Former GOP TX Lawmaker Pens Op-Ed Against Redistricting

President Donald Trump (R) seems to be unifying both sides of the aisle in unconventional ways. Republicans and Democrats are both calling for the release of the Epstein files, and now they're both warning against redrawing the Texas map. Former state Rep. Burt Solomons (R) has penned an op-ed, calling on lawmakers to resist the president on redistricting.

State Rep. Solomons, who chaired the Texas House Redistricting Committee in 2011, criticized President Trump for pressuring Texas leaders to reconfigure congressional maps to favor Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“What Mr. Trump proposes today is far worse” than past partisan maneuvering, the state rep. argued in a New York Times op-ed. “It would be a blatant power grab threatening our system of representative government.”

President Trump recently urged Texas lawmakers and Governor Greg Abbott (R) to pursue redistricting outside the standard post-census timeline, hoping to gain “five” additional Republican seats. State Rep. Solomons, who served 18 years in the Texas House, called this unprecedented effort “an apparent bid to rig the 2026 midterm elections long before the votes are cast.”

The former Texas lawmaker acknowledged that redistricting has always been a politically charged action, writing that “Republicans were aggressive and redrew lines to protect incumbents.” However, he emphasized that there were once limits and respect for institutional norms. “Even when we were playing hardball, there were rules and laws that were respected, norms that were upheld and lines that weren’t crossed,” he argued.

He now warns that lawmakers should be concerned about this effort, noting that it disregards both precedent and fairness.

“Redrawing districts mid-decade is rare, and for good reason,” he wrote. “It shouldn’t ever happen at a president’s whim.”

Warning that such an act would “inject more partisanship into our already polarized politics,” he argued that it undermines trust in democratic processes.

State Rep. Solomons concluded with an appeal to Texas leadership, writing that “they can place party loyalty above Texas voters or do the right thing. It is their choice — they don’t have to be complicit.”