President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Republicans are "entitled" to five more House seats in Texas as the state GOP tries to redraw the congressional map before the 2026 midterm elections.
During an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box," the president argued that Republicans are underrepresented in Congress due to significant gerrymandering in Democrat-controlled states such as California, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
"We should have many more seats in California. It's all gerrymandered," he said. "And we have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats."
On Wednesday, Texas Republicans unveiled a new congressional map that could eliminate five Democrat-held seats by creating five additional districts that lean in the GOP's favor.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a special legislative session to approve the map, but Texas state House Democrats fled to Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts — all blue states — on Sunday to deny the chamber quorum and thwart its ability to conduct business.
In response, Abbott threatened to remove the Democrats from the legislature and directed the Texas Rangers to investigate them for potential bribery stemming from donations they've received to pay their fines. Under Texas state law, state lawmakers can be penalized with a $500-per-day fine for intentionally skipping a session to prevent a quorum.
Trump pointed out that Republicans do not currently represent any part of Massachusetts in the House, despite him garnering more than a third of its votes in the 2024 election. A similar pattern exists when it comes to Illinois, he said, where only a few Republicans represent the state in the House, despite his high vote totals there too.
"You notice they go to Illinois for safety, but that's all gerrymandered," the president said.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.