On August 5, 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul appeared on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” from Albany, NY, to address the escalating political crisis involving Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled to New York to evade arrest warrants issued by Texas Republicans attempting to gerrymander five congressional seats. Hochul passionately argued that failing to fight for democracy risks its loss, criticizing the Republican-led efforts to silence minority voices and the resulting threats to healthcare, SNAP benefits, and safety from ICE raids. Hosting the Texas lawmakers at the governor’s residence, she drew inspiration from historical figures like Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt, vowing to support their courageous stand and potentially adjust New York’s redistricting to counter the imbalance, embodying her Buffalo-rooted fighting spirit with a defiant “Bring it on” to Texas bullies.
Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul is a Guest on MSNBC’s ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’
Governor Hochul: “If we refuse to fight for our democracy, then we’re doomed to lose it. We don’t want our democracy lost. And that’s why I’m sick and tired of fighting these battles with my hands tied behind my back… Look at the tip of balance in the Congress now and what the Republicans are attempting to do under the direction of Donald Trump to literally hijack five Democratic seats in Texas represented particularly by minority communities. They’re going to lose their voice.”
Hochul: “I have to deal with the onslaught of attacks on my residents: the loss of health care for millions, children starving because they don’t have the SNAP benefits, and seeing the ICE raids with unfettered power walking into our courthouses and our buildings and our schools wearing masks and blaring guns. There’s no way to stop this if we don’t find a way to have some checks and balances in Washington… I’m a New Yorker. I’m from Buffalo. Fighting is second nature to us. I’m not afraid of this. That’s why I said, “Bring it on,” because Texas — bullies in Texas — are not going to intimidate us now or ever.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.
A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:
Rachel Maddow, MSNBC: New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaking today after a group of Texas Democratic lawmakers fled to her state to try and stop Republicans from redrawing Texas’s congressional districts to effectively unilaterally create five more Republican congressional seats in Texas.
Tonight, Texas republicans have issued arrest warrants for those Democratic lawmakers. They’re threatening, in the Attorney General’s words, to “hunt them down.” They’ve gone to New York. They’ve gone to Illinois. They’ve fled essentially to blue state America, both for protection and also to make their case.
Joining us now is Kathy Hochul, she’s Democratic Governor of the great State of New York. Governor, it’s good to have you here. Thank you very much.
Governor Hochul: Thank you for having me back. Appreciate it, Rachel.
Rachel Maddow, MSNBC: Let me just ask you first how this came about; if your office and you have been in touch with these Texas Democrats, what the thinking was and the planning was to get them to New York, essentially to safety?
Governor Hochul: Well, basically we’ve been having conversations ever since this story emerged. We look out for each other, like Democrats across the country. But we actually realized that it was the time — the eve of the vote that they wanted to take — and they were interested in going somewhere to break the quorum, which is a legitimate exercise of power. That’s not illegal. They can do that. We offered them to come to New York.
I hosted them at the governor’s residence this morning for breakfast and wanted them to walk the halls of a home that had once housed Franklin Roosevelt as well as Teddy Roosevelt to draw some inspiration from those fights for democracy that preceded us by many, many decades. So we brought them to the Capitol after that, had a chance for me to hear their stories.
And I want you to realize they’re not just legislators from another state. Think of them as human beings. These are moms and dads who did what they had to do when they’re packing their suitcases, not sure when they’d return. They might not be there to buy the back to school clothes for their kids. They’re willing to make these sacrifices. And I said, these are the 2025 versions of profiles in courage, and I’ll do anything I can to support them.
Rachel Maddow, MSNBC: You described this as a war, you said, “Bring it on.” You’ve talked about doing something extraordinary, which is potentially paving the way for redistricting in New York, essentially to allow Democrats to take seats that aren’t currently Democratic-leaning seats the way that Republicans are doing in Texas. Tell me about whether you think it’s going to get there and whether you think if the war is going to be fought in those terms, who ends up winning?
Governor Hochul: Rachel, if we refuse to fight for our democracy, then we’re doomed to lose it. We don’t want our democracy lost. And that’s why I’m sick and tired of fighting these battles with my hands tied behind my back because we have an independent redistricting commission.
We love good government ideas. They’re fabulous. But you know what? It puts us at a political disadvantage to all the Republican states who are able to gerrymander at will. So look at the tip of balance in the Congress now and what the Republicans are attempting to do under the direction of Donald Trump to literally hijack five Democratic seats in Texas represented particularly by minority communities. They’re going to lose their voice.
And the effect of that on New York, why I’m involved with this, if they stack it so it’s almost impossible for Hakeem Jeffries to be speaker at any time in the near future, or certainly during the Trump administration, then I have to deal with the onslaught of attacks on my residents: the loss of health care for millions, children starving because they don’t have the SNAP benefits, and seeing the ICE raids with unfettered power walking into our courthouses and our buildings and our schools wearing masks and blaring guns.
There’s no way to stop this if we don’t find a way to have some checks and balances in Washington, because we do not have it now. And if we don’t stand up and fight, we’ll not have it for the entirety of Donald Trump’s tenure, and that is what is so frightening to me.
You know what? I’m a New Yorker. I’m from Buffalo. Fighting is second nature to us. I’m not afraid of this. That’s why I said, “Bring it on,” because Texas — bullies in Texas — are not going to intimidate us now or ever.
Rachel Maddow, MSNBC: New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Thank you for your time tonight, Governor. I know that you are still right in the middle of this. This is still an unfolding situation. Keep us apprised. We’d love to have you back to talk about how this unfolds. Thank you.
Governor Hochul: Thank you very much.
August 5, 2025
Albany, NY
Sources: Governor.NY.gov , Big New York news BigNY.com
