Texas Democrats are refusing to return by Governor Abbott’s 3 pm.
On Sunday evening, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) threatened to remove from office Democrat lawmakers who fled to Illinois to block GOP Congressional redistricting.
Texas Democrats fled the state to block the Republicans in the legislature from holding a special session and to block a redistricting vote on Sunday.
The Texas Democrats reportedly fled to Illinois to break quorum to block the Texas House from holding a vote in a special session.
The new congressional map will add five GOP House seats.
Governor Abbott is not messing around.
“Democrats hatched a deliberate plan not to show up for work, for the specific purpose of abdicating the duties of their office and thwarting the chamber’s business. That amounts to an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office,” Abbot said.
Governor Abbott confirmed that Texas House Democrats who remain absent and refuse to vote on the newly proposed GOP-backed congressional map could be prosecuted for second‑degree felony bribery estimates, or see their seats forcibly vacated and special elections called.
“So, very simply, it would be bribery if any lawmaker took money to perform—or to refuse to perform—an act in the legislature. And the reports are these legislators have been both… they sought money, and they offered money to skip the vote, to leave the legislature, to take a legislative act. That would be bribery. And so, the facts will have to come out. But I think, based upon comments made by legislators themselves, they face a possibility of facing bribery charges, which is a second-degree felony in the state of Texas,” Abbott told Fox News host Dana Perino.
“There’s one way to cure that, and that is: if they get back to the state of Texas and make quorum today at a hearing that we have at three o’clock, they can cure themselves of any quid pro quo that would subject them to potential bribery charges,” Abbott said.
The Texas Democrats are still in Illinois and reportedly holding a press conference this evening.
WATCH:
BREAKING: Texas House Democrats will NOT be returning by Gov. Abbott’s 3pm CT deadline
They’re attempting to BLOCK the new U.S. House Maps by fleeing the state.
Time to move to VACATE THEIR OFFICES, Gov. Abbott! They’ve ABANDONED their seats pic.twitter.com/hVkMVVa59F
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 4, 2025
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