(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Texas Republicans are in turmoil after dozens of Democratic lawmakers fled the state on Sunday to block a vote on new congressional districts that had been redrawn at the request of President Donald Trump. The maps, which experts say are heavily gerrymandered to favor the GOP, could give Republicans five additional House seats in the 2026 midterms.
The Democrats traveled to Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts, denying Republicans the quorum needed to pass the controversial maps. In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to arrest the absent lawmakers and strip them of their seats if they do not return for Monday’s special session.
At least one Republican, however, is blaming his own party for the debacle.
“If the elected Republican leadership of Texas wanted to have had redistricting already done by now, it would have been done by now,” state Rep. Brian Harrison told Politico. “This is not a success of the Democrats as much as it is a failure of elected Republicans.”
Harrison, who occasionally appears on Steve Bannon’s War Room, criticized GOP leadership for failing to secure the process earlier, leaving the special session vulnerable to Democratic walkouts.
Redistricting is traditionally handled by state legislatures and usually follows the decennial census. Drawing new maps in the middle of the decade is unusual and, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, could further tilt the already gerrymandered House map, where Republicans enjoy a 16-seat advantage.
Texas Democrats blasted Abbott in a statement Sunday, accusing him of exploiting disaster victims to advance Trump’s political goals.
“Governor Abbott has turned the victims of a tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump,” the statement read. “We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander. As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”
Abbott quickly fired back, vowing to consider the Democrats’ absence an “abandonment or forfeiture” of office. He threatened to appoint replacements and accused the lawmakers of possibly violating anti-bribery laws by accepting donations to cover the $500 daily fines for missing session.
“I will use my full extradition authority to demand the return to Texas of any potential out-of-state felons,” Abbott wrote. The Democrats’ response was defiant: “Come and take it.”
While Abbott can keep calling special sessions until lawmakers return, previous quorum-breaking efforts have only delayed, not prevented, votes. Legal experts note that Attorney General Ken Paxton’s opinion suggesting lawmakers could forfeit their seats is nonbinding and would ultimately require a court to decide.
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