On Sunday, Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives fled the state to block a vote on a law that redraws congressional districts. The re-drawing was a demand of President Donald Trump in an effort to secure five more Republican seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Arrest warrants for the missing House Democrats were promptly issued the following day. 

Dozens of House Democrats flew to other states to meet with political leaders to gain support, while Texas Governor Gregg Abbot threatened to remove them from office entirely. “They forfeited their seats and are facing potential felony charges,” said Governor Abbot, who ordered the Department of Public Safety to arrest House Democrats. 

On Monday, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows signed civil arrest warrants for each Representative, saying, “I am disappointed that while these members are here reporting for their duty under the constitution, others are out of the state…in places they do not represent[.]”

Rep. Jolanda Jones, who serves the Houston area, said, “There is no felony in the Texas penal code for what he says…he has no legal mechanism. And if he did, subpoenas from Texas don’t work in New York.” 

On Tuesday, Burrows said, “We will need some time to work, and we will try to make quorum on Friday.”

The Texas House requires 100 members present to function, with Republicans accounting for only 88 seats. The move by House Democrats, called “breaking quorum,” is a tool used by politicians to block votes and interrupt policy changes. 

Democratic State Rep. James Talarico, who left the state, told CNN, “If law enforcement arrests me, I will go peacefully. But I am doing this because I am fighting for my constituents…We are taking part in a long American tradition of standing up to bullies, of speaking truth to power, of civil disobedience, of good trouble.”

Last Friday, a Texas House panel advanced the new, drafted, congressional map, putting it on the agenda for earlier this week. The Texas Tribune reported, “GOP lawmakers said that they are redrawing the state’s congressional map to advantage Republican candidates…The new map creates 24 districts that are majority white – two more than the current map, which is under trial for possibly violating the Voting Rights Act.”

Rep. Todd Hunter said about the goal of the map, “Different from everyone else, I’m telling you, I’m not beating around the bush. We have five new districts, and these five new districts are based on political performance.” 

This redrawing and effort by Trump is known as gerrymandering, or manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency so as to favor one party over another. After Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” was passed by only a few votes, the pressure is on to secure their power and influence. 

The United States has a long history of gerrymandering, primarily used to reduce the voice of people of color. 

Rep. Ann Johnson (134th District) said, “Quorum break is a tool that the founding fathers of Texas put in place when the minority party knows that the majority [party] has gone off the rails and is doing something against the interest and will of the voters.”

A handful of Texas House Democrats flew to New York to meet with Governor Kathy Hochul, who spoke in favor of gerrymandering as a tool, threatening to gerrymander her state to oppose the Texas Republican gerrymander. Governor Hochul is not the only state considering the move. Other Texas House Democrats flew to Chicago and Boston for support against the redistricting move. Politicians across the nation are preparing their districts for next year’s midterm elections. 

Rep. Ramón Romero, representing Texas’ 90th District, said on TikTok, “I’m not going to go to work to silence you.” 

Texas House Democrats are charged $500-a-day per person for absconding. A fundraiser began last week, and now organizations across the nation are funneling support to the fleeing Democrats. 

**Mavrie has been serving as editor for the ThunderWord since 2024. She is also the founding president of Highline’s Non-fiction Writers Circle.**