Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to continue holding special sessions for years if Democrats who fled the state to sidestep redistricting efforts don’t return.
"I'm authorized to call a special session every 30 days. It lasts 30 days. And as soon as this one is over, I'm gonna call another one, then another one, then another, then another one," Abbott said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Republican lawmakers in the state have launched a redistricting effort that could give the GOP five more seats, but dozens of Democrats have fought back by fleeing the state so the Texas House fails to reach quorum.
"If they show back up in the state of Texas, they will be arrested and taken to the Capitol. If they want to evade that arrest, they're gonna have to stay outside of the state of Texas for literally years," the Republican governor continued.
Abbott said the Democrats who fled the state are violating the law.
"We have a situation where lawmakers are violating the law in Article 3 of the Texas Constitution where they are required to act on bills. Because they're violating that constitutional mandate, that means they are not fulfilling their oath of office, and they can be removed from office in this legal action that I'm taking," he said.
Texas Democrats didn’t stand and fight—they fled, obstructing critical state business for hardworking Texans.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 10, 2025
I’ll call special session after special session for years if I have to.
Only cowards run to blue states. pic.twitter.com/ojws4DDlbG
Last week, Attorney General Ken Paxton took action to hold the runaway Democrats accountable.
HOLY SMOKES
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 8, 2025
Texas AG Ken Paxton announced that he filed a lawsuit against the runaway Democrats with the Supreme Court of Texas to secure an order declaring their seats VACANT. pic.twitter.com/Px7HN1npaW