The political standoff in Texas just got wilder.
Governor Greg Abbott says he’s ready to kick Democrats out of office—literally—if they don’t return to the state Capitol ASAP. Why? Because more than 50 Texas House Democrats hopped on planes to Illinois and New York to block a vote on a controversial redistricting plan backed by Donald Trump.
Their dramatic exit is stopping Republicans from holding a quorum—basically, the minimum number of lawmakers needed to get anything passed.
Abbott’s deadline: Monday at 3 p.m.
“If they’re not back, I’ll start the process to remove them from office,” Abbott warned Sunday night. “This truancy ends now.”
At the heart of this drama is a redistricting plan that could give Republicans five new US House seats in Texas. That’s a big deal, especially as Trump tries to lock down a GOP majority ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Democrats say the new map is a “racist gerrymander” designed to silence voters in diverse, Democratic-leaning districts. They also accuse Abbott of exploiting flood victims from last month’s deadly Texas storms to distract from what they call a Trump power grab.
“We’re not going to let disaster relief be held hostage for a partisan map,” said Rep. Gene Wu, leader of the House Democratic Caucus. “This is about protecting democracy.”
Democrats booked it out of Texas over the weekend—landing in blue strongholds like Chicago and New York, where they’ve been welcomed with open arms by Democratic governors JB Pritzker and Kathy Hochul.
Gov. Hochul even joined the war of words Monday:
“Republicans are launching a legal insurrection, and we’re not sitting back,” she said. “You have to fight fire with fire.”
Abbott claims he can ask Texas courts to declare the fleeing lawmakers’ seats vacant and call special elections to replace them. He’s leaning on a non-binding 2021 legal opinion by Attorney General Ken Paxton that says it might be legal to boot lawmakers who abandon their duties.
Democrats’ reply? Four words:
“Come and take it.”
That’s a reference to a famous Texas battle flag—and a clear sign they’re not backing down.
Here’s the catch: Breaking quorum isn’t actually a crime. So unless the Democrats come back to Texas (where state troopers could technically drag them into the Capitol), there’s not much Abbott can do right away.
He’s also floated the idea that fundraising to cover the Democrats’ $500-per-day fines could be illegal “bribery.” That’s a big stretch legally—but it’s creating headlines, which may be the point.
Abbott might need to file separate lawsuits in each lawmaker’s home district to even start the process of removing them. That could take months—way beyond the August 19 end date of the current special session.
If Republicans don’t get the new map done soon, it might not be ready for the March 2026 primaries. That puts pressure on both sides to either find a deal—or ride out a full-scale political war until someone breaks.
Democrats have used this tactic before—like in 2021, when they walked out over GOP voting restrictions. But history hasn’t always been kind: eventually, they returned, and Republicans passed the bill anyway.
Still, this time feels bigger. The redistricting map would massively reshape the political map of Texas—and possibly tip the balance of power in Congress.
The Associated Press, FOX News, Politico, and CBS News contributed to this report.
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