Fact Check: Did Texas 'fire' Jasmine Crockett after approving new congressional district map?

AUSTIN, TEXAS: A rumor has been circulating that Texas essentially "fired" Rep Jasmine Crockett following successful redistricting efforts.

After two weeks of gridlock in Austin, Texas House Republicans muscled through a new congressional map on Thursday, August 21, aimed at carving out at least five extra GOP seats in the 2026 midterms.

The plan isn’t law yet and still requires approval from the state Senate and Governor Greg Abbott’s signature. Regardless, this mid-decade redistricting scuffle is already shaping up to be a bare-knuckle brawl.

Fact Check: Examining the Jasmine Crockett 'fired' claim

The Texas episode has sparked a broader nationwide tug-of-war as both red and blue states try to tilt the playing field in their favor.

Right after the Texas House vote, social media was inundated with reactions. One post on X, racking up 11 million views, declared the state had actually “fired” Democratic Rep Jasmine Crockett. Other users piled on, saying she was axed “due to Texas’ redistricting,” and that her seat had been “eliminated.”

That’s where fact meets fiction. Snopes declared that Crockett wasn’t “fired.” She’s still a sitting member of Congress. In fact, states don’t even have the power to fire members of Congress in the first place.

Crockett represents Texas’s 30th District, covering much of South Dallas. It’s a solid Democratic fortress, and she cruised to reelection in 2024 with about 85% of the vote.

Redistricting barely touched her turf. According to the Texas Tribune, 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris would’ve won the district by a jaw-dropping 47 points. Dave’s Redistricting, a nonprofit that crunches the partisan math, says the old 30th leaned +55 Democratic while the new one clocks in at +53 Democratic.

Crockett herself told CBS that the rejiggered map technically puts her home in the neighboring 33rd District. It doesn’t matter anyway, since House rules dictate that representatives only need to live somewhere in the state, not inside their exact district. Crockett admitted she’s still mulling which seat to run for next.

But whether she sticks with the 30th or jumps to the 33rd, she’s safe. Dave’s Redistricting scores the new 33rd at +40 Democratic.  

Why states can’t 'fire' Congress members

It’s worth noting that members of Congress can’t be recalled by states.

A 1998 Connecticut Office of Legislative Research report made this clear: Article I, Section 4, and the 17th Amendment don’t allow states to hold recall elections for senators or representatives.

The Congressional Research Service backed this up in a 2012 update, noting that “the Constitution doesn’t authorize the recall of members of Congress and thus no member of Congress has ever been recalled.”

Yes, 19 states have recall laws—but they only apply to state and local officials, not federal lawmakers.

Of course, Texas Republicans have redrawn the map to favor themselves. But they absolutely did not “fire” Jasmine Crockett in the process.

As of this writing, Crockett is still listed on Congress’s official site as an active member. Unless something unexpected happens, she’ll be running in a district that’s still deep blue come 2026, Snopes confirmed.  

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