Texas Dem lawmakers flee state to protest GOP's redistricting plan

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Texas Democrats are being slammed over wild 'stunt' antics in an attempt to stop redistricting legislation that favors Republicans. Over 50 Democratic state lawmakers fled the state over the weekend to avoid voting on a controversial Donald Trump-backed piece of legislation that could help Republicans get more power in Congress.
They hopped on a $17,000 an hour private jet on Sunday, earning the wrath of conservatives who accused them of spending an estimated $100,000 total. It's unclear if the lawmakers used taxpayer dollars to fund their travel or if they 'solicited' outside funds from an outside group - which also has potential legal consequences. Far-right commentator Benny Johnson wrote on X: 'Texas Republicans need to launch an emergency investigation into who paid for this seditious stunt.'
Another GOP activist added that 'bribery' should be added to the list of changes agains the Democrats who fled. Republican State Rep. Cole Hefner accused them of fleeing because 'they know they're losing the policy argument.' 'Hopping on a private plane to Chicago won't change the facts — they are abandoning their districts and turning their backs on Texans who need help the most,' he went on. The Democrats are working to stall a bill that would redraw the state's congressional maps and eliminate five U.S. House seats presently held by Democrats.
It's crucial since the GOP holds a tiny three-seat majority, so every seat they're able to scoop up could impact whether Trump can push his agenda through in the last two years of his second term. And the 2026 midterm elections are just around the corner. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott promised to 'remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House' for 'abdicating the duties of their office and thwarting the chamber's business.' He also pointed out that the funding of the private jet raises potential ethics concerns and 'bribery' charges.
'Any Democrat who 'solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept' such funds to assist in the violation of legislative duties or for purposes of skipping a vote may have violated bribery laws,' he cited according to Texas law. Democrats planned to stall a vote on the legislation by the full chamber by not showing up, a procedure also known as 'breaking quorum.' A quorum of 100 members are needed to conduct business in the Texas House of Representatives , but with a majority of Democrats fleeing the state, no work can get done. An estimated 57 Democrats left for Illinois over the weekend, according to Caucus Chair Gene Wu.
Democrat Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker promised to protect the Texas Democrats in his state from arrest because 'they're following the law.' Rouge lawmakers could be fined $500 a day if they refuse to come to work, per a rule adopted in 2021 after Texas Democrats pulled a similar move to postpone another voting bill. Abbott says his threat to remove the Democrats from their offices is rooted in Texas law. According to a legal review by the state's attorney general, a legislator can be determined to have 'vacated office' if they intentionally break quorum.
Abbott also added that a district court 'may determine that a legislator has forfeited his or her office due to abandonment and can remove the legislator from office, thereby creating a vacancy.' Fox News contributor Mary Katharine Ham called the Democratic mass exodus a 'tantrum.' And other pundits were quick to slam the 'embarrassing' stunt by Democrats that swept headlines over the weekend.
California Governor and rumored 2028 presidential contender Gavin Newsom shared his take on the clash in a post on X Monday morning, writing that the 'Governor of Texas is threatening to remove democratically elected officials from office because they have refused to rig an election for Donald Trump.' 'United States of America, 2025', Newsom wrote, wrapping up his X post. The redistricting push in Texas was originally spurred by a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice sent to state officials in July, which argued that four of the state's congressional districts were 'racially gerrymandered.'
Democrats won all four of these seats in the 2024 elections. As a result, Trump then urged Texas Republicans to rethink their congressional maps to give Republicans a leg up in next year's midterm elections . After a hearing was held Friday on the proposed new maps, the Republicans on the Texas House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting voted to advance on a party-line vote.
Texas Rep. Todd Hunter, the Republican author of the bill pushing the new maps, described the new proposed carveouts in the following way: 'It is important to note that four of the five new districts are majority minority, Hispanic. … Each of these newly drawn districts now trends Republican,' Hunter said. 'Political performance doesn't guarantee electoral success; that's up to the candidates. But it does allow Republican candidates the opportunity to compete in these districts.'
Firebrand Democrat Jasmine Crockett faces being booted from Congress after Republicans proposed a heavily gerrymandered redistricting map that would mean she no longer lives in her district. Crockett has made headlines numerous times in recent months as a key critic of the Trump administration, and the redistricting issue is the latest one she has spoken out on. She has slammed the Texas redistricting maps as a sham that silences minority voices and keeps power in the hands of the few, diluting the voting power of Latino and Black communities.
Crockett called Trump 'Temu Hitler' in a recent interview with SiriusXM host Zerlina Maxwell, due to the president's involvement in the redistricting process. 'So what we have seen is, again, this rogue Department of Justice going out to do the bidding of this Temu Hitler,' Crockett told Maxwell in July. Crockett also added that in her view, Trump believes that the only way to 'ensure that [he] will have no checks on [him] is if [he] can ensure that those voices of color do not have representation.' The Texas congressional maps were already redrawn after the 2020 Census, and they are typically edited every ten years.