SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The U.S. Supreme Court weighed on the Texas redistricting fight last night. Justice Samuel Alito issued an order that keeps in place newly passed voting map that favors Republicans - at least for the moment. The order blocks a lower court ruling that had found that the congressional districts were racially gerrymandered, which is illegal.

Several members of Congress don't even know which district they'll be able to run in for next year's midterm elections or not, among them, Congressman Lloyd Doggett. As some of - the Democrat initially said he would still run in a newly drawn district. Then he changed course and announced his retirement. Then this week, he said he was back in after the lower court ruling. The congressman joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us.

LLOYD DOGGETT: Thank you, Scott.

SIMON: And now?

DOGGETT: Well, what we have is an administrative stay, as you said, issued by Justice Alito, the one justice who is responsible for the circuit in which Texas is located. It's a temporary stay. And this will give the full court an opportunity to review this. And while I would have preferred that he simply urged the parties to get the briefs in without the stay, I don't think it's indicative of the entire court.

And I'm still very hopeful, given the strong writing of the Trump-appointed Judge Brown in Texas, who wrote the opinion for two judges in Texas reviewing the court, finding it a racial gerrymander, finding it was intentional vote division, that that holding will stand and that the court will invalidate the Trump map and maintain the Texas map as it existed prior to August.

SIMON: How difficult is it for you to try and plan a campaign this way or, for that matter, try and plan retirement?

DOGGETT: Well, I've always felt the best campaign was good government, and I really haven't changed my activity since the decision came down in - earlier in the - with the redistricting earlier in the year. I'll be out doing events in my district in Austin, the only town I've ever called home, as often as I can in coming days, and then we'll be back here vigorously opposing the Trump agenda in another week when Congress reconvenes.

SIMON: Congressman Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, said this week that the new Texas maps, and I'm going to quote him now, were simply, quote, "responding in kind to years of Democrats' gerrymandering." How do you respond to that?

DOGGETT: That it's total nonsense coming from a fanatic. There are Republicans who already gerrymandered Texas. I'm in my fourth different number district as they tried to eliminate me over the last 20 years, running me one time all the way from Austin to Mexico. That hasn't worked for them.

This was an action that they took, as the court found, based on race, following a letter from Trump's Justice Department telling Texas if it didn't redraw four districts that favored African Americans and Hispanics, that they were going to take action against the state of Texas. The governor added this issue to the call of the special session for action only because of race, and the speaker bragged about their success thereafter.

So I think Judge Brown had good standing to declare that they had engaged in racial gerrymandering and intentional vote deletion, and I hope that the Supreme Court will uphold that finding.

SIMON: Would you, Congressman, having had your own district changed under your feet, was it four times - would you like to see politicians get out of the redistricting business or is that practical? Is it just irresistible for them?

DOGGETT: Sure. It probably is irresistible. You're right, Scott, but yes, we need to not have politicians selecting their voters. The voters ought to have the say. This was done on a racial basis, but solely so Trump can maintain total unrestrained control, knowing he has a Republican Congress that is so compliant. California took the right step initially with a citizens nonpartisan redistricting.

But that has to apply in all 50 states, not just in those that are currently held by Democrats. We proposed doing that three or four years ago under Speaker Pelosi - Republicans blocked it. I wish this entire set of events that's unfolding across the country would lead us to true reform so that we would see all voices represented in Congress instead of just trying to build up the extremes.

SIMON: Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who represents Austin in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thanks so much for being with us.

DOGGETT: Thanks a lot. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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