Texas Dem lawmakers return to work after fleeing state to block redistricting vote

Texas Democrats who fled the state in order to block a vote for redistricting in the Lone Star State have returned to Austin after a two-week-long standoff against Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans involved in the effort backed by President Donald Trump to redraw congressional lines.

The Texas House Democratic Caucus said in a statement that its members returned to work on Monday “to launch the next phase in their fight against the racist gerrymander that provoked a weeks-long standoff with Governor [Greg] Abbott and President Trump," per Politico. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump suggested that redistricting in Texas could yield as many as five seats for the GOP in the House come the 2026 midterm elections.

When Abbott called for a special session to vote on a measure to redraw congressional lines, many of the Democrat state lawmakers fled the state, meaning that there was not a "quorum" present in the state legislature and that voting could not move forward. Democratic governors have been threatening to redistrict their states in response, including in California as well as New York.

Trump has pushed for other redistricting efforts in Missouri as well as Indiana. The Democrats said that they would end the standoff and return to Texas only if the legislature ended the special session for a redistricting vote and that California start its own. On Friday, both of those conditions were met, leading to their return to the state, per Politico.

The lawmakers will have to pay hundreds of dollars in fines for breaking quorum and a legal fight is also set to ensue after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to remove those who did not return to their posts.

Newsom announced California’s effort to redistrict last week, where he said, "We will affirm our commitment to the state independent redistricting after the 2030 census, but we're asking the voters for their consent to do midterm redistricting in 2026, 2028, and 2030 for the congressional maps to respond to what's happening in Texas, to respond what Trump is trying to excite."