José Menéndez

My final words on SR 5 - Redistricting in Texas 🎥 Watch - ICYMI with how we got here. #txlege #redistricting #gerrymandering

“We need to find out what happened. We need to know for us to go forward & make sure that we prevent the loss of life on the scale,” said José Menéndez, a Dem. state senator, who will be on the joint select committee on disaster preparedness & flooding. cnn.it/4lJdwG4

5/ Senator Menéndez pressed further: 🎙️ “If you don’t have the race of the population, how do you address the concerns of the DOJ?” Senator Carol Alvarado (@CarolforTexas) cut straight to it: 🎙️ “Are we under a court order? No. Have we received new census data? No. So why are…

4/ No new census. No court order. No public demand. So why the rush? Then came the ground rules for drawing the maps—and they set off alarms. The GOP plan limits hearings, makes virtual testimony harder & restricts what data could even be considered.

3/ Senator Jose Menendez (@Menendez4Texas) asked the obvious: If this was so urgent, why didn’t it come up during the regular session? 🎙️ “I didn’t hear anything about this during the regular session. Not one person has asked me to support redistricting in 2025. Not one.”

Here's what really went down on Day One of Texas' rigged redistricting special session—and how Senate Democrats pushed back. A 🧵: 1/ Governor Abbott brought lawmakers back to Austin to redraw Texas’ congressional maps—even though we still have five years until the next Census.…

On Senate floor, @PhilKingTX says he was "very surprised" to see the July 7 letter in which the DOJ asked Texas to redraw congressional maps — and hasn't spoken to DOJ. "I do not have any knowledge of the facts they allege to be behind that conclusion or suggestion." #txlege

.@Menendez4Texas questioning King about why the #txlege is looking at mid-decade redistricting. "I'm just trying to figure out why the governor put this redistricting call on this special session in 2025 when I didn't hear anything about it in the regular session."

Over in the Senate, @PhilKingTX (R-Weatherford) asks to suspend rules to adopt procedures for redistricting process @Menendez4Texas (D-San Antonio) presses King on why this is necessary “You voted for the [current] maps, right? You felt those maps were appropriate?”

.@Menendez4Texas questioning @PhilKingTX on Senate floor over motion to suspend rules on redistricting. "I'm just trying to get to the reason why" Texas is doing this mid-decade."

Asking questions on Senate Resolution 5. Why are we bringing up redistricting now in this 2025 Special Session? My constituents and the people of Texas want to know. 🔴Watch live: senate.texas.gov/av-live.php #txlege #redistricting