New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York Democrats would “fight fire with fire” in response to Texas Republicans attempting to redistrict their congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms.

SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS: You know, obviously, that those maps that came about the last time for redistricting were caught up in a lot of court battles there in New York. Here’s how “National Review” summarized it. They said, “… it was only three years ago that New York’s Democratic legislature drew up a map so brazenly contemptuous of basic rules. They govern a district’s contiguousness that the state’s Democrat dominated court of appeals threw it out. The ‘New York Times’ at the time called those maps comically contorted.” That’s their quote. So, your state’s highest court at the time, all the judges appointed by Democratic governors, they threw the maps out. So, fair to say Democrats have done what they’re now accusing Republicans of doing. NEW YORK GOV. KATHY HOCHUL: No, we followed the rules. We do it every 10 years. We based it on census. BREAM: But the court said you didn’t follow the rules. HOCHUL: Well, we did follow the rules. We did — BREAM: So, the court was wrong. HOCHUL: We followed the rules. And I can — I want to call out the hypocrisy of the Republicans who are now whining about the fact that we’re doing something in New York. Where was the outrage when Donald Trump told Texas to just go find — just go find five seats for him? Come on. People aren’t going to buy this. BREAM: Well, it is legal there in Texas, at least the way that they’re doing it for now. And there will be court challenges, I’m sure, when they get done with their map, if it ever gets voted on. But here’s a little bit more of what New York’s highest court said in ruling against those maps. They said the legislature created maps in a non-transparent manner, controlled exclusively by the dominant political party, doing exactly what they would have done had the 2014 constitutional reforms never been passed. They said the maps were no good. HOCHUL: Well, we went back and we drew the maps. We followed the process. And here we are. And we didn’t intend to do this again until the 2032 elections. But because we’re in a different situation altogether that demands that leaders stand up and say, I’m not going to let our democracy be eroded away because there’s a blatant power grab to maintain power in our nation’s capital. This is what I call a legal insurrection, legal insurrection. Just let the rules stay the way they are. We’ll do it the way we always have. But here we have Texas and now going to other states. J.D. Vance, why aren’t you looking out for how to lower costs like you promised? Instead, he’s going like a lapdog around the country to different states saying, “Oh, can we pick up some here? Can we pick up some here?” Because they know they’re going to lose next year. That’s the only reason they’re engaging this. And also might be a nice distraction from people asking, all of a sudden, this happens when? When they refuse to release the Epstein — Epstein files. So, I, along with a lot of people in New York, are saying, what’s that all about? Is this just another red herring? So, no one’s buying this. Just Texas, knock it off. We’ll knock it off. Let’s get back to governing. We want to play these games. We’re not going to sit on the sidelines. We’re New Yorkers. We fight back. BREAM: OK, you mentioned J.D. Vance, the vice president. So, I want to play a little bit of what he had to say about what he argues that a number of states like yours have done in being more welcoming to people who are in the U.S. illegally and how that translates into then congressional seats. Here’s what he said. J.D. VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: So, they get rewarded for welcoming illegal aliens into their state, giving them federal benefits, actually asking the taxpayers of states like Ohio to subsidize them. And then those same taxpayers in Ohio and Indiana and elsewhere, they have fewer congressional representatives. That’s ridiculously unfair. And the only real way to fight back against it is for us to redistrict in some ways as aggressively as these hard blue states have done. BREAM: So, there was a point when you served as a county clerk in which there was talk from the governor, Spitzer at the time, about having driver’s license issued to people who were in the country illegally. You said you’d comply with the law, but called the sheriff about getting those folks arrested. You’ve clearly had an evolution on that issue. So, what about the Vice President’s point that the more people you have who are counted in your state who may or may not be here legally, it helps you with congressional apportionment? Not fair to the other states. HOCHUL: Boy, they’re really stretching hard to justify this power grab, aren’t they? I mean, my gosh, you know, we don’t support open borders. Number one, we will help ICE remove the criminals, the worst of the worst, which is what we were told was going to happen. So, why is that the pizza guy working for 20 years, hard work every day to feed people in his neighborhood? Why is that the home health care aide who’s being rounded up? Why is it the people who are walking into federal courthouses with a ticket that says show up here for your next appointment and they’re being captured as if they’re hardened criminals? Give me a break. Give me a break. Stop finding all these other excuses. To do all you want to do is keep control of power in Washington because you know it’s slipping away and it’s slipping away quickly. BREAM: So, you’ve gotten a lot of praise within your party for hosting the folks from Texas, for fighting back. Here is what some of that praise entitled. It says, “Battling Donald Trump requires a politics of courage and fight. Governor Hochul is once again meeting that moment.” That is from Zohran Mamdani. He’s now a fan of yours. I know you’ve had differences in the past, but is the feeling mutual? Do you think he’s a good choice for New York City? HOCHUL: We still — we still have many differences. I don’t know how you white — whitewash that away. He can agree with me and many people agree with me. And I think it’s not just Democrats who say New Yorkers stand up for our rights. We do that. It’s what we’re hardwired to do. We’re fighters. I’m a — I’m a mom from Buffalo. I guess they’re not used to taking on a mom from Buffalo, perhaps. But let me tell you this. There’s many areas of disagreement, but also there’s areas of alignment, including affordability. You know, his election touched a nerve and people said, you know what, we’re just not getting ahead. And the Trump policies that were promised to lift people up, reduce costs, not touch Medicaid, make sure the tariffs create jobs. None of that happened. So, there is this sense of we need some change now. So, my job is governor of the state of New York. I’ve worked with two already, two different mayors. I’ll continue with who work with whomever the voters want me to. And I’ll make it work. I will make it work out because I’m not going to go to war with the eight million residents of New York that I also represent. So — so, my job is to calm things down. Let’s see what the election results are. But people have to recognize what — what that candidate for mayor has also touched a nerve and we need to be responsive to that. So, I’m aligned with — with him that we need to start finding ways to make life more affordable for New Yorkers.

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