Welcome back. Joining me now is Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California. Senator Padilla, welcome back to Meet the Press. Thanks for having me back. Thank you so much for being here in person. Let's start with the economy. President Trump, as I was just discussing with Kevin Hasset, his decision to fire the head of the BLS. Of course, it has prompted some backlash. You just heard Kevin Hasset defend the move. Now that the president is appointing a replacement to head the BLS, my question for you, will ...

Joining us now, semaphore politics reporter Dave Wigle, Punch Bowl News co-founder and MSNBC political contributor Jake Sherman, staff writer for The Atlantic and MSNBC contributor Mark Lieovich, and former North Dakota senator and MSNBC contributor Heidi Hydeamp. Thank you all for being with us. Jake, starting with you, this new Texas map targets Democratic US House members in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and in South Texas as well.Is this a done deal. Um will the how will the current representatives how are t ...

Redistricting and Political Strategy - Texas Republicans are aiming to gain five seats in the next midterm elections through a new congressional map, initiated by Governor Greg Abbott at the urging of President Trump [1] - The proposed maps would have favored President Trump in 30 out of 38 seats, each by more than 10 percentage points [2] - California Governor Gavin Newsom is considering redrawing congressional lines to favor Democrats if Texas Republicans proceed with their map [3] - Republicans are openly aiming to give Trump more seats, rather than focusing on fairness or constituent representation [5][6] Gerrymandering and its Consequences - The practice of gerrymandering, intensified by computer-based redistricting since the 1990s, leads to extreme partisanship and less need for representatives to appeal to a broad range of constituents [8][9][10][11] - Gerrymandering results in uncompetitive districts (e g, 90/10 or 80/20 party affiliation), where primary wins are more crucial than general elections, pushing House members to extremes [9][10] - In Wisconsin, gerrymandering after the 2010 election led to Republicans controlling 60-65% of the state legislature despite a roughly 50/50 split in the popular vote [24][25] Legal and Voter Perspectives - Democrats may challenge the Texas maps in court, arguing that they eliminate majority-minority districts, violating the Voting Rights Act, but face challenges in Texas courts [13][14] - Some Democrats suggest abandoning the concept of majority-minority districts to maximize the number of seats they can win [15] - Voters generally oppose politicians drawing districts to prevent themselves from losing, but the presentation of ballot initiatives can influence their perception [20][21] Potential National Implications - The redistricting efforts in Texas could trigger an "arms race," with some Democrats suggesting similar tactics in blue states like New York and California [17] - There is growing pressure on Democratic leaders to adopt more aggressive redistricting strategies, mirroring Republican tactics, to maintain political power [27] - Some fear that the current trend is leading to an increasingly polarized and "ugly" political landscape, where both parties prioritize partisan advantage over fairness [28][29]

And Senator Padilla joins us now. He's a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. >> Senator, thanks for joining us.We know the Office of Special Counsel this White House submitted a new name to lead up that office, a Trump loyalist, some may say stick. Do you really believe that the office of special counsel under this administration would do an investigation into this. Look, I know there's questions and whether they may or may not actually do the job of investigating, which by the way, they have confirme ...

From pole taxes to white only primaries, Texas has discriminated against voters of color for generations. >> Please complete your testimony. >> You have the power to reject that.To reject the pressure from President Trump and national Republican operatives urging you to offset their anticipated electoral losses elsewhere by redrawing the map in Texas to discriminate against minority communities. That was Democratic Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher pushing back against the GOP plan to redraw Texas's congression ...

Joining me now is Texas Congresswoman Julie Johnson, vice ranking member on the Homeland Security Committee. Welcome, Congresswoman. Glad to have you here.And we just heard from your colleague, Congressman BC there. Whose district, like yours, could be on a redistricting target list. What could proposed maps look like for your seat.Well, you know, they're absolutely targeting Dallas County um because we are a very high voting Democrat voting uh area. And so they're trying to really fajit distribut it, howev ...

Yeah, we need someone who's actually a good person. Well, >> to, you know, because the Democrats have very few candidates that are >> That was of course Joe Rogan interviewing Texas State Representative James Telerico on his podcast last week. Telerico is emerging as a rising star in the Democratic party following his interview in previous viral videos.You may have seen them that have pushed him into the spotlight. And now he is hinting at a possible run for the US Senate seat now held by Republican John Co ...

A special session of the Texas legislature is underway right now in Austin. While the response to the central Texas floods is a top priority, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has added redrawing the state's 38 congressional districts to the agenda. It's a key piece.That item came at the urging of President Trump and his team, who believe Republicans can add as many as five seats in next year's midterms. Texas Democrats, meanwhile, are vowing to fight the redistricting efforts. But as the minority party in bo ...

the plan is to go after these particular seats for the purposes of getting some type of electoral advantage. Uh I guess in 26 it makes no sense to me because the fact a couple of things. One, you've got governor Democratic governors now looking at the possibility of doing the same in their states to offset any gains here.But two, given the momentum the de the Democrats are starting to build and hoping to continue to build, um, Republicans are going to need more than four seats out of Texas to hold the House ...

Political Commentary & Legal Analysis - The legal industry notes the difficulty in releasing grand jury documentation due to its secret process [2][3] - The legal industry suggests the president's stance on releasing Epstein documents is a strategic game to shift blame [2][4] - The political landscape indicates Republican colleagues may avoid a vote on releasing grand jury documents to protect their party and leader [5][6][7][8] - The political analysis suggests Texas Republicans are redrawing district maps to secure more congressional seats, potentially marginalizing Democrats [8][9][12] - The political analysis indicates redistricting efforts in Texas may backfire, creating new vulnerabilities for Republicans [15] - The political landscape suggests Democrats may need to adopt similar redistricting tactics as Republicans to maintain influence [17][19][20] - The political analysis points out that gerrymandering in states like North Carolina has significantly impacted the balance of power in the House [21] Potential Investigations - The legal and political sectors anticipate potential investigations into President Trump and his family, focusing on various alleged violations and lawlessness [22][23][24][25] - Potential investigation areas include violations of the Emoluments Clause, dealings with foreign entities, and involvement in the Epstein case [24][25][26]