民主党州议员计划周日离开德克萨斯州，以打破特别立法会议的法定人数，共和党州议员的目标是通过一份新的国会地图，该地图可能会创造多达五个新的共和党席位。
此前，周五在州议会大厦就该计划举行了马拉松式的公开听证会，而在不到一周前，州共和党立法者提出了新地图。共和党人在德克萨斯州议会中占据多数席位;民主党人曾表示，他们将考虑所有阻止地图通过的选择，尽管他们反击的选择有限。
“我们不会逃避我们的责任;我们正走出一个被操纵的系统，它拒绝听取我们所代表的人民的意见。从今天起，这个腐败的特别会议结束了，”众议院民主党党团主席、州众议员吴(Gene Wu)在一份声明中说。
在民主党立法者打破法定人数的消息传出后，德克萨斯州司法部长肯·帕克斯顿在X上的一篇帖子中写道，离开的民主党人应该被逮捕并带回州议会大厦。
他写道:“德克萨斯州众议院中试图像懦夫一样逃跑的民主党人应该被发现、逮捕并立即带回国会大厦。”"我们应该利用我们所掌握的一切手段来追捕那些自认为凌驾于法律之上的人。"
德克萨斯州州长格雷格·艾伯特(Gregg Abbott)周日晚上发表了一份措辞激烈的声明，指责众议院民主党人逃离该州，并以非法理由阻止quorum这样做。他说，他们有预谋的决定可能导致当选的州政府官员被没收，并要求他们必须在州议会于周一下午3点重新召开特别会议时回来，否则将面临失业的风险。
“这次旷课现在结束。被遗弃的民主党众议员必须返回德克萨斯州，并在2025年8月4日星期一下午3点众议院复会时出席会议。对于任何未能这样做的成员，我将援引得克萨斯州司法部长第KP-0382号意见，将失踪的民主党人从得克萨斯州众议院成员资格中除名，”阿博特的声明中写道。
得克萨斯州众议院民主党党团对阿博特的信发表了四个字的回应，“来拿吧。”
罢工本身不能阻止该法案的通过，但民主党人的目标是在30天的特别立法会议上耗尽时间，这意味着阿博特将不得不召集另一次会议。德克萨斯州众议院民主党人此前在2021年打破了法定人数，试图阻止选举法案，并在2003年试图阻止共和党人类似的重新划分选区的努力。共和党人最终两次都成功通过了法案。
唐纳德·特朗普总统此前曾表示，他希望德克萨斯州立法者划出五个新的共和党选区。
超过51名立法者离开该州，拒绝了州议会所需的150名立法者中的三分之二多数。来自州议会的62名民主党议员中有多少人离开的确切数字目前还不清楚。
根据州众议院的规定，违反法定人数的民主党人可能会被处以每天500美元的罚款，并可能面临法律诉讼。
得克萨斯州司法部长肯·帕克斯顿(Ken Paxton)周四在接受《战争房间》(War Room)节目主持人、特朗普前顾问史蒂夫·班农的采访时说，“众议院和参议院的规定都允许这些人在离开时被逮捕...挑战在于，如果他们去了其他州，我们就失去了管辖权，这在过去是一个挑战，但最终，只要州长愿意继续召集会议，他们最终必须回家。”
帕克斯顿还说，他不担心在法庭上为地图辩护:“我们有，我们有很好的地图。立法机关有权绘制他们想要的地图。他们是基于政治，而不是基于种族。如果它们是基于政治的，那么它们是可以辩护的。”
一些逃离该州的民主党议员将于周日晚上与伊利诺伊州州长JB Pritzker一起出席新闻发布会。普利兹克一直是德克萨斯州民主党人的坚定支持者，并提出了如果德克萨斯州重新绘制地图，伊利诺伊州自己的国会地图可能会重新绘制。伊利诺伊州的地图被外界观察家批评为高度偏袒民主党。
6月下旬，得克萨斯州民主党主席肯德尔·斯卡德尔(Kendall Scudder)从达拉斯飞往俄克拉荷马州，看望在该州民主党晚宴上发表讲话的普利茨克。两人在那段时间举行了一次私人会议，讨论立法者逃离该州到伊利诺伊州的可能性，如果他们逃离该州，他们将有一个他们感到安全和支持的地方。
自那以后，普利兹克和德克萨斯州的民主党人一直保持联系，7月份，当代表团成员前往伊利诺伊州和加利福尼亚州参加简短会议时，他们中的一小群人前往芝加哥。
普利兹克和他的团队一直在幕后帮助民主党人在该地区寻找酒店，帮助他们的运作，并润滑车轮，以便他们前往伊利诺伊州时一切顺利。
包含地图的法案原定于周一在州议会进行讨论。
Texas Republicans say 'hunt down' Democrats who are leaving state over redistricting
Democratic statehouse legislators are planning to leave Texas on Sunday in order to break the quorum of a special legislative session in which Republican state legislators are aiming to pass a new congressional map that could create up to five new GOP seats.
The move comes after a marathon public hearing on the plan in the state Capitol on Friday and less than a week after state Republican legislators proposed the new maps. Republicans hold a majority in the Texas state legislature; Democrats had said they would consider all options to stop the maps from being passed, although their options for striking back have been limited.
"We're not walking out on our responsibilities; we're walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent. As of today, this corrupt special session is over," state Rep. Gene Wu, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement.
After news broke of Democratic legislators breaking quorum, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote in a post on X that Democrats who left should be arrested and brought back to the state capitol.
U.S. Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Texas, looks at a map during the Texas state House redistricting committee meeting on August 01, 2025, in Austin. The House Select Committee on Congressional
"Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately," he wrote. "We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law."
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott issued a blistering statement Sunday evening, accusing the House Democrats who fled the state and prevented quorum of doing so for illegitimate reasons. He said their premeditated decision could result in forfeiture of elected state office and demanded they must return when the statehouse reconvenes for special session at 3:00 p.m. CT on Monday or risk losing their jobs.
"This truancy ends now. The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025. For any member who fails to do so, I will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House," part of Abbott's statement read.
The Texas House Democratic Caucus issued a four-word response to Abbott's letter, "Come and take it."
The walkout itself cannot stop the passage of the bill, but Democrats aim to run out the clock on the 30-day special legislative session, which would mean Abbott would have to call another one. Texas House Democrats previously broke quorum in 2021 to try to stop an elections bill and in 2003 to try to stop a similar redistricting effort by Republicans. Republicans eventually managed to pass the bills both times.
President Donald Trump has previously said he wanted Texas legislators to draw five new Republican districts.
More than 51 legislators are leaving the state, denying the state House the two-thirds majority out of 150 legislators it needs to have a quorum. An exact number of how many of the 62 Democratic legislators from the state House were leaving was not immediately available.
Democrats who break quorum risk accruing a $500-a-day fine, according to the state House rules, and potential legal action.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, speaking with "War Room" host and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, said on Thursday, "The House rules and the Senate rules both allow for these people to be arrested if they leave ... The challenge is, if they go out of state, we lose jurisdiction, and that -- it's been a challenge in the past, but in the end, as long as the governor is willing to keep calling sessions, ultimately they have to come home."
The Texas State Capitol is seen on July 21, 2025, in Austin. Lawmakers are gathering for a special session to discuss an agenda outlined by Gov. Greg Abbott that seeks to address flood relief
Paxton also said he was not worried about defending the maps in court: "We've got, we've got good maps. And the legislature has the right to draw the maps they want. They're politically based, not race-based. And if they're politically based, then they're defensible."
Some of the Democratic legislators fleeing the state will appear on Sunday evening with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at a press conference. Pritzker has been a staunch supporter of Texas Democrats and has floated the possibility of getting Illinois' own congressional maps redrawn if Texas redraws its maps. Illinois' maps have been criticized by outside observers as highly partisan in favor of Democrats.
In late June, the chair of the Texas Democrats, Kendall Scudder, flew from Dallas to Oklahoma to see Pritzker, who was giving remarks at the state Democratic Party's dinner. The pair had a private meeting during that time to talk about the possibility of lawmakers fleeing the state to Illinois -- and if they were to flee the state, that they would have a place they would feel safe and supported.
Since then, Pritzker and Texas Democrats have been in touch, and a small group of them traveled to Chicago in July when members of the delegation left for Illinois and California for brief meetings.
Pritzker and his team have been helping behind the scenes to help find hotels in the area for the Democrats, help their operation, and grease the wheels so things go smoothly for them as they head to Illinois.
The bill containing the maps had been scheduled to be taken up on the state House floor on Monday.
