Texas House Republicans vote to issue civil arrest warrants for fleeing Democrats

Texas Republicans on Monday sought to retaliate against Democrats who fled the state, voting to issue civil arrest warrants for dozens of lawmakers who left in an attempt to stymie a GOP effort to redraw the congressional map.

Democrats said they were undeterred by the move, and officials will have difficulty arresting them because most are in suburban Chicago and beyond the jurisdiction of Texas authorities. But the warrants demonstrate the seriousness of Republicans’ desire to add congressional seats in what is quickly shaping up as a gerrymandering battle between red states and blue states. In response to Texas Republicans, Democratic governors in New York and California are preparing to try to reshape congressional boundaries in their favour.

“We are at war,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Democrat) said Monday at a news conference with some of the Texas Democrats. “And that’s why the gloves are off, and I say bring it on.”

Addressing a partially empty chamber Monday afternoon, local time, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Republican, said he was prepared to sign the warrants as he accused Democrats of shirking their responsibilities.

“To those who are absent, return now,” he said. After the lawmakers voted, they quickly adjourned until Tuesday.

Most of the Democrats in the Texas House exited the state Sunday to prevent Republicans from overhauling the state’s map to give themselves five more safe GOP seats at President Donald Trump’s urging. Their move was met with immediate criticism from Republicans, including Governor Greg Abbott, who threatened to try to expel absent Democrats from their posts. Some legal scholars questioned whether courts would go along with any attempt to eject the absent lawmakers from office.

“Democrats hatched a deliberate plan not to show up for work, for the specific purpose of abdicating the duties of their office and thwarting the chamber’s business,” Mr Abbott wrote in a letter to Democrats released late Sunday.

On Monday, he said in a statement that he was ordering the Texas Rangers to “immediately investigate fleeing Texas House Democrats for potential bribery and any other potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum.”

Each absent Democrat faces a $US500 daily fine - an amount that in two weeks would nearly match the annual $US7,200 salary that Texas lawmakers are paid. Mr Abbott contended Democrats would violate a bribery law if they raised funds to pay those fines. State Representative Gene Wu, the chairman of the Democratic caucus in the Texas House, said Democrats were using legal ways to defray their costs while they are away but did not provide details of what they are doing.

In the State House, Republicans convened briefly to take Democrats to task. Mr Burrows called the roll. He tugged his beard and clutched his hands as he waited for legislators to register their presence. “Have all members registered?” he asked twice. After a moment, he slammed down his oversize gavel and declared, “Members, a quorum is not present.”

From there, he praised those who showed up, condemned those who did not and presided over the vote to issue warrants.

Democrats said the moves by Abbott and GOP lawmakers were bluster and emphasised their commitment to staying away for two weeks, when the 30-day special session is slated to end. Fines and threats of arrest won’t deter them, they said.

“Do you really think we would be willing to sit there and stay quiet while you stole the voice of our voters? You didn’t know us,” State Representative Ann Johnson (Democrat) said.

But Republicans hold the upper hand because Mr Abbott could call more special sessions. Democrats have not said whether they have the wherewithal to repeatedly leave the state for months.

From New York, Texas state Representative Vikki Goodwin watched Monday’s floor session from her phone as Republicans voted to arrest her and other Democrats.

“These are people that we work with in the legislature, so it’s hard to see them vote to put out arrest warrants for us,” Ms Goodwin said. “It is a little bit nerve-racking … but it’s also such an important issue that I’m willing to take some risks.”

In his letter to lawmakers, Mr Abbott cited a 2021 opinion from Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to contend that courts could determine that Democrats had abandoned their duties and given up their jobs. That would allow Mr Abbott to call special elections to replace them, he said.

Mr Abbott could not remove lawmakers on his own and would need the courts to go along with his plan, said University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller. While Mr Abbott and other Republicans could argue that the Democrats had abandoned their duties, those lawmakers would have a chance to make the case that they were representing their constituents by denying the majority the quorum it needs to operate, he added.

“This is not a unilateral action of the governor,” Professor Muller said. “Even if you go to a court, you’re going to have to make a showing that I think is going be tough to make.”

The escalating dispute kicked off last month when Mr Abbott called a special session at the urging of Mr Trump to redraw the state’s map just four years after lawmakers adopted it. Ordinarily, states adopt maps once a decade, after the census details population shifts around the country.

How states draw districts helps determine which party has an advantage, and now Texas Republicans want five more seats to bolster the 25 they have. Republicans hope a new map could protect their narrow 219-212 House majority next year in the midterm elections, which typically are tough for the President’s party. Mr Trump’s agenda is at stake.

By leaving, Texas Democrats have thwarted the plan for now. At least two-thirds of the members of the Texas House - 100 of 150 - must be present for lawmakers to take action. That means 51 of the 62 Democrats can block the Republicans from advancing their plans, and 57 have left the state, Democrats said.

Misha Lesley-Burkins, of Houston, said she was offended by the Republicans’ redistricting plan and supported the Democrats’ decision to leave.

“We are in a crisis for our democratic norms,” said Ms Lesley-Burkins, 54, who testified against the redistricting plan twice in recent weeks. “This is not about a party. This is about doing what is right, and the state of Texas and the governor specifically not kowtowing to the administration in Washington.”

At a busy mall on Houston’s oil and gas energy corridor - an area in one of the congressional districts that would be reshaped by the proposed boundaries - conservative retiree John Menzies said he supported Republicans’ efforts.

“If it empowers more Republicans to have a say, I have no problem with it,” Menzies said.

Republicans in Ohio plan to redraw their map soon, and other states could join the fray. Democrats are threatening to retaliate in states they control by drawing new maps of their own if Texas Republicans carry out their plan. On Monday, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee called on Democratic state lawmakers to prepare for carving up their states.

Democrats in California have said they could hold a special election in November to ask voters to adopt a ballot measure that would give their party more favoirable districts next year.

California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom said the measure would include a trigger mechanism saying new maps in his state would go into effect only if Texas approves its new map.

“We’re not drawing lines to draw lines,” he said at a news conference in Sacramento. “We’re holding the line on democracy, on the rule of law, co-equal branches of government, popular sovereignty.”

Illinois Democrat Governor JB Pritzker, who is hosting some of the Texas Democrats, said at a Sunday news conference that he’s considering all options in his state. But he did not offer any concrete steps he would take to establish new maps before the 2026 elections.

In New York, Democrats face challenges because the state constitution requires an independent commission to draw congressional lines, and changing the provision could take years. When ms Hochul was asked Monday if she supported disbanding or changing that commission, she said, “yes.”

Dylan Wells and Maeve Reston contributed to this report.

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