Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called a second special legislative session to pass a new congressional map, following the failure of the first attempt due to Democrats leaving the state to block Republican gains. The state Legislature has been locked in a standoff over a push to notch more seats for Republicans in next year’s midterms.
When Speaker Dustin Burrows gaveled into the second special session, which began just two hours after the first one wrapped, he announced that the chamber yet again did not meet quorum, thanks to Democrats remaining out of state to protest the redraw. President Donald, Trump ordered Texas Republicans to extract five more seats in Congress to increase the odds that Republicans retain the House in the midterms.
Abbott’s proclamation was largely the same as the first one, which lays out 19 agenda items, including redistricting and disaster relief for Central Texas flood victims.
“Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,