New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared “war” on President Trump and the GOP in response to Texas lawmakers’ proposal of a new congressional map for their state, with Gov. Hochul also accusing Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, of being a “co-conspirator” with President Trump in the supposed destruction of democracy.
For background, on August 4, 2025, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she would explore “every option” to redraw her state’s congressional maps as a reaction to a push for redistricting from Texas Republicans, saying, “All’s fair in love and war” and calling the Republicans’ redistricting plan a “brazen assault” during a press conference with other prominent Democrats from both New York and Texas.
Furthermore, Gov. Hochul spoke alongside members of a group of 50 Texas state House Democrats who fled their state on August 3, 2025, barring Republicans from passing a redistricting map that would provide the GOP with five possible seats. At the August 4 press conference, Gov. Hochul was joined by Texas Democratic Representative Lulu Flores and several others.
Speaking to reporters, Gov. Hochul said, “There’s a phrase, ‘You have to fight fire with fire.’” She continued, “That is a true statement of how we’re feeling right now.” Moreover, the governor said, “All’s fair in love and war. That’s why I’m exploring with our leaders every option to redraw our state congressional lines as soon as possible.”
Continuing, the governor said that she and New York state legislative leaders were “already working on a legislative process, reviewing our legal strategies,” adding, “And we’ll do everything in our power to stop this brazen assault.” She went on, “We’re going to also look at litigation strategies. “We’re in close conversations about options there, and so I would say this: we’re considering all options right now.”
In addition, Gov. Hochul was quoted as explicitly saying, “This is a war,” referring to the redistricting push by the Texas GOP. She added, “We are at war. That’s why the gloves are off, and I say, bring it on.” In response, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TX) said that Democrats like Gov. Hochul “are leading New Yorkers into peril by pushing for political ‘war.’”
Building on his point, Rep. Ogles said that the fiery rhetoric used by Gov. Hochul proves “how desperately Democrats crave big government tyranny and migrants replacing us.” On the other hand, California Governor Gavin Newsom showed his support for the Texas Democrats online, saying, “The Governor of Texas is threatening to remove democratically elected officials from office because they have refused to rig an election for Donald Trump.”
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Importantly, Texas Governor Greg Abbott indeed threatened the members of the Texas House who fled their state with potential charges, saying, “Many absentee Democrats are soliciting funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules.” The governor added, “Any Democrat who ‘solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept’ such funds to assist in the violation of legislative duties or for purposes of skipping a vote may have violated bribery laws.”
Watch a clip from Gov. Hochul’s rant:
Featured image credit: video screengrab