Vice President J.D. Vance pushed back on “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker Sunday after she asked why Republicans would seek to add congressional seats if President Donald Trump’s agenda is already popular nationwide.
“The Democrats have gerrymandered their states really aggressively,” Vance said. “We think there’s opportunities to push back against that, and that’s really all we’re doing.”
Vance pointed to states such as Massachusetts, where 32% of residents voted Republican but the delegation sent zero GOP representatives to Washington.
“All we’re doing frankly is trying to make the situation a little bit more fair on a national scale,” Vance said. He argued that Republican efforts in Texas are designed to balance out decades of Democratic gerrymandering elsewhere.
“All we’re doing, frankly, is trying to make the situation a little bit more fair,” says @VP on redistricting.
“Democrats have gerrymandered their states really aggressively. We think there are opportunities to push back against that, and that’s really all we’re doing.” pic.twitter.com/q06A8CkniT
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 24, 2025
Texas and California at the center of the fight
The Texas Senate approved new congressional maps on Saturday after Democrats ended their “quorum break” earlier this month. Republicans said the new maps would better reflect voting preferences across the state.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by advancing legislation for a partisan remap in his state, branding it the “Election Rigging Response Act.” He claimed Texas’s maps were an attempt to help Trump secure a third term.
Currently, California’s House delegation sits at 43 Democrats and 9 Republicans, compared to 40 Democrats and 12 Republicans after the 2022 midterms.
Other Democratic-led states
Illinois: The map enacted before the 2022 midterms eliminated two Republican seats, including one held by then-Rep. Adam Kinzinger. Democrats went from 11 seats in 2020 to 14 in 2022, while Republicans dropped to three.
Massachusetts: No Republican has been elected to the U.S. House since 1996, despite GOP successes in statewide races.
New York: A 2024 redistricting endangered six GOP-held seats. Democrats now hold 19 seats compared to 7 Republicans, up from 15 Democrats after 2022.
