Texas House Democrats stymie redistricting effort amid protests, arrest threats

Published 11:30 pm Monday, August 4, 2025

AUSTIN — Business in the Republican-dominated Texas House screeched to a halt in its third week of a special legislative session Monday when Democrats no-showed a critical vote on a GOP-driven plan to redraw congressional districts to further conservatives’ agenda in Washington.

The Texas House sent state troopers to look for them in all corners of the state after House Speaker Dustin Burrows was unable to call a vote on House Bill 4, by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi.

A roll call shortly after 3 p.m. revealed that there were only 90 state representatives on the House floor — 10 short of the number legally required to do official business, such as vote on legislation. Those who stayed behind were allowed to leave the chamber while the House stood in recess until 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Come back and fulfill your duty, because this House will not sit quietly while you obstruct the work of the people,” Burrows said in remarks from the House floor.

Burrows did not reveal the number of representatives who showed up, but thanked them in remarks from the floor and blasted the “dereliction of duty” shown by those who left.

“Let me begin by commending the members who did show up, those who answered the call, honored their oath and came here ready to work for the people of Texas,” he said. “Your presence speaks volumes. You understand that there are issues before us.”

HB 4, which the Democrats are bent on killing, would shift five congressional districts in Texas from Democrat to Republican — a desire of President Donald Trump as he hopes to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.

Democrats say it’s illegal and marginalizes voters of color.

‘We’re happy to go back to the state of Texas this afternoon if the priority is flood relief,” said State Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, speaking to The Dallas Morning News near Chicago. “But what we don’t want to do is participate in an illegal act of violating the Voting Rights Act.”

On motions from Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, and more than a dozen other Republicans, the House voted 86-6 along partisan lines to allow Burrows to sign civil warrants for the Texas Department of Public Safety to start looking for Democrats who may still be in the state.

Five Democrats were on the House floor at roll call and voted against sending troopers after their colleagues.

The DPS has the authority to compel their return to the House under threat of arrest as long as they haven’t crossed state lines.

“I’m here to work, and I’m very disappointed in my colleagues who are not here to work. It’s very simple,” said Rep. John McQueeny, R-Fort Worth, who is serving his first term in office.

Other Republicans expressed frustration as well, sending videos from the chamber floor and decrying their decision to flee.

“I do find it funny that I hear from a lot of those colleagues, ‘We don’t want to operate like D.C.,’” said Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls. “Then why don’t they then stop taking orders from D.C.?”

House Democrats Sunday left for Illinois, gathering at a convention center to make their case against redrawing the lines when there was pressing, unrelated business that needed to be done.

During a Monday appearance on CNN, John Bucy said the quorum break is intended to highlight the issue for people across the country.

“This isn’t a Texas fight. This is an American fight,” Bucy said. “It’s starting in Texas, but if this happens, all Americans will suffer and so we must stop it. And we’re asking all Americans to pay attention to what’s happening, to rise up and help us resist Donald Trump right now.”

The Democrats, some of whom are also in Boston and Albany, N.Y., are expected to stay away from the Capitol until the special legislative session called by Abbott ends on Aug. 19.

Back home on Monday, Republican state leaders railed against the Democrats’ political maneuver, which they said would only delay the inevitable passage of the legislation and kill other bills – including flood relief and property tax reform.

Gov. Greg Abbott continued his public drumbeat, bashing the Democrats for standing in the way of legislation and threatening to call for their removal from office, calling their tactic “an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office.”

Bucy said Democrats weren’t afraid of Abbott or Attorney General Ken Paxton, who could start removal proceedings and has threatened to have the Democrats arrested.

“We’re here running into the fight to stand up for our democracy,” Bucy said. “That’s what we’re doing, and we’ll continue to fight as long as it takes. We are here to kill this special session, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Abbott called the special session to deal with a list of 18 items. The bills sitting on the table — flood relief, a ban on retail THC, and other measures — could have, in fact, passed easily had they been brought up before the redistricting map bill, which Democrats warned could blow up the session.

Republicans chose instead to move the controversial new maps first, in what appears to be a tactic to pressure Democrats into staying for the vote — or else take the blame for shirking the flood victims of their due relief and canning other popular measures.

Later on Monday afternoon, about one hundred people showed up to protest outside of the Texas Governor’s Mansion. U.S. Democratic Reps. Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett, who both represent Austin, spoke at the rally.

The map being considered by the Legislature could force Casar and Doggett to face each other in a Democratic primary for the lone Democratic district in Central Texas.

Neither Casar or Doggett addressed the potential primary at the protest. Instead, they applauded the Democrats who left the state in protest of the map.

Doggett also said that the quorum break has resulted in more Americans being aware of the mid-decade redistricting effort in Texas.

“As far as I’m concerned, they’ve already achieved success in bringing to the attention of the American people that this is even bigger than Texas,” Doggett said.

One of the protesters who showed up Monday was Tammy Conrad, 63, a public school teacher.

Even if the new map ends up passing, despite the quorum break and the protests, Conrad said it’s important to speak out.

“If we don’t stand up every time someone tries to take our power away, we’re not going to have any power left.”