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ALBANY, NY — This morning, Congressman Paul D. Tonko met with Reps. Lulu Flores, Cassandra Garcia Hernandez, Vikki Goodwin, Jolanda “Jo” Jones, Suleman Lalani, and Mihaela Plesa, Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives, amid their ongoing standoff with Texas Republicans regarding the adoption of new blatantly partisan, gerrymandered congressional maps in that state demanded by President Trump.

These Representatives, along with dozens more currently in Chicago and Massachusetts, left Texas this week in order to prevent the passage of these racially motivated, Trump-backed maps. This morning, they met with Governor Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Congressman Tonko, and other state leaders to discuss next steps in the wake of this undemocratic maneuver. After the meeting, Congressman Tonko released the following statement:

“The congressional map proposed by Republican lawmakers in Texas makes a mockery of the Voting Rights Act and of our Constitution. It’s wrong, it’s illegal, and it intentionally disenfranchises marginalized people across Texas — particularly minority communities.

“Texas GOP lawmakers are showing that they couldn’t care less about their constituents. They only care about following President Trump’s orders, regardless of the harm those demands would inflict on their own constituents.

“I was proud to meet with these courageous Texas Democrats who are standing up for their districts and standing against this extreme partisan redistricting effort. Democrats will continue to fight with all our power to stand against these outrageous GOP election-rigging actions and to ensure that voters can choose their own representatives — not the other way around.”

You can view photos of Congressman Tonko’s meeting with the Texas lawmakers HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

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