Texas Democrats return to Austin after redistricting walkout

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The Texas House on Monday gaveled in with a quorum for the first time in two weeks as Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, ending a walkout over a GOP mid-decade redistricting plan and paving the way for the map’s passage.

“We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,” Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement.

Over 50 Democratic lawmakers left Texas earlier this month for Illinois and elsewhere in a bid to stall passage of a congressional map that was demanded by President Donald Trump just four years after Republicans last redrew the state’s lines, and that is designed to give the GOP five additional U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm election.

In an unprecedented response, Republican state leaders issued civil arrest warrants, moved to extradite absent members from Illinois, launched investigations and sought to declare at least one Democrat’s seat vacant. The Legislature ended the first special session early on Friday because of the walkout, with Gov. Greg Abbott promptly calling a second overtime session with virtually the same agenda as the first one.

“The House has been through a tumultuous two weeks, but this institution long predates us. It will long outlast each of us,” Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said from the dais on the House floor. “We are done waiting. We have a quorum. Now is the time for action.”

The return of most Democrats Monday means that the House, which needs 100 out of 150 members present to function, can move quickly to adopt the map. Attendance on the floor over the past two weeks hovered around 95 members, with a handful of Democrats, mostly from conservative-leaning districts, electing to stay in Austin.

Democratic lawmakers who walked out will be subject to an around-the-clock escort by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Burrows said, announcing that members would be accompanied by state troopers once the House adjourned Monday. A motion to excuse their absences over the past two weeks was voted down, 79 to 39.

Republicans were already moving to advance Texas’ map before Democrats returned, with a Senate committee approving the plan again on Sunday. Burrows promised last week to complete all items on Abbott’s agenda, “and even some more,” by Labor Day weekend.

Though Democrats won’t have the votes to defeat the map on the floor, they framed their protest as a victory for sinking the first special session and building a national appetite among blue state leaders for their own partisan redistricting efforts in retaliation to Texas’ plan. And they said that the end of the walkout only marked the next phase of their plan to fight the map in court.

“We’re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans’ plans than when we left,” Wu said. “Our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court, take our message to communities across the state and country and inspire legislators across the country how to fight these undemocratic redistricting schemes in their own statehouses.”

California unveiled a new congressional map Friday that would give Democrats up to five new U.S. House seats, which state voters would have to adopt in a November special election.

In a letter of support, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin thanked Texas Democrats for their efforts and vowed to continue the fight nationally.

“Others will now pick up the torch so you can focus your attention on continuing this fight in Texas and in the courts,” Martin said. “Fights like this are long and arduous, but they are truly righteous and part of what makes America great. The DNC will always be your partner in the fight for what’s right — now and forever.”

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