Texas House Democrats have left the state to prevent Republicans from redrawing congressional districts, a move aimed at flipping five U.S. House seats currently held by Democrats. This departure leaves the Texas Legislature’s lower chamber without the necessary members to pass legislation, putting the current special session in limbo.
Last week, Republicans introduced a new congressional map that passed through a committee early Saturday. Democrats departed before the redistricting bill could receive a full floor vote. Texas Democrats are now in Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York, where they are discussing their options with sympathetic governors and legislators. In Austin, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Republican from Lubbock, stated that “all options are on the table” to compel Democrats to return or punish them for their absence. The Texas House was scheduled to convene at 3 p.m. Monday.
Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to remove the absent Democrats from office and suggested that fundraising to cover their daily fines is a criminal offense.
On Monday afternoon, the Texas House voted to track down and arrest more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who were not present when the chamber convened. After an 85-6 vote, House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced he would immediately sign civil warrants for each legislator, authorizing the chamber’s sergeant-at-arms and state troopers to arrest and bring them to the Capitol. These arrests would not result in civil or criminal charges. The warrants are only valid within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators are out of state to obstruct the passage of the GOP’s proposed congressional map redraw.
The House employed a similar tactic in 2021 when a majority of Democrats left for Washington, D.C., to protest GOP voting restrictions. Some lawmakers challenged the warrants in court, initially obtaining an injunction against arrests that was later overturned by the Texas Supreme Court. The court ruled that while the Texas Constitution allows “quorum-breaking” by a minority faction, it also authorizes “quorum-forcing” by the remaining members.
Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican from Fort Worth, initiated the warrants by moving for a “call of the House,” which requires all members to remain in the chamber unless excused. According to House rules, any absent members can be “sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found,” by the sergeant-at-arms. Governor Greg Abbott stated he had mobilized the Texas Department of Public Safety to assist in returning the missing members to the chamber.
Democrats left the state Sunday afternoon to deny the House a quorum—the number of members needed to advance legislation—and delay the passage of a new congressional map. The current congressional map, drawn by a Republican-dominated Legislature in 2021, secured 25 GOP seats in the last two elections. However, under pressure from President Donald Trump’s team, Governor Greg Abbott directed lawmakers to redraw the map during the special legislative session, which began on July 21. Last week, the House proposed new congressional lines that divide existing districts in Austin, Houston, and Dallas, with the goal of gaining five more Republican seats.
State Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, issued a statement Sunday, saying, “This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity.” He accused Abbott of “using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal.”
On the House floor Monday, Burrows condemned the absent members, stating they had “shirked their responsibilities,” and thanked the 90 members who were present. “You understand that the issues before us, disaster recovery, fighting for the families who lost loved ones in the floods, human trafficking and more, are not abstract policy debates,” Burrows said. “Instead of confronting those challenges, some of our colleagues have fled the state and their duty.”
The departed House members will face fines of $500 for each day they miss, as well as the threat of reprimand, censure, and expulsion, though the latter would require a two-thirds vote among members. Abbott stated Sunday evening that if the Democrats did not return to Austin by 3 p.m. Monday, he would initiate the legal process to declare their seats vacant. Legal experts deem this an unprecedented and likely futile effort, requiring individual lawsuits against each member and new elections to fill their seats.
At a press conference after the House adjourned, Burrows declined to comment on whether he considered removal a viable option, stating, “As a lawyer, I try not to give legal answers without actually studying and knowing all of the facts and the law.”
After the House adjourned Monday, Abbott announced he had directed the Texas Rangers to investigate whether any Democratic lawmakers had violated bribery laws, alleging that they and anyone who financially assisted their out-of-state travel could be culpable. Legal experts believe this would be difficult to prove in court.
Some Republicans demanded that Burrows strip Democrats of their roles as vice-chairs of House committees, remove them from chamber seniority, evict them from their offices, or even consider redrawing state House maps to disadvantage Democratic districts. The House adjourned without taking further action against the Democrats, who have vowed to remain out-of-state until the 30-day special session expires in two weeks.
