Vance on Texas redistricting: We're 'trying to make the situation a little bit more fair' nationally

Vice President JD Vance argued that Republicans are "trying to make the situation a little bit more fair on a national scale" in Texas after the state Senate signed off on a new congressional map over the weekend.

During a Sunday interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker asked the vice president about the new district lines, which are likely to add up to five additional U.S. House seats for Republicans in next year’s midterms.

"If President Trump's agenda is so popular, why do Republicans need to add additional seats to the map?" she asked.

Vance responded by asking Welker why Democrats "gerrymandered their states aggressively over the past ten to 20 years?"

He mentioned Massachusetts, where President Trump won 36 percent of the vote, as an example of a state with no Republican federal representatives. In contrast, Democratic Candidate Kamala Harris won 61 percent of the vote, winning her the state in 2024. All nine congressional districts in the state are represented by Democrats and five of the state House members ran unopposed in 2024.

The state's current map, which Axios highlighted, was signed in 2021 by former Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican.

"All we're doing, frankly, is trying to make the situation a little bit more fair on a national scale," Vance said. "The 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."

His comments come after the Texas state Senate on Saturday passed a new congressional map, sending the legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to sign into law ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The map's passing came after the state House approved the map in a party-line vote after Democratic members ended a two-week standoff over the map proposal and returned to the state.

Texas Democrats are now beginning a new battle in the courts, where members of the party and civil rights groups are expected to challenge the maps.