AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans were unable again Monday to approve new congressional districts to meet President Donald Trump's demands as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats urged Republicans to stand down and avoid a partisan brawl spanning multiple statehouses.
Texas Democratic lawmakers remained outside of Texas after leaving the state to deny their GOP colleagues the quorum necessary to vote on Trump’s aggressive redistricting play and push the stalemate into its second week. The president's agenda also spurred Democratic governors, including Newsom, to pledge retaliatory redistricting efforts in their states — setting up the possibility of an extended standoff that could upend the 2026 midterm elections.
Newsom urged Trump in a letter Monday to abandon his scheme, telling the president he is “playing with fire” and “risking the destabilization of our democracy.”
At the Texas Capitol, House Speaker Dustin Burrows adjourned another attempted session within minutes of its early afternoon opening. He used the brief gathering to chastise dozens of Democrats who have civil warrants out for their arrest. Because they are out of state, those lawmakers are beyond the reach of state authorities.
Burrows said Texas law enforcement agencies have been to the residences of the absent legislators, “conducting surveillance, knocking on doors” and calling their cellphones trying to bring them to the statehouse.
“The search continues, and it will not stop,” the speaker said. Later he added, “Eventually you will be here.”
Just a few seats could determine control of Congress
Burrows' GOP House majority wants to redraw districts so that five more Republicans can be elected. Trump, who has said the GOP is “entitled” to the seats, is pushing other Republican-controlled legislatures to follow suit as he tries to avoid a repeat of the 2018 midterms. Those elections during Trump's first presidency yielded a new Democratic majority in the U.S. House that stymied his agenda and twice impeached him. Existing maps nationally put Democrats within three seats of a House majority at a time when there are only several dozen competitive districts out of 435.
“Stealing congressional districts — mid-decade — is wrong,” Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, one of the lawmakers who left the state, said Monday. “It’s just nothing other than old-school cheating.”
Texas Democrats intend to run out the clock on their current special session, which cannot extend beyond Aug. 19. But Gov. Greg Abbott said he’ll call lawmakers back to the Statehouse again and again until enough Democrats show up to reach the attendance threshold required to vote on the bill.
Responding to Texas, Newsom and other California Democrats are considering new boundaries to yield a five-seat shift toward Democrats, neutralizing any Texas change. That would require, however, getting California voters to set aside existing maps drawn by an independent commission. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker have promised similar efforts in their Democratic-run statehouses.
In his letter to Trump, Newsom said he prefers that independent bodies draw political districts rather than partisan legislatures, as is done in Texas and most GOP-controlled states. But, Newsom wrote, “California cannot stand idly by as this power grab unfolds.”
If Texas and “the other states call off their redistricting efforts,” the governor added, “we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it.”
In Austin and around the country, Texas officials dig in
The absent Texas lawmakers are staying in Illinois, New York and elsewhere. They have appeared with Newsom, Pritzker and Hochul at various points and say they have no intention of returning as long as Republicans are intent on mollifying Trump.
Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a U.S. Senate candidate, want state courts to remove Democratic lawmakers from office, asserting that they have abandoned their posts. Paxton has asked an Illinois court to enforce the Texas warrants issued for absent lawmakers so they could be arrested beyond Texas' borders.
State Rep. Rhetta Bowers, who’s also staying in Illinois, pointed back to some white politicians’ tactics during the Civil Rights Movement. She noted the proposed Texas maps would disproportionately affect districts represented by Black and Latino Democrats, and she raised concerns about Abbott and Paxton’s use of law enforcement and the justice system against their political opponents.
Those are “the very same tactics used against Black and brown Americans” who pushed for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, she said.
“Their fight is our fight, and just like the Civil Rights heroes of the past, no matter the cost we are prepared to see it through to the end,” Bowers said.
At the very least, the Democrats face $500 fines for each daily absence under legislative rules.
Ramón Romero, Jr., one of the Democrats staying outside Chicago, confirmed Monday that he and his colleagues have consulted with attorneys. “They know where we are,” Romero said. “We feel very safe here in the state of Illinois.”
Democrats urged Abbott to focus on flood response and he declined
In Austin, Rep. Joe Moody was one of just nine Democratic lawmakers present in the House chamber on Monday. He expressed solidarity with colleagues he said “are doing something that is absolutely within their right” as members.
“The idea that quorum can be broken is enshrined in the Texas Constitution. So are the efforts to compel them” to return, Moody said.
From his speaker's chair, Burrows never mentioned the redistricting legislation, instead highlighting that the special session also includes several disaster response measures after catastrophic floods in July killed at least 135 people in the state. He said those bills are set for action on the floor Tuesday morning.
“The only thing standing between Texas and real disaster relief is whether our absent colleagues decide to show up tomorrow,” Burrows said.
Abbott last month added the redistricting proposal to a lengthy agenda he gave to lawmakers in ordering them back to the Texas Capitol for the special session. Texas Democrats balked and urged the governor and legislative leaders to prioritize the flood response over Trump's agenda.
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Barrow reported from Atlanta. Tareen reported from Chicago.
Bill Barrow, Nadia Lathan And Sophia Tareen, The Associated Press
