From the New York Times: Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives left the state on Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to stop Republicans from adopting an aggressively redrawn congressional map. Their absence is expected to prevent the House from reaching the quorum needed to hold a vote this week.
The walkout was a sharp escalation in the bitter partisan clash over a mid-decade redistricting in Texas that was requested by President Trump. Republicans in the State Legislature were rapidly moving forward, with the map — drawn to flip five Democratic congressional districts to favor Republicans — being passed out of two committees over the weekend.
Hours after the Democrats departed, Gov. Greg Abbott responded with a further escalation, declaring that their walkout amounted to an “abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office.”
In a scathing letter, Gov. Abbott blasted the AWOL Democrats, saying the “absconded Democrat House members were elected to meet and vote on legislation – not to prevent votes that may not go their way.”
“This truancy ends now. The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025. For any member who fails to do so, I will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House,” Abbott warned.
“In addition to abandoning their offices, these legislators may also have committed felonies. Many absentee Democrats are soliciting funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules,” Abbott added.
It seems to me that the only way some of the fleeing Democrats can avoid bribery charges is to not break quorum.
It seems that would eliminate any potential quid pro quo connected to any payment they received to deny a quorum and skip a vote. https://t.co/eyTbgybLvW
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 4, 2025
My Democratic colleagues and I just left the state of Texas to break quorum and stop Trump’s redistricting power grab.
Trump is trying to rig the midterm elections right before our eyes. But first he’ll have to come through us.
It’s time to fight back. pic.twitter.com/xOshwmy2eA
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) August 3, 2025
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