Republican Dustin Burrows, Speaker of the Texas House, said Monday that he’s prepared to issue civil arrest warrants for Democratic lawmakers who left Texas to try to prevent the Republican-led Legislature from redrawing the state’s congressional districts.
Burrows, urged Democrats to return to “fulfill your duty.”
“If you continue to go down this road, there will be consequences,” he said.
Moments later, a motion passed in the Texas House to issue arrest warrants for Democrats who fled out of state. It was not immediately clearly whether those can or will be enforced beyond Texas borders.
Texas Democrats stalled the push by President Donald Trump and state Republicans to advance a redrawn congressional map aimed at bolstering GOP prospects in the 2026 midterms as Trump’s political standing weakens.
After dozens of Democrats left the state, the Republican‑controlled House failed to reach the quorum needed to conduct business. Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to remove some absent Democrats from their seats; a move the minority party says exceeds his legal authority. Democrats accused Abbott of using “smoke and mirrors” to justify the threat.
Burrows said on the House floor in Austin, “In response to this dereliction of duty, and pursuant to the rules of the house, I am prepared to recognize a motion to place a call on the house and any other motions necessary to compel the return of absent members. Should such a motion prevail, I will immediately sign the warrants for the civil arrest of the members who have said they will not be here.”
He continued, “Come back and fulfill your duty, because this House will not sit quietly, while you obstruct the work of the people. The people of Texas are watching. And so is the nation. And if you choose to continue down this road, you should know there will be consequences.”
The Texas House is now adjourned until Tuesday, August 5 at 1 p.m.
The standoff between Texas Democrats and Abbott has widened into a national fight over congressional maps, drawing in Democratic governors who have hinted at redrawing their own states’ districts in retaliation, despite limited authority to do so.
The clash underscores Trump’s aggressive approach to presidential power and his influence over the GOP, while testing the balance of power between states and Washington. At stake for Trump is the chance to add five GOP‑leaning seats in Texas ahead of the 2026 midterms, potentially cementing the party’s narrow U.S. House majority; Republicans now hold 25 of the state’s 38 seats.
Abbott on Monday defended the effort on Fox News, saying the Supreme Court has ruled it legal for the majority party to shape districts, briefly calling the move “gerrymandering” before reframing it as “drawing lines.”
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul joined Texas Democrats in calling for the fight to be taken nationwide.
“We’re not going to tolerate our democracy being stolen in a modern-day stagecoach heist by bunch of law-breaking cowboys,” Hochul said Monday, flanked by several of the lawmakers who left Texas. “If Republicans are willing to rewrite rules to give themselves an advantage, then they’re leaving us with no choice: We must do the same. You have to fight fire with fire.”
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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