Texas House Democrats return to Capitol, ending walkout over redistricting plan

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The Texas House on Monday gaveled in with a quorum for the first time in two weeks as Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, ending a walkout over a GOP mid-decade redistricting plan and paving the way for the map’s passage.

“We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,” Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement.

Over 50 Democratic lawmakers left Texas earlier this month for Illinois and elsewhere in a bid to stall passage of a congressional map that was demanded by President Donald Trump just four years after Republicans last redrew the state’s lines, and that is designed to give the GOP five additional U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm election.

In an unprecedented response, Republican state leaders issued civil arrest warrants, moved to extradite absent members from Illinois, launched investigations and sought to declare at least one Democrat’s seat vacant. The Legislature ended the first special session early on Friday because of the walkout, with Gov. Greg Abbott promptly calling a second overtime session with virtually the same agenda as the first one.

“The House has been through a tumultuous two weeks, but this institution long predates us. It will long outlast each of us,” Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said from the dais on the House floor. “We are done waiting. We have a quorum. Now is the time for action.”

The return of around two dozen Democrats Monday means that the House, which needs 100 out of 150 members present to function, can move quickly to adopt the map. Attendance on the floor over the past two weeks hovered around 95 members, with a handful of Democrats, mostly from conservative-leaning districts, electing to stay in Austin.

Though Democrats won’t have the votes to defeat the map on the floor, they framed their protest as a victory for sinking the first special session and building a national appetite among blue state leaders for their own partisan redistricting efforts in retaliation to Texas’ plan. And they said that the end of the walkout only marked the next phase of their plan to fight the map in court.

“We’re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans’ plans than when we left,” Wu said, adding in an interview Monday that the walkout had given lawmakers time to evaluate the legal challenge they could bring against the map, with the goal of defeating the proposal in court before next year’s midterms. “Our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court, take our message to communities across the state and country and inspire legislators across the country how to fight these undemocratic redistricting schemes in their own statehouses.”

California unveiled a new congressional map Friday that would give Democrats up to five new U.S. House seats, which state voters would have to adopt in a November special election.

Some Democratic lawmakers declined to return with the rest of the caucus, arguing that continuing to deny the House a quorum was the primary tool the minority party had to fight back.

“I’ve said since day one that I’m committed to this fight, and I cannot in good conscience join the quorum that is expected today,” Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said in a statement from Illinois. “Texas redistricting is not a fair fight. We have a lot to be proud of in raising the national alarm about this unjust power grab, but we cannot forget the communities of color who will suffer from these racist, targeted maps.”

Democratic lawmakers who walked out and returned to Austin will be subject to an around-the-clock escort by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Burrows said, announcing that members would be accompanied by state troopers once the House adjourned Monday. He added that lawmakers would be responsible for any costs incurred in trying to ensure their attendance.

One Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth, refused the police escort, meaning she will remain locked in the Capitol building until the House reconvenes Wednesday morning.

“I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts,” Collier said in a statement. “When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents — I won't just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination.”

Republicans were already moving to advance Texas’ map before Democrats returned, with a Senate committee approving the plan again on Sunday and a House panel set to consider the map Monday. Burrows promised last week to complete all items on Abbott’s agenda, “and even some more,” by Labor Day weekend.

“The Democrats did a really good job of getting Republicans united,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, said Monday, adding that he expected to see all 18 items on Abbott’s agenda passed by the end of the 30-day session. “So thanks to them for that.”

Republican lawmakers commended Burrows’ handling of the quorum break, noting that the walkout had only ensured the GOP would move full steam ahead on every priority on the agenda, including contentious items such as a crackdown on abortion pills and a bill requiring transgender people use bathrooms aligned with their sex assigned at birth in school and government buildings.

“We’re picking up right where we left off,” Rep. Tom Oliverson of Cypress, chair of the House Republican Caucus, said Monday. “Nothing’s off the table. There are no deals to be made. If they had any leverage at the start of the last special session, it’s all gone.”

In a letter of support, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin thanked Texas Democrats for their efforts and vowed to continue the fight nationally.

“Others will now pick up the torch so you can focus your attention on continuing this fight in Texas and in the courts,” Martin said. “Fights like this are long and arduous, but they are truly righteous and part of what makes America great. The DNC will always be your partner in the fight for what’s right — now and forever.”

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