Republican members of Texas’s House of Representatives are seeking the arrest of the Democratic colleagues who fled the state over the weekend to prevent the passage of a gerrymandered congressional map.
The Texas Tribune reports that state House Republicans voted Monday in favor of civil arrest warrants against the more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who left the state for liberal strongholds like New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts. The legislators’ absence prevented the chamber from reaching a quorum in the special session, blocking the House from advancing the redrawn congressional map supported by President Donald Trump and Governor Greg Abbott.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows officially signed the warrants following the vote, directing the sergeant of arms to pursue Democratic members who still remained in Texas. “They’ve shirked their responsibilities under the direction and pressure of out-of-state politicians and activists who don’t know the first thing about what’s right for Texas,” he said, per NBC News. “Leaving the state does not stop this House from doing its work. It only delays it.”
While Texas Republicans are sounding the call for their colleagues’ arrest, the Democratic lawmakers are not expected to face significant repercussions. The House-issued warrants are largely seen as symbolic since they’re only actionable within Texas state lines, and most of the missing legislators are currently in other jurisdictions. However, the Democratic lawmakers will be hit with daily $500 fines for each day they miss.
And since the warrants are civil and not criminal, it’s unlikely that any leaders from the Democratic-led states currently harboring the Texas representatives would move to extradite them.
Regardless, the party appeared eager to continue the standoff. Following Burrows’s action, Abbott 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.”
“By fleeing the state, Texas House Democrats are holding hostage critical legislation to aid flood victims and advance property tax relief. There are consequences for dereliction of duty,” he said in a statement.
Abbott also tasked the Texas Rangers with investigating the absent Democrats for “potential bribery and any other potential legal violations,” suggesting that the acceptance of any funds to aid in their travel out of state could amount to a bribe under Texas law.
It was just last month that Trump first urged Texas Republicans to redraw its congressional map in an attempt to increase the party’s chances of holding onto control of the House following the midterms. The president went as far as to publicly state his wishes, calling for the addition of five Republican-friendly districts. The vocal call for gerrymandering prompted immediate backlash from Democratic leaders but also fueled an aggressive response with California and New York’s governors now mulling their own redistricting efforts. But Trump appeared undeterred by the ongoing saga in Texas, claiming in a Tuesday interview with CNBC that the 2024 election results means he has a right to pursue this gerrymander.
“I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats,” he said, per ABC News.
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