Latest news with #NicoleCollier
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Democrat Nicole Collier abruptly ends call with Newsom after being told she's committing a FELONY
One of the Democrats who fled the state of Texas in an attempt to stop the Republican governor from redistricting was awkwardly forced to flee again from a conference call with Gavin Newsom. The awkward moment happened just hours before the redistricting plan passed the Texas State House and was praised by Donald Trump, who said it could begin the process of netting Republicans as many as 100 seats in Congress. Nicole Collier has made headlines since the Democrats returned by sleeping at her desk in the State House in further protest of the bill which they say unfairly gerrymanders the red state. She continued to raise her profile participating in a conference call from the Capitol bathroom with DNC Chair Ken Martin, California Governor Newsom and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, where she initially said the law would break the Voting Rights Act. However, mid-conversation, she was told that being away from the State Assembly floor was a felony. 'Sorry, I have to leave. They said it's a felony for me to do this. Apparently I can't be on the floor or in a bathroom,' the seven-term legislator said to an unknown person off-camera. 'You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom. No, hold on - bye everybody, I've got to go.' It is not immediately clear what felony she was committing by appearing on the call, though she is currently protesting a rule instituted on the fleeing Democrats to promise they be escorted by a police officer if they left the State House again. Booker and Newsom were immediately indignant at what had happened and defended Collier. 'Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,' Booker said. Newsom, who has spent the past week antagonizing Trump on social media, nodded his head and said: 'There you go.' 'What they're trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a black woman, and that is outrageous. What we just witnessed, them trying to shut her down and saying it's illegal for her to be in the bathroom and on this call, this is the lengths that they're going to in Texas.' The Texas House on Wednesday approved redrawn congressional maps that would give Republicans a bigger edge in 2026, muscling through a partisan gerrymander that launched weeks of protests by Democrats and a widening national battle over redistricting. The approval came at the urging of President Donald Trump , who pushed for the extraordinary mid-decade revision of congressional maps to give his party a better chance at holding onto the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. The maps, which would give Republicans five more winnable seats, need to be approved by the GOP-controlled state Senate and signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott before they become official. But the Texas House vote had presented the best chance for Democrats to derail the redraw. The approval of the Texas maps on an 88-52 party-line vote is likely to prompt California´s Democratic-controlled state Legislature this week to approve of a new House map creating five new Democratic-leaning districts. But the California map would require voter approval in November. Democrats have also vowed to challenge the new Texas map in court and complained that Republicans made the political power move before passing legislation responding to deadly floods that swept the state last month. The liberals tried to resist by fleeing the state. In early August, 57 lawmakers skipped town, flying to Illinois and New York in a dramatic attempt to block the GOP's map vote. They returned 18 days later only to find themselves under near-constant surveillance by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Collier of Fort Worth refused to sign the paperwork authorizing DPS monitoring and instead stayed inside the chamber for more than 30 hours, even sleeping overnight on the floor. Her stand drew supporters to the Capitol Tuesday evening, but the crowd was evacuated when someone posted a threat on social media urging others to 'go to the Capitol and shoot and kill those who will not allow lawmakers to leave,' according to local outlet KVUE. 'For the safety of those at the Texas State Capitol, and out of an abundance of caution, the Texas Department of Public Safety evacuated the public from the Capitol building around 6:30 this evening,' DPS announced. 'It will remain closed to the public for the remainder of the day.' Meanwhile, support for Collier mounted, with the Fort Worth representative receiving a call from former vice president Kamala Harris. Collier shared on X that Harris told her: 'You are among those that history will reveal was among the heroes of this moment, so you just stay strong.' Collier has also filed a lawsuit against Texas, alleging 'illegal restraint by the government' for not being allowed to leave. 'I refuse to comply with this unreasonable, un-American and unnecessary request,' Collier told CBS News. By Wednesday, the Texas House was voting on amendments to the new maps, with the final vote approved later in the day. Meanwhile, Newsom has promised to redraw congressional districts in his state in response, setting up a redistricting arms race between the nation's two most populous states.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Democrat remains locked in House chamber after refusing GOP law enforcement escort
Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier spent Monday night locked in the Texas House of Representatives in Austin after refusing to sign a pledge to return for a vote on Republican redistricting proposals. Collier's protest came after 51 of the state's opposition lawmakers fled for Illinois, New York and Massachusetts earlier this month to deny the GOP majority a quorum in the House, preventing it from holding a ballot on plans to create five new red seats ahead of next year's midterms that would almost certainly have passed had the Democrats participated. After two weeks of Republican fury in which House Speaker Dustin Burrows issued civil arrest warrants, the runaways finally returned to their posts, only to find that Burrows expected them to sign a statement committing themselves to returning for the scheduled vote at 10 am on Wednesday – and be accompanied by individual law enforcement escorts in the interim. The speaker's ultimatum meant the rebel Democrats would not be able to leave the chamber without risking arrest unless they put pen to paper. Collier, who represents Fort Worth, flatly refused to comply with what Democrats mockingly characterized as a 'permission slip' or 'hall pass' system that effectively rendered their liberty conditional. 'I refuse to sign,' she told Fox News's Austin affiliate. 'I will not agree to be in [Department of Public Safety] custody. I'm not a criminal. I am exercising my right to resist and oppose the decisions of our government. So this is my form of protest.' In a subsequent statement, she elaborated: 'My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights. 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. 'My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation. 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.' The Independent has contacted Collier's office for further comment. Refusing to play ball but still bound by the speaker's conditions, Collier instead spent the night among the otherwise empty chairs of the legislative chamber, offering a livestream of her quiet protest on her X account. Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu and fellow representative Vince Perez stayed with her on the House floor in a show of solidarity, with Wu posting a picture of the snacks he was bringing with him, including dried peaches and grapes and instant ramen noodles. Collier also received a message of support from former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, who said: 'A true hero, refusing to submit, fighting these fascists by herself if she has to. We are with you Nicole!' The drama began on August 3 when the Democrats went into exile in the three northern blue states rather than enable a gerrymandering push that would, in all likelihood, have ended with their Republican counterparts redrawing the electoral map to their advantage with one eye on the November 2026 midterm elections, creating five extra seats in right-leaning areas. That would enable the Lone Star State to send five more Republicans to Washington, D.C., to help force through President Donald Trump's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, a great help to the president when the congressional GOP's majority is currently so slender. By fleeing, the Democrats denied the GOP the two-thirds majority attendance it required in the 150-seat state House to go ahead with its vote on the proposals. The lawmakers won the support of the Democratic National Committee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and influential blue state governors like Gavin Newsom and JB Pritzker. Still, they risked arrest and $500 per day fines for their actions. After Newsom vowed to fight fire with fire in California and redraw his map to favor Democrats as a means of remedying the measures being undertaken by the Texas Republicans, the southerners were finally able to make their way home. 'Now that we have California backing us up, we try to get back here as fast as possible,' Wu said. 'With that margin of the safety, we can come back here and say, let's stick this thing to court.'
Fox News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Texas Dem abruptly leaves call with Newsom, other party members after being told she's committing felony
Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier had to abruptly leave a call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic Party members after she claimed she was told she was committing a felony by participating in the meeting from a state Capitol bathroom. Collier was speaking on a call with Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, Newsom and several others while the Texas House of Representatives was simultaneously debating a redistricting bill backed by President Donald Trump. While speaking on the call, Collier claimed that the Texas redistricting bill violates the Voting Rights Act and "will prevent black and brown individuals from selecting the candidates of their choice because they're cracking and packing these districts." While Martin was speaking about 30 minutes into the call, Collier suddenly interrupted, saying, "Sorry, I have to leave. They said it's a felony for me to do this." "Apparently I can't be on the floor or in the bathroom," she continued, before turning to address someone off camera. "You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom," she said to the person off camera, before turning back to the call and saying, "No, hang on, bye everybody, I've got to go." Both Newsom and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., immediately expressed outrage over Collier's sudden departure. "That is outrageous," said Booker, adding, "Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office." "There you go," Newsom responded, nodding his head. "What they're trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a black woman, and that is outrageous," Booker went on. "What we just witnessed, them trying to shut her down and saying it's illegal for her to be in the bathroom and on this call, this is the lengths that they're going to in Texas." This comes after dozens of Democratic members of the Texas House fled the state and refused to return to the legislature for two weeks to hold up the redistricting bill by breaking quorum. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders ordered the rogue Democrats to be arrested and threatened to have them removed from office if they did not return to fulfill their duties. Following the Democrats' return to the legislature, members faced heightened security measures designed to ensure a quorum was maintained. Democratic lawmakers said Texas Department of Public Safety officers followed them around Monday at the state Capitol and either guarded their offices or stayed in them, and tailed them when they left. They said they had to sign "permission slips" and accept the surveillance to leave the building. Rather than comply with the measures, Collier stayed on the House floor in the Texas Capitol on Monday night and Tuesday. Despite the Democrats' standoff, the Texas House finally approved it on Wednesday. Newsom announced he would advance a redistricting map in California to counter the Texas redistricting bill. On Friday, California Democrats and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a new district map that would likely eliminate five GOP congressional seats, theoretically nullifying the five additional seats Republicans would gain if Texas' redistricting push is successful. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Burrows, Booker and Newsom but did not immediately receive a response. Collier's office declined to comment, citing the House still being in session.
Fox News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Texas Dem abruptly leaves press call with Newsom after being told she's committing a felony
Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier had to abruptly leave a call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other party members after she was told she was committing a felony. (DNC)
Toronto Star
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
The Latest: Texas House approves new congressional maps that favor GOP in 2026 midterms
Texas state Sen. Juan 'Chuy' Hinojosa, right, looks at a protester dressed as death standing outside of the House Chamber where Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier refuses to leave due to a required law enforcement escort, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) EG flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
