NPR's Scott Simon talks with Congressman Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat, about the redistricting battle in his state and his decision to relinquish his resignation and run for re-election.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Last night, the US Supreme Court took up the issue of redistricting in Texas. Justice Samuel Alito issued an order that upholds a recently adopted voting map that favors Republicans – at least for now. The order blocks a lower court ruling that found congressional districts were subject to racial gerrymandering, which is illegal.
Some members of Congress don't even know which district they'll be able to run in in next year's midterm elections, including Congressman Lloyd Doggett. Like some of them, the Democrat initially said he would still run in the new district. He then changed course and announced his retirement. Then this week he said he was back in office following a lower court ruling. The Congressman joins us. Thank you very much for being with us.
LLOYD DOGGETT: Thank you, Scott.
SIMON: And now?
DOGGETT: Well, we have an administrative stay, as you said, issued by Judge Alito, the only judge who is responsible for the district in which Texas is located. This is a temporary stay. And this will give the entire court the opportunity to consider this. And while I would have preferred that he simply called on the parties to present their submissions without delay, I don't think that's indicative of the entire court.
And I remain very hopeful, given the strong letter from Trump appointee Judge Brown in Texas, who wrote the opinion for the two judges in Texas reviewing the trial, finding it racially gerrymandered and finding that it was a deliberate vote split, that this decision will stand and that the court will invalidate the Trump map and keep the Texas map as it existed before August.
SIMON: How difficult is it for you to try to plan a campaign like that or, for that matter, try to plan for retirement?
DOGGETT: Well, I've always felt that the best campaign is good government, and I haven't really changed my activities since the decision – earlier – with redistricting at the beginning of the year. In the coming days, I will be holding events in my district in Austin, the only city I have ever called home, as often as I can, and then we will be back here strongly opposing Trump's agenda next week when Congress reconvenes.
SIMON: Congressman Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, said this week that the new Texas maps, and I'm going to quote him now, were simply, quote, “a response to years of Democratic shenanigans.” How do you respond to this?
DOGGETT: That this is complete nonsense coming from a fanatic. There are Republicans who have already committed gerrymandering in Texas. I am in the 4th district with different numbers as they have tried to expel me for the last 20 years, running me from Austin to Mexico once. It didn't work for them.
It was an action they took, the court found, on the basis of race following a letter from Trump's Justice Department saying that if Texas did not redraw four districts that favored African Americans and Hispanics, it was going to take action against the state of Texas. The governor added the issue to the special session's call to action simply because of race, and the speaker then bragged about his successes.
So I think Judge Brown was in good standing to say that they engaged in racial gerrymandering and intentional vote removal, and I hope the Supreme Court upholds that conclusion.
SIMON: Would you, Congressman, if you had your own district redrawn under your feet, whether it was four times – would you want politicians to get out of the redistricting business, or is that practical? Is it simply insurmountable for them?
DOGGETT: Of course. It's probably insurmountable. You're right Scott, but yes, we don't need politicians to choose their voters. Voters must have the right to vote. This was done on racial grounds, but solely so that Trump could maintain complete unfettered control, knowing that he had a very compliant Republican Congress. California did the right thing in the first place by implementing nonpartisan redistricting for citizens.
But this should apply in all 50 states, not just those currently controlled by Democrats. We proposed doing this three or four years ago under Speaker Pelosi – the Republicans blocked it. I would like to see this whole set of events that are unfolding across the country lead us to real reform, so that we see all the voices represented in Congress and not just try to build up the extremes.
SIMON: Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who represents Austin in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thank you very much for being with us.
DOGGETT: Thank you very much.
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