Dozens of liberal groups unveiled plans Tuesday to hold around 50 events across 20 states to protest Republican redistricting efforts in Texas backed by President Donald Trump.
The demonstrations scheduled for Saturday — branded as “Fight the Trump Takeover” — are being organized by more than three dozen groups, including the Democratic National Committee, according to plans shared first with NBC News.
“Trump knows the only way he can hold the majority after his budget betrayal is by changing the rules in the middle of the game to avoid accountability for ripping health care and food away from millions of Americans,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin in a statement, referring to Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill that he signed into law last month.
The main rally will take place at the Texas state Capitol in Austin, according to Texas For All, one of the lead organizers. Drucilla Tigner, executive director of the group, said the protests will focus on “the future of our democracy.”
“Though this fight started in Texas, it doesn’t end here,” Tigner said in a statement. “This isn’t just about redistricting or one state’s politics. It’s about the future of our democracy.”
Other organizing groups are the Texas AFL-CIO, MoveOn, Indivisible, the Human Rights Campaign PAC and Planned Parenthood, according to the coalition’s webpage.
The announcement comes as Democratic state legislators from Texas remain outside of the state in an effort to deny Republicans a necessary quorum to move forward with redistricting plans that could ultimately help Republicans pick up five seats in the U.S. House, where the GOP will be defending a narrow majority in next year’s midterm elections.
It’s unclear how long the standoff will continue. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has said that he’ll keep calling special sessions once the current session expires.
“This could literally last years, because in Texas, I’m authorized to call a special session every 30 days,” Abbott said on Fox News on Sunday. “It lasts 30 days, and as soon as this one is over, I’m going to call another one, then another one, then another one, then another one.”
Abbott also said that if the Democratic legislators return to Texas, “they will be arrested and taken to the Capitol.”
Several Democratic governors, meanwhile, have vowed to pursue redistricting efforts their states to offset potential GOP congressional gains if Texas moves forward.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday, urging him to ask Abbott to abandon redistricting efforts, or he would be “forced” to work to redraw California’s map.
“You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make,” Newsom wrote.
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