17:59given a privilege that they shouldn't have. That's what he was doing. He knew what he was doing. Very clever.
18:06But we're going to stand up against this. And the truth of the matter is, somebody has to have the courage
18:12to say that it's racism. Unfortunately, we have grown to the point in this country where you can use racism
18:21against people of color, but people of color can't respond and say, that's racism. If we do, you're not
18:29going to print it. You're not going to carry it. What you're going to do is allow the racist statement
18:35to prevail. And what we try to do to fight it by indicating that it is racist, you allow that to just
18:44be words that evaporate into nothingness. So I just challenge you, the members of the press, none of
18:51these friends of mine are doing it. They're not doing this. This is Al Green. I'm a liberated Democrat.
18:57I challenge you. Tell the truth. Let the world know that President Trump is using race and that we're
19:06responding to it. I'm a liberated Democrat. I thank you.
19:16Next, we'll hear from Representative Joaquin Castro.
19:19Thank you. Thank you, Lizzie. Great to be with everybody. Good to be back here at the state
19:25capitol. Thank you to Democratic leader Jeffries for supporting Texans and supporting our state
19:32legislators who are doing incredible work to block what is an illegal power grab. I was a freshman here
19:39in 2003, a freshman state legislator, when we left the state to go to Ardmore, Oklahoma for four days
19:45to block also illegal mid-decade redistricting. And so this feels like deja vu for me now being in
19:53Congress and witnessing it again. When I testified last week to state legislators at their first hearing,
20:00I said what I believe is true. Donald Trump is using Texas. He's using Texas to protect himself.
20:08And the state legislators here have to determine whether they're going to do the business of Texas
20:13and work on things like flood relief, making rent more affordable for people, child care more
20:18affordable for people, making it easier for people to go to college, for senior citizens to be in nursing
20:23homes, whether they're going to do the work that everyday Texans are concerned about every day,
20:28or whether they're going to do Donald Trump's bidding. Historically, this body has had a strong
20:33independent streak to it. It has not taken its orders from presidents, Democrat or Republican.
20:40So are these folks going to be servile and subservient to Donald Trump? Are they going to stand up and
20:47protect Texans? And there is a lot at stake here. Black and brown communities will suffer the most.
20:55They're getting torn up across the state. As Al alluded to, you all know in the last few decades, the
21:02overwhelming majority of growth in the state of Texas has come from Latino and African American communities.
21:08And yet the number of seats that have been drawn to serve those communities has stayed flat or shrunk.
21:18And so there is racism to this.
21:21And when I think about replacing five Democrats, stealing five Democratic seats and replacing those
21:27with five Republican seats, for Texans, I think we should be clear about what that means.
21:33That means instead of five people who are going to stand up to protect Social Security, to protect Medicare,
21:39to protect health care, to protect a path to higher education for people in this state,
21:45you're going to have five people who are going to vote against health care, against Medicare, against Social
21:51Security, against being able to go to college. That is the stark difference in what's at stake here.
21:56I hope the legislature will do the business of Texas and not take the orders of Donald Trump.
22:08Next, we'll hear from Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia.
22:13Thank you, Lizzie. And I, too, feel like it's a reunion being back here at the Capitol. And as someone who served on the Senate
22:21Redistricting Committee back in 2013, this whole thing is like a deja vu for me, too. I especially
22:29want to thank Leader Jeffries for being here. I can tell you that this man comes from the heart,
22:36with honesty and integrity in everything that he does. He and I had the distinct honor of serving
22:42as impeachment managers in Trump impeachment one, and they should have just listened to us.
22:47We could have avoided all this. But I also want to recognize, of course, my senator, Carol Alvarado,
22:55who is the chair of the Senate Democrats, and my friend also from Houston, Gene Wu, who is the head
23:02of the House Democrats. This is bigger than Texas. This is bigger than Texas. We always try to say that
23:10Texas is big, and we like to brag that we're big. And this time it is a big, ugly mess, what is going on.
23:17And that is going to result in a lot of hardship and a lot of setback in many of our communities
23:24and the voice that we've had in Congress. So I'm a target. Remember, they targeted four,
23:30and it was four minority urban districts. They were very clear on who they were going to dismantle their
23:38districts. And they've succeeded in doing that. And I want to just talk about my district just a little
23:44bit to just tell you what they're doing. My current district is 29, and we were 75 population, Latino,
23:53with about 65 percent being voter citizen population. Now they dismantled it in two,
24:02and now I'm going to be down to 43 percent Hispanic citizen voting population from 65 to 43.
24:12And then they stole from his area and combined it with my other half
24:16and created a second one that's just about 50 percent Hispanic voter population. Now they're going to
24:22brag, oh no, we created two new Hispanic districts. But you've got to look at the numbers. You've got to
24:29look at what is really going on with the data. Because they can give you 100 percent Latino population,
24:37but if all you're going to have is less than 50 percent that's citizen voting age, it doesn't really
24:44help you much. So they attacked us, but they're doing almost the exact same thing. They're just trying
24:50to silence the voices of the people who need to be heard. Donald Trump, what I call the felon in the
24:58White House, is wanting to stay in power. This is a pure power play. And I can tell you that I am so
25:07proud of all these Democrats behind me who are doing what great Texans do is stand up and fight for Texas.
25:14And I can tell you that I, for one, as the Texan would never ever want a con man from New York
25:22telling the Texan what to do. We need to fight back and fight back hard. We must press on.
25:32And next and last, we'll hear from Congressman Greg Kassar and then we'll take questions.
25:38Thank you, Congresswoman Fletcher. Thank you so much, Leader Jeffries, for being here and to
25:46everybody who is fighting against this horrific plan. Donald Trump is the most corrupt president
25:53in American history. And Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas history. And this is
26:00these two men teaming up to try to ram through this ridiculous and illegal gerrymandering plan.
26:09It's the same old BS. Corrupt politicians having a scheme to rig the rules of our elections so that
26:19they can drown out voters' voices and remain unaccountable. We're not going to have it. Not on
26:26our watch. Not on the watch of these brave Texas Democrats and the legislature. Not on the watch
26:32of my congressional colleagues. Not on the watch of Leader Jeffries. Voters are rightfully upset
26:41that housing prices keep going up. That the price of medicine keeps on going up. That Donald Trump is
26:48taking your money and handing it to his rich donor friends. And this radical and illegal
26:56redistricting scheme is all about Donald Trump not being held accountable for his crimes,
27:02for his corruption, and for his lies. We're not going to have it. We're not going to stand for this.
27:10Just like Congresswoman Garcia, of course they have mangled so many of our districts. They're trying to
27:16suppress the voices of voters of color by merging the majority parts of the 35th district and the
27:2537th district here in Central Texas. They aren't doing something that has to do with myself or
27:32Congressman Doggett. No, they are trying to silence the voices of voters in Central Texas. And if Donald
27:40Trump is allowed to suppress the votes of Central Texas voters, he wants to take that all across the
27:46country. That's what we're here to fight against. And I have enormous confidence after Leader Jeffrey's
27:55meeting with all of us last night that Texas Democrats are ready to show the country what a real fight
28:01looks like. Because the bad news for Donald Trump is that Texas Democrats are not scared of a fight.
28:08We are ready to use every tool available and to make sure that people all over the country push back
28:15against this illegal and corrupt scheme. Because Texans deserve leaders that are going to look out for
28:21them in disasters, not try to steal their taxpayer money and hand it to their friends. Texans deserve
28:27leaders that are trying to expand your health care, not take it away. So we're in for this fight.
28:35And I am so proud of the Texas Democrats here and the Texas House and the Texas Senate who are leading us
28:41in that charge. Thank you all very much. I made a snafu just a moment ago. I did not acknowledge
28:49Leader Jeffrey's. And given that he's my leader, I want to correct that. Thank you for coming to Texas.
28:56You're here to make a difference. And your presence makes a difference. And we appreciate you. Thank you.
29:01Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And now we'll take questions.
29:09Go here and then. If you look at other states, Republican and Democratic, the percentage hold
29:15by the congressional delegation far outweighs the percent vote of the statewide. Texas is actually
29:21behind the curve in states like Florida and California and Illinois in their percentage hold
29:26on congressional litigation. How is this different than what's going on in other states?
29:30It's clear to us that the Texas congressional map is already gerrymandered for a whole host of
29:35reasons. And that litigation is currently in court. And we believe that the three-judge panel
29:42will likely decide that the current map violates the Voting Rights Act because it is undermining
29:49the ability of communities of color led by the Latino community to elect the candidate of their choice.
29:59Each state and whether it's in compliance with the law has to be evaluated based on the demographics
30:08of that state. And when you evaluate the demographics here in the state of Texas, as has been illustrated,
30:14the current map violates the law. And this congressional map will double and triple down on the extreme racial
30:26gerrymandering that is silencing the voices of millions of Texans.
30:32Thank you. Over here.
30:34Thank you. Jeff, everybody's saying all these options on the table. You're here to support them.
30:40If you could give us a clue as to what those options are and what tangibly are the national
30:45Democrats doing to help the Texas Democrats? Yeah, let me simply say I've got great confidence
30:52in the Texas Democrats in the House and in the Senate to stand up and fight in the best interest of the
31:00people that they represent. All across America, over the last six plus months, we've seen corporations bend the
31:08knee. Law firms have bent the knee. Colleges and universities have bent the knee to Donald Trump.
31:16Texas Democrats will not bend the knee. They will stand up for the people that they are privileged to represent.
31:23Yeah, but I think what John is saying is that, and you've covered a lot of this over the years, legislative fights, elections,
31:29et cetera, all paraphrase a Texas Democrat. They kind of feel like the fighters of the Alamo. They do their best,
31:35but no help is wrong. What is different? What help is going to be different? I'm here to make clear as House Democratic
31:44Leader in partnership with the Texas congressional delegation that it's not simply the case that help
31:53is on the way. Help is here, and we stand with Texas Democrats on behalf of fighting for the quality of life
32:03issues around the economy and health care and housing and combating corruption that are important to the
32:11people of Texas. And Texas Democrats understand that if Republicans are allowed to gerrymander
32:19this congressional map, the quality of life of the people of Texas will continue to be undermined.
32:27Donald Trump and House Republicans here passed this one big ugly bill that rips away health care from
32:36millions of millions of people, including here in Texas. Ends Medicaid as we know it here in Texas.
32:44Steals food from the mouths of children, veterans and seniors here in Texas. Makes it harder for the people
32:52of Texas to get a high quality education here in this great state.
32:57So all of these issues are at stake in fighting for congressional map that gives the people of Texas the
33:07ability to choose their elected officials as opposed to what's happening with this attempt to gerrymander the map and
33:17allow Texas politicians on the Republican side to choose their voters.
33:28Speaker, there's been a lot, I'd like to press what John said a while ago. There's been a lot to talk about the fight.
33:33Exactly what are the ingredients of that fight? Do you want to talk about a walk out in place?
33:39Do you want to respond? I'll respond as well. Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead, Liz. Okay. Well, I was just,
33:47I was just going to say, yeah, Leader Jeffries will respond. I was just going to say there are a lot of
33:52ways to fight, but one of the most important things is that people need to know what's happening.
33:56Don't forget that Governor Abbott just put this on the call for the special session after he called the
34:01special session in the first place after the floods in the hill country. He snuck it in in the dark of
34:06night and they've taken it up and rushed through hearings where the thousands of people who showed
34:12up to testify hadn't even seen a map. Now they've called hearings for this Friday and they're going
34:18to take public testimony as far as we know for maybe one day and that's it and try to rush these maps
34:22through. And so the most important thing that we can do right now is let people know it's happening
34:27because people across our state hate what is happening. Republicans and Democrats alike. There was a
34:33Republican that testified in Houston that he didn't want him to do it either. Texans see what's being
34:38done to them and they don't like it and they're not going to take it. So number one, we are using
34:42our voices to make sure that our constituents and people across the state, no matter who their member
34:48of Congress is, know who's fighting for them and their ability to have a say for their vote, to be able
34:54to cast their vote and have a say in the elections. And I want to say one other really important statistic
34:58because we've talked about it, but it's important to know that in Texas more than 60 percent of the
35:04population is minority. And yet Anglo voters control 65 percent of the congressional seats. They get to
35:11choose the candidates that go to Congress. So we have the inverse here. So when when Leader Jeffrey said
35:16the map is already unconstitutional, being challenged in court, we already think 13 isn't enough. And now
35:23what you see is they're reducing it. They're reducing the voices of minority communities. But that should
35:27matter to every single Texan, no matter who you vote for. We should care about the rights of Texans
35:33to have our say and let Texans make decisions, not Donald Trump. So that's one of the most important
35:38things. And you are important in that process and making sure that you're covering it, that you're
35:42talking about it and that people across our state know and people across the country are watching.
35:47They're watching what we do here in Texas. So that's a very important thing. And I think everybody,
35:51everybody who's standing here and our colleagues who couldn't be physically in Austin with us today,
35:55who are using their voices and those who are here, but somewhere else on the Capitol,
35:59because Texas Democrats are standing up, speaking out and fighting for the rights of all Texans.
36:06It's important for us to make clear to the people of Texas that this effort to undermine their ability
36:14for a free and fair election to occur is going to hurt their quality of life. Democrats,
36:21independents and Republicans alike. This Texas gerrymander will hurt your quality of life.
36:30And our message to the people of Texas is you deserve better
36:35from your government, which should be focused on solving problems,
36:42not simply following orders from Donald Trump, who knows he doesn't have a track record of
36:48accomplishment that he can sell to the voters in the midterm elections.
36:52Senator Jeffries, the question is, are you urging Texas Democrats to break form?
36:57That may be the only nuclear option that they-
37:00My response is simple. First and foremost, we have to make clear to the people of Texas,
37:06what's taking place? Because it's unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American.
37:14And as elected officials, we have that responsibility. That's not something we can just brush aside.
37:20In 50 states in America, I'm here in Texas for a reason.
37:24Because these legislators are standing up. These members of Congress are standing up
37:29and communicating to the people of Texas what's occurring right now in the middle of the summer
37:34at a special session. And we will make clear that we're going to do everything possible to support
37:44the Texas legislators as they consider the best ways to push back. It's an all-hands-on-deck moment,
37:54and all options should be on the table to protect the people of Texas. But Texas Democrats
38:00are going to be the ones to decide that. We will fight them politically. We will fight them governmentally.
38:08We will fight them in court. We will fight them in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the
38:15people of Texas and beyond. The Texas Democrats are going to show up and stand up and speak up
38:22for what's right for the people of Texas. And they're showing courage and conviction and character
38:29in doing that. And we'll see what happens over the next few days, over the next few weeks. But the
38:34one thing I know is clear, that Texas Democrats are fighting for the people. Thank you.
38:41Thank you all. Thank you all.
38:46We're finished here. Thank you very much.
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