Texas Democrats flee the state to block a Republican redistricting plan, sparking a high-stakes political showdown with national implications. The U.S. is on track for negative net migration for the first time in 50 years, a result of the Trump administration’s border crackdown and record deportations. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. orders a mercury-based preservative removed from all U.S. flu vaccines and plans an overhaul of the “vaccine court.”
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Texas Democrats Flee State Over Redistricting
Topline: Dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers have fled the state in a dramatic effort to block the Republican-led legislature from passing a new congressional map, prompting threats of arrest and felony charges from Governor Greg Abbott.
In a longshot bid to prevent a quorum, dozens of Texas Democrats fled the state over the weekend to stop Republicans from passing a new district map that could give the GOP more seats in the U.S. House. Governor Greg Abbott threatened the lawmakers with felony bribery charges and directed state law enforcement to arrest them upon their return. The fleeing Democrats, who held a press conference in Illinois, claim they are fighting a “corrupt process” and that Texas Republicans’ “loyalty and fealty to Donald Trump overrides all other interests.”
The showdown in Texas is having national repercussions. Democratic governors like New York’s Kathy Hochul have threatened to “fight fire with fire” by gerrymandering their own states in retaliation. The battle has also intensified calls from prominent Republicans, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, for a new census that would only count legal U.S. residents. DeSantis argues such a count is what the framers intended and would cause sanctuary states like California to lose congressional seats while states like Florida would gain them.
U.S. on Pace for Net-Negative Migration
Topline: The United States is on track to experience negative net migration in 2025 for the first time in at least 50 years, a stunning reversal driven by the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and record-setting deportations.
After an estimated 16 to 25 million people entered the U.S. between 2020 and 2024, the nation is set to see more people emigrate out of the country than into it this year. The trend is the result of President Trump making border security his top priority. Since Trump took office, border crossings have fallen by nearly 95%, and the Department of Homeland Security says it has deported more than a quarter-million illegal migrants in the last six months. The administration has also slashed work permits and visas while offering stipends for those who self-deport.
Supporters of the crackdown argue that less immigration will open up more jobs for Americans and force employers to raise wages. White House data shows that since March, the foreign-born workforce has declined by over a million people, while all net job growth has occurred among native-born Americans. Parallel efforts are also underway at the state level. With support from the DOJ, Texas recently repealed its “Dream Act,” ending in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrant students, and similar efforts are now underway in states like Kentucky and Minnesota.
RFK Jr. Continues Vaccine Policy Shakeup
Topline: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ordered the removal of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, from all flu vaccines distributed in the U.S. and is planning a major overhaul of the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
In his latest move to reshape U.S. vaccine policy, Kennedy has ordered the removal of the mercury-based ingredient thimerosal from all flu vaccines, which were the last vaccines in the country to contain it. The decision was based on a recommendation from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which Kennedy recently reconstituted with his own appointees. “Injecting any amount of mercury into children when safe mercury-free alternatives exist defies common sense and public health responsibility,” Kennedy said in a statement.
Kennedy is also blocking personnel from major medical groups, like the American Academy of Pediatrics, from having input during ACIP meetings. A statement from HHS said the old panel was “plagued by conflicts of interest, influence, and bias.”
In addition to these changes, Kennedy plans to overhaul the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, often called the “vaccine court.” He says the current system is biased against claimants and wants to make the process faster and less adversarial. Kennedy also intends to expand the program to include potential injuries from COVID vaccines, which are currently handled by a separate program that critics say is rife with conflicts of interest.