Redistricting Reprisals: From The Politics Desk

Welcome to nan online type of From nan Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you nan NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and study from nan White House, Capitol Hill and nan run trail.

Happy Monday, readers! In today’s edition, NBC News reporters successful Austin, Boston, Chicago and Washington bring you nan latest from nan redistricting standoff successful Texas, aft Democrats fled nan authorities to contradict Republicans a quorum to move guardant pinch legislation. Then, our squad successful Washington digs into nan fallout from President Donald Trump’s dismissal of nan caput of nan Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sign up to person this newsletter successful your inbox each weekday here.

— Scott Bland

Redistricting conflict escalates successful Texas aft Democrats scatter, denying authorities House a quorum

By Ben Kamisar, Natasha Korecki, Ryan Chandler and Adam Edelman

The Texas authorities House concisely reconvened this day amid a nationally watched conflict complete nan GOP majority’s plan to redraw nan state’s legislature lines, pinch Republican lawmakers voting to o.k. civilian apprehension warrants targeting nan dozens of Democrats who fled nan state, blocking Republicans from proceeding pinch nan plan.

The bulk of nan 50-plus Democrats who near nan state are successful Illinois, wherever they’ve been welcomed by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. Others are successful Boston and successful Albany, New York, wherever Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, successful consequence to Texas, is pushing for a alteration successful authorities rule to let redistricting successful early years.

There, beyond nan scope of nan authorities sergeant-at-arms and nan Texas Department of Public Safety, nan warrants whitethorn person small applicable effect. But backmost home, nan Democrats look mounting fines, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to footwear nan Democratic lawmakers from agency aliases nonstop rule enforcement to unit them to return to nan state.

Because House business requires a quorum, 51 retired of nan state’s 62 Democratic House members can, by remaining retired of state, forestall nan Republican-led authorities House from moving guardant pinch legislation.

The absences deprived nan House of its quorum, a reality confirmed quickly aft legislators gaveled successful this afternoon.

Republican Speaker Dustin Burrows admonished nan dozens of Democrats who fled nan authorities arsenic having “abandoned their station and turned their backs connected nan constituents they swore to represent.”

Democrats person decried Republicans’ redistricting move arsenic a powerfulness play and criticized them for moving connected nan redistricting measure earlier having responded legislatively to nan devastating floods this summertime that killed much than 100 group successful Kerr County, extracurricular San Antonio. Today, Burrows changeable backmost by arguing that Democrats are delaying their expertise to move connected different legislative priorities, for illustration addressing nan floods.

Democratic authorities Rep. Ann Johnson of Houston, speaking yesterday evening aft she arrived astatine a news convention astatine a portion promenade astir 30 miles westbound of Chicago, said nan redistricting measure is happening only because Trump is “afraid of nan electorate adjacent November.”

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White House searches for a caller BLS main pinch 'credibility' and 'experience'

By Jonathan Allen, Katherine Doyle and Peter Nicholas

White House officials began nan week scrambling to find a imperishable replacement aft President Donald Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer connected Friday, pursuing a weaker-than-expected July jobs study and drastic downward revisions of employment for nan anterior 2 months.

Steve Bannon, a elder White House advisor successful Trump’s first word who is influential pinch nan MAGA helping of nan GOP, is pushing difficult for E.J. Antoni, nan main economist astatine nan blimpish Heritage Foundation. Antoni, a contributor to nan Project 2025 argumentation rubric, has been a longtime skeptic of BLS data. On Bannon’s podcast past week, Antoni called for McEntarfer to beryllium fired soon earlier Trump pulled nan trigger.

In an question and reply pinch NBC News this afternoon, Antoni said he had not been contacted by anyone successful nan White House astir nan job. West Wing officials are “still moving traps” connected candidates for nan Senate-confirmed position, 1 White House adjutant said.

The White House did not return a petition for remark connected whether Antoni is nether consideration.

Trump yesterday said that he plans to denote a prime in nan adjacent 3 aliases 4 days.

“It’s going to person to beryllium personification that has tremendous credibility and experience,” said a elder White House charismatic who noted that Trump would apt perceive to nan thoughts of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and Stephen Miran, nan chair of nan National Economic Council.

Hiring specified a personification could perchance beryllium a situation for Trump. In ousting McEntarfer, he baselessly claimed that jobs numbers are taxable to governmental manipulation — “RIGGED successful bid to make nan Republicans, and ME, look bad,” he said — raising nan specter that a caller commissioner would not merchandise numbers that made Trump look bad.

“I find it truthful difficult to judge that your mean personification hears Trump fired personification because he claimed that they manipulated information and whoever he’s replaced them pinch is going to nutrient trustworthy data,” Kathryn Anne Edwards, an independent economical advisor and big of a podcast called The Optimist, said.

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That’s each From nan Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Scott Bland and Dylan Ebs.

If you person feedback — likes aliases dislikes — email america astatine politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

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