NEW: GOP Rep. Flips, Betrays Trump On Key Issue

An out-of-state Republican member of the U.S. House is casting shade on a plan by Texas conservatives who are hell bent on adding new GOP seats to the state’s delegation in time for the 2026 election.

The Texas legislature is forging ahead with an audacious plan, approved by President Donald Trump, that would add between five and 10 new seats with districts that Trump won by 10 or more points in 2024, making them almost entirely inaccessible to Democrats. Republicans in blue states have voiced concerns about an arms race between states as both parties try to expand their numbers for control of the House, which is widely seen as being a toss-up next year.

Another voice of temperance entered the discussion on Thursday when Utah Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) suggested the Texas GOP’s plan is “a step too far,” claiming it would erode norms and encourage more redistricting in between the decennial census.

“I do not agree with state efforts to redistrict mid-decade,” Moore, R-Utah, said in a statement to KSL.com. “It undermines established norms and gives blue states a glaring green light to do the same. Partisan gerrymandering is clearly done by both sides, but to allow this wildfire to spread mid-decade is a step too far.”

Moore, who chairs the House Republican Conference, is one of the most prominent members of the House GOP caucus to speak out against the plan, which also has the backing of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Others, such as Reps. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) have expressed concern about being drawn out of their districts if their states’ Democratic controlled legislatures and governors seek to diminish GOP numbers through redistricting.

Texas Democrats on Sunday began fleeing their state, holing up in liberal locales like Chicago as they sought to deny Republicans the necessary quorum to pass a new congressional district map. In response, Texas Republicans issued civil arrest warrants, which were quickly outdone as the FBI agreed to participate in the apprehension of the derelict Democrats.

For the most part, Republicans have been receptive to the change and criticized Democrats for fleeing to states like Massachusetts, where gerrymandering was invented, and which hasn’t seen a Republican member of the House for 31 years.

“‘Partisan gerrymandering’ is what Democrats call it when it happens in a red state,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee said on X. “When it happens in a blue state, Democrats tell us that ‘this is what democracy looks like.'”

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre argued in a court filing that she would also not like to see the redistricting fight come to her state, KSL reported.

“We don’t want this to be a tit for tat,” she said. “We don’t want Democratic states to retaliate against red states. That doesn’t do anybody any good. What we want is for each state to realize that this should be something to give all of the people who are eligible to vote a chance at a voice.”