"Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives left the state on Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to stop Republicans from adopting an aggressively redrawn congressional map. Their absence is expected to prevent the House from reaching the quorum needed to hold a vote this week.
 |
“We’re leaving Texas to fight for Texans,”
said Gene Wu, a state representative from
Houston and the chair of the
Democratic caucus in the Texas House.Credit...
Jim Vondruska for The New York Times |
The walkout was a sharp escalation in the bitter partisan clash over a mid-decade redistricting in Texas that was requested by President Trump. Republicans in the State Legislature were rapidly moving forward, with the map — drawn to flip five Democratic congressional districts to favor Republicans — being passed out of two committees over the weekend.
Hours after the Democrats departed, Gov. Greg Abbott responded with a further escalation, declaring that their walkout amounted to an “abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office.”
