By Elizabeth Findell

AUSTIN, Texas -- Democrats in the Texas state House fled the state Sunday afternoon, in an attempt to thwart plans by President Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott to redraw the state's congressional districts.

Abbott, a Republican, called a 30-day special session of the state legislature after requests by the White House to change the state's congressional maps to add five new Republican seats. That special session started July 21, with the new maps presented last week.

Democrats have argued that the highly-unusual mid-decade redistricting amounts to cheating, while Republicans have called it fair game and necessary to hold its national majority. Trump said in July that he wanted Republicans to pick up five more House seats in Texas after redistricting.

State Democrats posted photos of themselves boarding a chartered plane to Chicago on Sunday afternoon. They didn't say how many members left but indicated in news releases that it was enough to prevent a quorum in the House, which would be at least 51.

Rep. Ramón Romero, a Democrat from Fort Worth, posted a video on X Sunday afternoon saying he wouldn't "help pass a racist map drawn by Donald Trump and Washington, D.C. to silence the voices of Texans." The video showed him in front of a jet plane with the logo "CommuteAir" on it.

Texas Republicans vowed to take action if the House is unable to meet as scheduled Monday afternoon. "If a quorum is not present then...all options will be on the table," state House Speaker Dustin Burrows posted.

If they are in Texas, House members can be arrested by state police and forced to participate in the legislative session. They also could face the possibility of fines.

"The future of our nation is at stake," Republican state Rep. Jared Patterson posted on X. "We must send more Republicans to Congress to ensure that President Trump's America First Agenda is fully enacted."

Texas Democrats have resorted to quorum-breaks before in an effort to kill bills, most recently in 2021, when they staged a 38-day standoff against a bill to tighten election procedures across the state. House Democrats then walked out ahead of a voting deadline at the end of the state's regular legislative session and fled the state as a 30-day special session began, waiting it out in Washington, D.C. But Abbott, who has the sole power to call special sessions, immediately began a second one, and Democrats eventually returned.

Texas Republicans were initially reluctant to begin a midcycle redistricting that is set to dramatically alter district lines in Texas and potentially make some seats more competitive for incumbents. But Trump pushed hard for the move to try to add five seats before midterm elections that will affect the last two years of his term.

National Democrats cheered the efforts of their Texas members Sunday afternoon. "For too long, Donald Trump and Republicans have tried to get away with rigging the system, breaking the rules and scheming to hold on to power," Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said. "It's time to fight back."

Write to Elizabeth Findell at elizabeth.findell@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2025 18:45 ET (22:45 GMT)

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