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Texas Democrats on Monday blocked the state’s House of Representatives advance, at least for now. This was redrawn by President Donald Trump to strengthen Republican mid-term outlook so that his political status would fall apart.
After dozens of Democrats left the state, the Republican-controlled House failed to establish the quorum of lawmakers needed to do business. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to remove members who are not in their seats. Democrats retort that Abbott uses “smoke and mirrors” to assert legal authority he does not have.
The Republican-controlled House immediately issued a private arrest warrant in Democrats’ absence, and Abbott ordered state police officers to find them and arrest them, but physically out of Texas is beyond the jurisdiction of state officials.
“If we continue on this path, we’ll have consequences,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows told reporters, who later included a fine.
The Democratic rebellion and the threat of Abbott have intensified the fight over a map of Congress, which began in Texas but now includes a Democratic governor who redrawn the district’s map in retaliation. The conflict also reflects Trump’s positive view of his presidential forces nationwide against Republicans, testing the long-standing balance of power between the federal government and individual states.
California Democrats are considering a new political map that can cut five house seats controlled by the Republicans of the liberal nation, whilst strengthening Democratic incumbents in other battlefield districts.
The deadlock is focused on Trump’s efforts to win five more GOP-leaning Congress seats in Texas at Democrats’ expense before the mid-term. It would strengthen the possibility that his party will maintain a majority of the US home. This is something Republicans couldn’t do in the middle of 2018 during Trump’s first presidency. Republicans currently own 25 of Texas’ 38 seats. This is an almost 2-1 advantage, already a broader partisan gap than the 2024 presidential outcome. Trump won 56.1% of Texas votes, while Democrat Kamala Harris received 42.5%.
Speaking on Monday on the Fox News show “American Newsroom,” Abbott essentially admitted partisan power play. The U.S. Supreme Court said it had determined that “nothing is illegal” about shaping the district into the benefits of the majority party. He admitted it as a “gerrymander,” then corrected himself to say Texas was “drawn.”
More than 1,800 miles (2,900 km) from New York Governor Austin, Kathy Hochul appeared alongside Texas Democrats and claimed their cause was the people.
“We are not going to tolerate democracy stolen by modern stage horse robberies by many laws that have broken cowboys,” Hochul said adjacent to some of the lawmakers who left Texas on Monday. “If Republicans are willing to rewrite the rules to give themselves an advantage, they leave us with no choice. We have to do the same. You have to fight fire with fire.”
Discussions over who is abusing power
Abbott allegedly ‘flew’ the lawmakers in violation of their sworn duty.
“They believe they confiscated their state legislative seats because they are not doing the work they were elected,” he said in an interview with Fox News.
“The Texans won’t run away from the fight,” he said.
Hours after Monday’s stop session, the Democratic gags — the leaving state legislators and members of the Congress whose boundaries are redrawn — chuckled Abbott as the weaker figure in this fight.
“I didn’t think I was a Texan… I’ll see the governor of Texas’ proud state bend his knees from New York to a felon,” state Senator Julie Johnson said before voters sent her to Washington.
The lawmakers themselves had no plans to listen to Abbott’s requests.
“He has no legal mechanism,” said Rep. Jolanda Jones, one of the lawmakers in New York on Monday. “The Texas subpoena do not work in New York, so he won’t greet us. The Texas subpoena do not work in Chicago. … He has smoke and mirrors.”
The denial by a Texas legislator is a civil violation of legislative rules. Regarding his threat to eliminate lawmakers, Abbott cited a non-binding legal opinion issued by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton during the 2021 partisan quorum dispute.
David Froomkin, a professor of law at the University of Houston, raised doubts about his interpretation. He said it was “basically unfounded” for lawmakers to argue that when their absence was clearly linked to current legislative debate.
Still, Republican responses will be accelerated compared to the 2021 conflict, which was weeks before the GOP majority chose a civil arrest warrant. Froomkin said Abbott could be using the possibility of threatening lawmakers and returning them to the country by legally fighting over their work.
Voting Status
Legislators who left the state refused to say how long they would hold.
Rep. Trey Martinez Fisher, who has served in Congress since 2001, said:
Jean Wu, leader of the Texas House’s Democratic Caucus, said the members would “do whatever it takes,” but added, “we don’t know what it looks like.”
Legislative strikes often delay the passage of bills, including in 2021, when many Democrats left Texas for 38 days to protest the proposed restrictions. Once they returned, Republicans passed the measure.
Lawmakers cannot pass bills in 150 homes without two-thirds of their members present. Democrats have held 62 seats in the majority indoors and have left the state with at least 51 seats, according to Democrats.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that House leaders could “physically force attendees” of missing members, but Democrats were not forced back to the state after the warrant was served. Republicans responded by adopting a $500 fine every day for lawmakers who didn’t show them.
Meanwhile, Abbott continues his unfounded claim that some lawmakers committed felony seeking money to pay potential fines to leave Texas during the session.
Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat who represents Texas’s 30th Congressional District, including many of Dallas, talks about why Democrats left the nation with a proposed rezoning change that was backed by Trump.
Disaster response and presidential politics in 2028
The lack of quorum delays votes for disaster assistance and new warning systems after killing at least 136 people after the devastating Texas floods last month. Democrats have called for votes for flood response before picking up their districts, and criticised Republicans for not doing so.
At Fox, Abbott tried to bring the issue back to Democrats, suggesting that their absence would be a reason for the delayed flood response.
Beyond Texas, some Democrats want to capitalize on the fight.
Illinois Gov. JB Pretzker, the 2028 presidential candidate and outspoken Trump critic, welcomed the Texas Democrats to Chicago on Sunday after several weeks of quiet conversations with them. Pretzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are another potential 2028 candidates, hosting a public event on the Battle of Texas before Quorum took a break.
“This isn’t just rigging the Texas system,” Pretzker said Sunday. “It’s about equipping a system that opposes the rights of all Americans for years to come.”
Texas Rep. Mark Vissy urged other Democratic governors to join Pretzker, Newsmu and Hochur. Veasey said Democrats “were shown a gun fight with good intentions, there are no knives.” But “the era is over,” Veasey declared Monday from Illinois. “We are not going to disarm one-sidedly.”
The Texas home is scheduled to be re-convened Tuesday afternoon.
Mark Vissy, a Democrat who represents Texas’ 33rd Congressional District, including Dallas and Tarrant counties, talks about why Democrats left the state over a map change to the proposed Trump-backed district change.
Barrow was reported from Atlanta. Associated Press author Joey Capelletti in Washington, John Hanna of Topeka, Kansas, and Andrew DeMiro of Little Rock, Arkansas, also contributed to the report.
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