Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who left to block a vote on new congressional maps. The governor's move followed a vote by the Texas House of Representatives to authorize arrest warrants.

Houston

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who left the state in an effort to prevent a vote on a proposed redistricting plan. Abbott accused the lawmakers of abandoning their duties and issued civil arrest warrants to compel their return to the Texas House chamber.

Legal experts have expressed doubt about the enforceability of these warrants beyond Texas state lines, suggesting that the absent lawmakers may only face fines. The dispute centers on a redistricting plan that Democrats have criticized as racially gerrymandered and designed to strengthen Republican control ahead of upcoming elections.

Texas governor seeks arrest of Democrats who left state

The tool they're using is a racist, gerrymandered map. A map that seeks to use racial lines to divide hardworking communities who have spent decades building up their power and strengthening their voices. And Governor Abbott is doing this in submission to Donald Trump. To those who are absent, return now. Show the courage to face the issues you were elected to solve. Come back and fulfill your duty because this house will not sit quietly while you obstruct the work of the people. The people of Texas are watching, and so is the nation. And if you choose to continue down this road, you should know there will be consequences. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who left the state to block the vote for a new redistricting plan, writing in a statement, quote, "'Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans.' I ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans." Joining us now is Bloomberg's Suzanne Lynch. Suzanne, I don't even understand how you can arrest someone for just leaving the state, but what exactly is at stake here? Yes, as you've heard, the governor of Texas has issued these civil arrest warrants, effectively accusing Democratic lawmakers who were elected to the state legislature in Texas of abandoning their elected office and absconding. Now, legal experts doubt that these civil arrest warrants are enforceable beyond state lines. So they may, for example, face fines at some point. But look, this definitely ups the ante, and I think it's part of a shift in political focus now ahead of next year's midterm elections. These are the big elections on the horizon for Donald Trump, for the Republican Party, where the public at large and voters in places like Texas will give their verdict on the Trump presidency and Republican control of House of Congress in Washington. And this issue around Texas and representation had been going on some time. Donald Trump himself had urged Texas to implement this redistricting, which Democrats are branding as gerrymandering, in order to bolster Republican control of that state and, in particular, try and get control of five seats in the Texas legislature.

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