Texas House Approves Warrants as Abbott Orders Arrest of Democrats Who Fled State

AUSTIN, TX — The Texas House voted 85-6 on Monday to issue civil arrest warrants for more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in an attempt to block a vote on a Republican-backed congressional redistricting map, according to The Texas Tribune.

House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he would sign warrants empowering the chamber’s sergeant-at-arms and state troopers to locate and return the absent members. The tactic mirrors a 2021 standoff, when Democrats broke quorum to oppose GOP voting bills, The Texas Tribune reported.

Shortly after the vote, Gov. Greg Abbott announced he had ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to carry out the arrests.

“Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans,” Abbott said in a statement. “By fleeing the state, Texas House Democrats are holding hostage critical legislation to aid flood victims and advance property tax relief. There are consequences for dereliction of duty.”

"Speaker Dustin Burrows just issued a call of the Texas House and issued warrants to compel members to return to the chamber," Abbott added. "To ensure compliance, I ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans. This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol.”

The civil warrants are largely symbolic, as most of the Democrats left Texas for Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, placing them beyond the jurisdiction of Texas law enforcement, The Texas Tribune noted. The lawmakers departed Sunday to deny the House a quorum, which is required to vote on legislation.

At the center of the dispute is the GOP’s proposed redistricting plan, which critics say dilutes minority voting power to expand Republican control. Abbott called for the new map during a special legislative session after pressure from allies of former President Donald Trump. The plan could net Republicans up to five additional congressional seats, The Texas Tribune reported.

“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” said state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a statement obtained by The Texas Tribune. Wu accused the governor of using a “racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans.”

House rules allow absent members to be “sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found,” once a “call of the House” is in effect. That rule was invoked by Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, on Monday.

Burrows criticized the absent lawmakers on the House floor, saying they had “shirked their responsibilities.”

“You understand that the issues before us—disaster recovery, fighting for the families who lost loved ones in the floods, human trafficking and more—are not abstract policy debates,” Burrows said. “Instead of confronting those challenges, some of our colleagues have fled the state in their duty.”

The Texas Supreme Court has upheld the House’s authority to enforce quorum by arrest, affirming that the state Constitution permits both “quorum-breaking” and “quorum-forcing” measures, The Texas Tribune reported.