A Texas Democrat was on a Zoom call with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Gov. Gavin Newsom when she was forced to cut her feed. State Rep. Nicole Collier was speaking with her fellow party members in the bathroom of the state capitol, but was told by someone, likely a staffer, that she was committing a felony if she stayed on the call. It led to a ridiculous reaction from Cory Booker (via Fox News) [emphasis mine]:
Cory Booker has nuclear meltdown after TX Rep Nicole Collier is thrown out of a BATHROOM in the Texas Capitol where she's on a video call with he and Gavin Newsom.
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) August 20, 2025
Spartacus: “Representative Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office!"
Newsom:… pic.twitter.com/7Gokox3Exh
Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier abruptly left a call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic Party members after claiming she was told she was committing a felony by participating in the meeting from a state Capitol bathroom.
Collier was speaking on a call with Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, Newsom and several others while the Texas House of Representatives was simultaneously debating a redistricting bill backed by President Donald Trump.
While speaking on the call, Collier claimed that the Texas redistricting bill violates the Voting Rights Act and "will prevent black and brown individuals from selecting the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts."
While Martin was speaking about 30 minutes into the call, Collier suddenly interrupted, saying, "Sorry, I have to leave. They said it's a felony for me to do this."
[…]
Both Newsom and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., immediately expressed outrage over Collier’s sudden departure.
"That is outrageous," said Booker. "Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office."
"There you go," Newsom responded, nodding his head.
Collier was the Democrat who alleged she was being held hostage on the Texas House floor during the redistricting fight that her side lost. Texas will have new maps that will give the GOP five more winnable seats—all Hispanic majority districts. Collier left the state to prevent a quorum for a vote on the new maps, returned, and later refused to sign a permission slip, which would’ve led to her being escorted by the Texas Department of Public Safety. She slept inside the chamber (via CBS News):
Rep. Nicole Collier, the Democratic state lawmaker who spent Monday night inside the Texas Capitol, is asking a court to let her exit the building, alleging she's facing "illegal restraint by the government" after she was told she needs a police escort to leave.
The Fort Worth lawmaker and dozens of other Democrats left Texas earlier this month to delay a vote on a GOP-led plan to redraw the state's congressional map. The Democrats returned to Texas in recent days and they were given state police escorts to ensure they will show up when the state House convenes Wednesday, but Collier refused to sign a "permission slip" to be under escort by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Collier says she slept on the House floor overnight.
Collier told CBS News' "The Takeout" on Tuesday that several other Democrats "tore up their permission slips" and will join her on the House floor Tuesday night.
"I refuse to comply with this unreasonable, un-American and unnecessary request," Collier said.
She wanted the attention, and no one cared. The new maps are now official.
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