The debate over redistricting in Texas, where congressional districts might be revised well before the next census, persisted on Monday. This controversy saw numerous Texas House Democrats staying out of the state for a second consecutive week to prevent any progress on the new district maps.
In Austin, the Texas House of Representatives was set to convene, with the redistricting bill listed for a preliminary discussion. However, actual proceedings cannot occur without enough members present to form a quorum. Republican lawmakers might attempt another roll call to determine if they can reach quorum status.
Meanwhile, the Texas Senate was also set to meet and could cast a vote on its version of the redistricting proposal. Yet, even if the Senate approves the bill, the House cannot vote on it without achieving a quorum.
Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, along with Attorney General Ken Paxton, ramped up legal actions to prompt the Democrats’ return or to scrutinize the sources backing their absence.
Governor Abbott has pledged to repeatedly call for additional special legislative sessions to ensure the Republican-backed redistricting plans are approved, even if Democrats manage to delay the current 30-day session.
He mentioned in a Sunday Fox News interview, “I’m granted the authority to summon a special session every 30 days. Each lasts 30 days, and immediately after one concludes, I will initiate another, and another, and another. If they come back to the state of Texas, they will be detained and brought to the Capitol.”
“If they want to evade that arrest, they’re going to stay outside of the state of Texas for literally years, and they might as well just start voting in California or voting in Illinois, wherever they may be,” he continued.
But Democrats are also going on the offensive. Eric Holder, a former attorney general and current chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, is set to speak about redistricting with U.S. House Democrats on Wednesday.
In California, legislators have said they expect to unveil proposed new congressional maps this week that would possibly go in front of voters for approval in a special election in November. But running a statewide election with relatively little notice will be a challenge, the Secretary of State’s office has said.
On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to Trump saying it would drop its potential plans if other states would do the same.
“You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make,” Newsom wrote. Separately, governors in Florida, Indiana, and Missouri have indicated interest in potential mid-decade redistricting.
Some of the Texas House Democrats who have broken quorum will be appearing at pressers in Illinois on Monday excoriating the continued efforts to redraw the maps.
During an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker took pride in housing Texas Democrats, calling President Donald Trump a ‘cheater.’
“[Republicans] know that they’re going to lose in 2026, the congress, and so they’re trying to steal seats, and so that is what these Texas Democrats are trying to stand up against and then don’t forget. The map that they put together, it violates the voting rights act and it violates the constitution,” Pritzker said.
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