Texas Democrats are not happy about the new congressional map Gov. Greg Abbott is proposing. The Lone Star State is having a special session to make the new maps official. On Sunday, state Democrats fled the state to deprive the legislature of a quorum, to which Abbott responded by saying if these lawmakers are not back by 3 pm today, he’d remove them from their seats (via Texas Tribune):
🚨BREAKING NEWS from TX Governor Greg Abbott:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 4, 2025
“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… pic.twitter.com/lCg1LXSyum
🚨#BREAKING: Texas Governor Abbott has issued a warning that if House Democrats do not return by 3 PM tomorrow, he will move to declare their seats vacant and replace them
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) August 4, 2025
Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state Sunday in a bid to block passage of a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House next year, raising the stakes in what's poised to be a national fight over redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm election.
The maneuver, undertaken by most of the Texas House’s 62 Democrats, deprives the Republican-controlled chamber of a quorum — the number of lawmakers needed to function under House rules — ahead of a scheduled Monday vote on the draft map. The 150-member House can only conduct business if at least 100 members are present, meaning the absence of 51 or more Democrats can bring the Legislature’s ongoing special session to a halt.
“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement, in which he accused Gov. Greg 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.”
Most House Democrats left Texas Sunday afternoon en route to the Chicago area. Some also headed to New York to meet with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has condemned Texas’ mid-decade redistricting effort and entertained the idea of retaliating with new maps in her state.
Texas Democrats responded with a ‘come and take it’ line.
Texas House Democrats offer a brief response to Gov. Greg Abbott's threat of arrest and expulsion if they don't return to the state: "Come and take it." https://t.co/TzGxdbIejB pic.twitter.com/cOnz37WLe1
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 4, 2025
That's corny, but we got ourselves a showdown to watch later today.