Virginia voted to allow lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map to create more seats for Democrats ahead of this year’s midterm elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says President Trump’s effort to “rig” the midterms has been “thwarted.”
“We were asking the voters of Virginia to respond in a temporary way to a national crisis that was started by Donald Trump in an environment where two-thirds of the people of Virginia had decided just a few years ago to go in a different direction,” Jeffries told Morning Edition. “It was an extraordinary undertaking. But the people of Virginia responded because they understood the assignment, and that’s to make sure we have a free and fair midterm election.”
Virginia is currently represented by six Democrats and five Republicans in the U.S. House. The narrow vote, officially called by the Associated Press, would add four more seats likely to be won by Democrats in the midterm elections. It would also bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, which means Democrats would almost completely control Virginia’s congressional delegation.
This race was a win for Democrats in an ongoing redistricting battle started by Trump last year when he asked Texas lawmakers to create five more seats in the state to give Republicans an edge in midterm elections.
Jeffries and NPR’s Michel Martin discussed Virginia’s vote to give Democrats an edge in the midterm elections. He also briefly commented on the Department of Homeland Security shutdown and the recent resignations of three members of Congress after they faced threats of expulsion.
Listen to the full conversation by clicking the play button in the blue box above, and read highlights from the conversation below.
Why Virginia’s vote is a win for Democrat
Since President Trump pushed Texas Republicans to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, blue and red states alike have been involved in a drawn out redistricting battle. California Democrats planned to create five seats that favor Democrats. While Missouri and North Carolina Republicans created a few more GOP-leaning seats, giving Republicans an edge heading into the midterms. But Virginia’s results have wiped out that edge altogether.
“Donald Trump indicated that he was going to rip away 10, 12 or 15 seats from the people of this country in states like Texas and Missouri and North Carolina as part of an effort to rig the midterm elections,” Jeffries said. “That effort has now been thwarted.”
Virginia is a purple state, and Democrats won by a narrow majority — 51% yes and 49% no.
Jeffries said he attributes the Virginia referendum results, and other Democrat flips across the country, to promises to fix the Trump administration’s shortcomings.
“All of our candidates have been talking about our commitment to lowering the high cost of living, to fixing our broken health care system, to making sure we get ICE under control — and have immigration enforcement in this country that’s fair, just and humane — and to stopping this costly and reckless war of choice in the Middle East,” he said.
How Democrats are approaching the DHS shutdownÂ
The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for a record breaking two months, and Congress has not given a clear indicator on when the department will reopen.
“We have a bipartisan bill that the Senate passed not once but twice unanimously that would reopen the Department of Homeland Security with the exception of ICE in the DHS. And [House Speaker] Mike Johnson and Republicans refuse to actually bring it to the floor for an up or down vote. If it’s brought to the floor, it will pass overwhelmingly,” Jeffries said.
Markwayne Mullin, the new homeland security secretary, said on Tuesday that if Congress failed to reach a deal and reopen the department, it would run out of money by May and be unable to pay employees.
“Republicans have made clear that they are the ones who have chosen to shut down the Department of Homeland Security and risk a situation where we may see renewed chaos at airports and TSA agents not being paid if, in fact, it is the case, according to the Homeland Security secretary, that their slush fund is about to run out of money,” Jeffries said.
The impact of the latest resignations from CongressÂ
Three Congress members have resigned after public controversies and threats of expulsion. This number is unusually high and has people questioning how elected officials are held accountable for misconduct.
Jeffries said the Ethics Committee should come up with a way to make sure members are held accountable for their actions.
“Members of Congress need to be held to the highest ethical standards. And certainly we cannot, under any circumstances, tolerate sexual harassment or sexual violence,” Jeffries said.
He alluded to Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales, the two representatives who resigned after allegations of sexual harassment, saying their resignations were an “important step,” but further action should be taken.
“In both instances, there needs to be, clearly, criminal investigations that play themselves out,” Jeffries said.
Swalwell has admitted to making mistakes, but he’s denied the allegations against him and vowed to fight them. Gonzales has admitted to having an affair with a staff member, who later committed suicide.
Treye Greene edited the digital piece.
Transcript:
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
For more on what this result in Virginia could mean for the Democrats, we’re joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He represents New York’s 8th Congressional District in Brooklyn. Good morning, Leader Jeffries. Thanks for joining us once again.
HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Good morning. Great to be with you.
MARTIN: How is this outcome in Virginia affecting your goal of Democrats regaining control of the House in November? You just heard my colleague Ashley Lopez say it seems like it’s pretty much a wash.
JEFFRIES: Our primary goal in connection with what took place in Virginia, and we’re thankful to the people of Virginia, who, by voting yes, have stopped the MAGA power grab. Donald Trump indicated that he was going to rip away 10, 12 or 15 seats from the people of this country in states like Texas and Missouri and North Carolina as part of an effort to rig the midterm elections. That effort has now been thwarted.
MARTIN: So, wait, do you think it’s essentially a wash, as Ashley Lopez pointed out, or do you think that Democrats kind of have an edge here?
JEFFRIES: I think the challenge right now for Republicans is that in Texas, for instance, they engaged in a dummymander. They claimed that they were ripping five seats away from Democrats. They’ll be fortunate if they get two or three. But we have, of course, responded in kind because our goal is to make sure that there’s a fair national map so that it’s the voters of this country who are the ones to decide who’s in the majority in connection with the midterm elections.
MARTIN: You know, Virginians elected Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger by a 15-point margin a few months ago. She was one of the most prominent advocates for this redistricting measure, but the referendum itself was approved by a narrow margin. Is there a warning sign here for Democrats that countering Trump is not going to be enough in a competitive environment this fall?
JEFFRIES: We always knew that it was going to be an incredibly close race. Virginia is a purple state. Governor Spanberger is a tremendous leader and ran a great campaign, and she’s doing an amazing job. But it’s important, Michel, to remember that in November of 2020, Virginians voted 65 to 35 to put into place a constitutional amendment for nonpartisan redistricting through an independent committee. And so we were asking the voters of Virginia to respond in a temporary way to a national crisis that was started by Donald Trump, and in an environment where two-thirds of the people of Virginia had decided just a few years ago to go in a different direction. So it was an extraordinary undertaking, but the people of Virginia responded because they understood the assignment, and that’s to make sure we have a free and fair midterm election.
MARTIN: Well, you know, the party in power historically loses seats during midterm elections, so there’s an inherent midterm advantage there. But Democrats have also been doing well in recent special elections. What’s your sense of what’s working for Democrats right now?
JEFFRIES: Well, it’s a combination of articulating a vision to address the affordability crisis that does exist in this country. It’s not a hoax. Cost of living right now is out of control all across the country. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on Day 1. Costs haven’t gone down, they’ve gone up. And we’ve made clear as Democrats that we’re going to focus on improving the ability of everyday Americans to live a comfortable life, an affordable life and a good life. And Donald Trump continues to just jam these extreme policies down the throat of the American people, and Democrats have made clear we’re going to push back against these things like his reckless and costly war of choice, where billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted over in the Middle East, but these same Republicans won’t spend a dime to actually make health care affordable to the American people.
MARTIN: But does that mean that people are voting for the Democrats, or does that mean that they’re voting against Trump and the Republicans? If that’s the case, is that enough to sustain momentum into November?
JEFFRIES: I think the connective tissue in all of these races – and we’ve been winning races now for 16 consecutive months, beginning in January of 2025, running all the way through what took place earlier this month in Wisconsin with a decisive victory in a battleground state where we won by 20, and, of course, overperforming again in a special election in New Jersey – all of our candidates have been talking about our commitment to lowering the high cost of living, to fixing our broken health care system, to making sure we get ICE under control and have immigration enforcement in this country that’s fair, just and humane, and to stopping this costless – costly and reckless war of choice in the Middle East.
MARTIN: If you’ve got a couple more minutes for me, I just have a couple more questions. On that question of sort of fighting for the little guy, if I can call it that – it’s a cliche, but that’s the best thing I can think of for now – the Department of Homeland Security is still shut down, and it’s – according to the new secretary, they’re going to run out of money in just a couple of weeks. Is this sustainable for the Democrats? I mean, the Democrats have been arguing that these ICE tactics need to change in order to agree to more funding. But can you sustain this if people continue to not be paid, and people like the TSA workers don’t get paid again?
JEFFRIES: Well, Donald Trump and Republicans decided to shut down the Department of Homeland Security, unfortunately. Right now, we have a bipartisan bill that the Senate passed not once but twice unanimously that would reopen the Department of Homeland Security, with the exception of ICE and the DHS, and Mike Johnson and Republicans refuse to actually bring it to the floor for an up-or-down vote. If it’s brought to the floor, it will pass overwhelmingly. And so Republicans have made clear that they are the ones who have chosen to shut down the Department of Homeland Security and risk a situation where we may see renewed chaos at airports and TSA agents not being paid, if, in fact, it is the case, according to the Homeland Security secretary, that their slush fund is about to run out of money.
MARTIN: And I do have to ask you about the fact that three lawmakers have just resigned under threat of expulsion. That’s just in the last, like, week and a half. And there are concerns about a fourth. These cases are all different, but there are some similarities there. Is there a problem in Congress that needs to be fixed with the ethics of some of its members? Is there something that needs to be different?
JEFFRIES: Members of Congress need to be held to the highest ethical standards, and certainly, we cannot, under any circumstances, tolerate sexual harassment or sexual violence. And so one of the things that we believe need to be done is that the ethics committee, on a bipartisan basis, should figure out how we can actually improve the circumstances here so that people are being held accountable for behavior that clearly crosses the line in a variety of different ways.
MARTIN: OK, but it’s already against House rules to have these kinds of relationships with subordinates, and it has been confirmed – well, one of the congressmen denies it, but one of them admits that he did have this kind of relationship. So what needs to happen here to ensure that that doesn’t keep happening?
JEFFRIES: Both have resigned, and that’s an important step that has been taken. And in both instances, there needs to be clearly criminal investigations that play themselves out.
MARTIN: That’s Hakeem Jeffries. He’s a Democrat from New York and the House minority leader. Mr. Leader, thanks so much for your time.
JEFFRIES: Thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE SIX PARTS SEVEN’S “THIS ONE OR THAT ONE?”)
