Texas House Rep. Jolanda Jones challenged President Donald Trump Wednesday amid his administration’s ongoing effort to boost GOP numbers in Congress by redrawing Texas’ congressional district map, vowing to resist for “however long” it takes.
The Texas Legislature is currently in a special session, called by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbot in an effort to boost GOP power, and at the behest of the White House. Efforts have stalled, however, as Democrats have fled the state, resulting in increasing escalations from Texas and federal officials, both of whom have threatened dissenting Democratic lawmakers with arrest.
“They can't do nothing without us being there, so I would imagine that we're the Trump card right now, pun intended,” Yolanda said on NewsNation Wednesday.
“...He's been a thief, President Trump, all his life, and he's now trying to steal the 2026 elections, he's trying to steal the votes of Black and brown people in Texas so that they do not have the constitutional right to choose a representative of their choice.”
Jones said she’s currently out of Texas, but declined to say exactly where, and only that she was “not in Texas.” Trump has ramped up the feud by suggesting that the FBI “may have to” round up Texas Democrats blocking redistricting efforts by denying Republicans the quorum required to continue the special session.
Jones, however, said she was prepared to extend her “one-way ticket however long I need to extend my one-way ticket,” and dared federal officials to try to apprehend her.
“I wish they would try and come get me,” she said. “It's illegal, subpoenas in Texas are for Texas, they're civil subpoenas, there is no felony, he's stretching.”
An attorney herself who practices criminal law, Jones said that were she to be arrested, she would immediately launch an aggressive legal assault against the perpetrators.
“Let me be clear: if somebody picks me up and tries to take me back to Texas, trust me, I will sue them and I will press charges against them,” she said. “This is a civil matter, and it doesn't make sense that Trump is allowing Texas to try to weaponize the FBI. This is not a federal issue, this is a state issue, so they need to stay where they are.”
