AUSTIN, Texas — Texans gathered in Houston on Saturday to express their concerns to state lawmakers over the potential redrawing of the state’s congressional maps. The public hearings for the House and Senate redistricting committees allowed residents from across the state to voice their opinions.

In both meetings, many people opposed the potential plans.

“Redistricting is not thus taking place here, but rather rig-districting is,” a Dallas resident said in the House meeting.

“Let’s stop letting the majority pick its voters, and get back to voters picking their elected officials,” another Dallas resident said in the Senate meeting.

“You have been asked to redraw our congressional maps mid-decade which will further silence my district and other communities of color as part of an unfair, undemocratic, power grab,” a Houston Resident said in the House meeting.

Despite the overwhelming opposition during the hearings, Republicans largely remained silent. Mark P. Jones, a professor of political science at Rice University, said it’s not a shock.

“The reality is an overwhelming majority of Republicans believe that in the best case scenario, this effort will only result in Republicans’ image being tarnished,” he said.

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Currently, Republicans hold 25 of Texas’s 38 congressional seats. Former President Donald Trump has publicly expressed his desire for Texas to gain more seats through remapping, suggesting, “And in one case it’s 2 or 3, and Texas would be 5.”

Jones warned that the redistricting efforts could backfire on the Republican Party.

“In the worst-case scenario, which actually is not all that unlikely, Republicans are more likely to lose seats than gain seats if they really do go all out to try to flip five currently Democratic held seats,” he said.

With no map drawn and no official plans to redistrict, some congressional leaders in Texas, like U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, believe there are more pressing issues.

“We should not be here today. You all should really be back in Austin passing legislation to support families in the Hill Country after the devastating flooding. Instead, we’re here playing political games to appease the fella in the White House,” Garcia said.