<p>What's going on in Texas, where Democrats have walked out of the state legislature in an effort to thwart (or at least postpone) handing Donald Trump five more congressional seats in the 2026 midterms. Is it a crime? Does it break norms? And most importantly: will it work? And we check back in with the administration's efforts to keep Alina Habba on a job she's not legally entitled to have and for which she has zero qualifications. What could possibly go wrong?? </p> <p> </p> <p>Links:</p> <p>Texas HB4</p> <p><a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=891&Bill=HB4" target="_blank"> https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=891&Bill=HB4</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Texas HB4 Map</p> <p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/texas-redistricting-congressional-maps-house-republicans/" target="_blank"> https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/texas-redistricting-congressional-maps-house-republicans/</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Texas Constitution</p> <p><a href="https://tlc.texas.gov/docs/legref/TxConst.pdf" target="_blank">https://tlc.texas.gov/docs/legref/TxConst.pdf</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Texas House Rules</p> <p><a href="https://www.house.texas.gov/pdfs/resources/House-Rules.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.house.texas.gov/pdfs/resources/House-Rules.pdf</a></p> <p> </p> <p>US v. Giraud</p> <p><a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69409922/united-states-v-giraud-iii/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc" target="_blank"> https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69409922/united-states-v-giraud-iii/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Show Links:</p> <p><a href="https://www.lawandchaospod.com/" target="_blank">https://www.lawandchaospod.com/</a></p> <p>BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod</p> <p>Threads: @LawAndChaosPod</p> <p>Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod</p> <p> </p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>