Texan House Democrats have confirmed their plan to return to Texas after temporarily leaving the state to halt efforts by the Republican majority to redraw congressional districts. According to local media sources, the Democrats completed their mission of impeding the special legislative session and are now expected to return to the state capital, Austin. Although the exact time of their return was not specified, the development comes as the Senate Republicans have already approved the new congressional maps, which now require House passage before Republican Governor Greg Abbott can sign them into law.
News of the lawmakers’ imminent return to the state came on the same day that Senate Republicans were successful in passing the new congressional maps. The maps must now be passed in the House before Governor Abbott can sign them into law. Earlier in the week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows indicated that they would adjourn the special legislative session this Friday if the Democrats had not returned by then. This strategy by Texas Democrats to leave the state and abdicate their duties in an effort to stall Republican legislative efforts is a strategy they have used before, including in 2021 when more than 50 Texas Democrats left the state for the nation’s capital in an attempt to stall Republican election security legislation following President Donald Trump’s 362020 election loss.
The effort led to Abbott ultimately calling three consecutive special legislative sessions, with the election security bill passing during the second one in August. In the current scenario, the Democratic strategy to halt the redistricting process continues to be a point of contention, with Governor Abbott vowing to call an indefinite number of special sessions and threatening to charge the fleeing Democrats with arrest for up to a decade. The situation reflects ongoing tensions between the two political parties over legislative control and the redrawing of district boundaries, which have significant implications for future elections and political power dynamics in Texas.