Texas House votes to track down, arrest Democratic lawmakers who left the state
The Texas House voted 85-6 to track down and arrest more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who were not present when the chamber gaveled in at 3 p.m. Monday. House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he would immediately sign civil warrants for each of the legislators, empowering the chamber's sergeant-at-arms and state troopers to arrest and bring them to the Capitol.
They will not face civil or criminal charges from the arrests. The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts to forestall passage of the GOP's proposed redraw of Texas' congressional map.
The House used the same tactic to try to force Democrats back to work in 2021, when a majority of them left for Washington, D.C., to protest GOP voting restrictions. Some of the lawmakers challenged the warrants in court, obtaining an injunction against arrests that was later struck down by the Texas Supreme Court.
While the Texas Constitution "enables 'quorum-breaking' by a minority faction of the legislature, it likewise authorizes 'quorum-forcing' by the remaining members," the court ruled.
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Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican from Fort Worth, laid the groundwork for the warrants by motioning for a "call of the House," which requires all members to stay within the chamber unless excused. Any members not present can be "sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found," by the sergeant-at-arms, according to House rules.
Democrats left the state Sunday afternoon to deny the House a quorum - the number of people necessary for the chamber to advance legislation - and delay passage of a new congressional map.
The current congressional map, drawn by a Republican-dominated Legislature in 2021, has netted 25 GOP seats in the last two elections. But after pressure from President Donald Trump's team, Gov. Greg Abbott directed lawmakers to redraw the map during the special legislative session, which started July 21. Last week, the House proposed new congressional lines dividing up existing districts in Austin, Houston and Dallas with the aim of netting five more Republican seats.
"This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity," state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement Sunday, accusing Abbott of "using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal."
On the House floor Monday, Burrows condemned the members who had left, saying they had "shirked their responsibilities," and thanked the 90 members who were present.
"You understand that the issues before us, disaster recovery, fighting for the families who lost loved ones in the floods, human trafficking and more, are not abstract policy debates," Burrows said. "Instead of confronting those challenges, some of our colleagues have fled the state in their duty."
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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