The Texas state House voted Monday to issue civil arrest warrants for Democratic lawmakers who have fled the state to block the Legislature from voting on a partisan redistricting plan.
In a statement shortly after, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that he would authorize the Texas Department of Public Safety to “locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans.”
The Texas House convened for mere minutes on Monday afternoon to carry out the vote. House Speaker Dustin Burrows issued a searing condemnation of the absent Democrats, accusing them of abdicating their responsibilities while promising to “immediately sign the warrants” if given the power to do so.
“They’ve shirked their responsibilities under the direction and pressure of out-of-state politicians and activists who don’t know the first thing about what’s right for Texas. To be absolutely clear, leaving the state does not stop this House from doing its work,” he said. “It only delays it, and every day this chamber is unable to act, the cost grows in response to this dereliction of duty.”
Burrows adjourned after the House voted 85-6 for the sergeant-at-arms to send for all absent members. According to The Texas Tribune, the warrants only apply within state lines, and the members will not face criminal charges if any arrests are made. Most Democratic members fled out of state to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.
Without the presence of Democrats, the Texas House of Representatives cannot reach a quorum, delaying the vote on a proposed redistricting map that would gerrymander the state and make it harder for some congressional Democrats to be reelected to their seats.
Abbott said Sunday he would expel all absent members if they did not show up for Monday’s legislative session, and potentially charge them with felonies. Abbott has yet to do either of these things — and most Democrats have written off his threats as empty.
“There is no felony in the Texas penal code for what he says. So respectfully, he’s making up some shit,” Texas State Rep. Jolanda Jones said during a press conference in New York alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul. “He’s trying to get sound bites, and he has no legal mechanism. And if he did — subpoenas from Texas don’t work in New York, so he’s going to come get us how?”
Gene Wu, the state’s House Democratic Caucus chair who spearheaded the effort to block the redistricting vote, was similarly unmoved by Abbot’s threats from Sunday.
“Frankly, Democrats say ‘Come and Take It,’” he told CNN Monday. “It’s all bluster. Sound and fury signifying nothing.”