The Texas House of Representatives remained without a quorum after the state's Democratic lawmakers fled the state capital to prevent the legislature from adopting a Republican-backed plan for redrawing Texas congressional districts.

Austin

The Texas House of Representatives continues to operate without a quorum after Democratic lawmakers left the state in protest of a Republican-backed plan to redraw congressional districts. The absence of the Democrats has stalled legislative proceedings, as the Republican majority seeks to advance a redistricting proposal aimed at shifting seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Republican House Speaker Dustin Burroughs has taken steps to locate and return the absent members, but the civil arrest warrants issued are only enforceable within Texas. Democratic governors from other states have expressed support for the Texas Democrats and pledged to resist similar efforts in their own states, though legal and procedural barriers may limit their ability to do so.

Texas House remains without quorum amid redistricting standoff

There being 94 members present, a quorum is not present. The Texas House of Representatives remained without a quorum on Tuesday, after the state's Democratic lawmakers fled the state to derail a Republican-backed plan to redraw the congressional map. Texas Republican House Speaker Dustin Burroughs. This morning, I met with the leadership of the Texas Department of Public Safety to get a full briefing on their efforts to locate and return the members who are actively trying to thwart the legislature from performing its duties. The goal of the Republican plan, championed by U.S. President Donald Trump, is to flip seats in the U.S. House of Representatives currently held by Democrats and protect its narrow majority in next year's congressional midterm elections. Kirby Goydell, a political science professor at Texas A&M University, says the decision by Democrats to flee the state to delay proceedings is meant to send a message. I think Democrats know eventually they're going to lose. I think really what they're saying is, we want to show that we're fighting this tooth and nail as hard as we possibly can, because this is bad, this is rigged, this is not how a democracy should work, and they want to make that case as effectively for as long as they can. We'll do everything in our power to stop this brazen assault. Democratic governors, including New York's Kathy Hochul, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois... As far as I'm concerned, everything is on the table. As well as California's Governor Gavin Newsom, said they'll fight back if Texas Republicans succeed in redrawing the state's congressional districts. They've triggered this response, and we're not going to roll over, and we're going to fight fire with fire. But Goydell said that redistricting in those states may be harder to accomplish. I think California and New York, there are provisions that make it harder to go and redistrict. So it's not as easy in those states to just say, OK, we control the majority, we're going to redistrict. And so that makes it a real challenge for the Democrats to respond in kind. Texas House Speaker Burroughs said on Monday that he signed civil arrest warrants for the wayward Democrats, most of whom have gone to Illinois, New York, or Massachusetts, to be brought back to Austin. But the warrants apply only within the state, and breaking quorum is not a crime that would allow Texas authorities to pursue extradition from other states.

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Breakdown