Texas Democrats who left their state to block Lone Star State Republicans from engineering a GOP-friendly remap joined Sen. Dick Durbin Monday in renouncing President Donald Trump’s remarks that the GOP was “entitled” to five more seats in the Texas House.
“It is an outrage,” Durbin said during a news conference in Edison Park with Texas Democratic state lawmakers, who have sought refuge in Illinois. “The reason he’s doing it cannot be ignored. The ‘Big Beautiful budget,’ which passed in Congress with all Republican votes, was planned by President Trump to change America in a way it doesn’t want to be changed.”
Dozens of Texas Democratic legislators recently left Texas and arrived in blue states like Illinois to deny Republicans a quorum needed to approve proposed congressional maps ahead of next year’s midterm election. The redistricting would disenfranchise Black and Latino voters and wipe minority-majority districts, the Texas Democrats say.
The Texas House of Representatives has issued civil arrest warrants for lawmakers who left the state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also ordered state troopers to search for and arrest the representatives.
Texas Rep. Josey Garcia, who is a U.S. Air Force veteran and the first woman veteran to serve in the Texas House, said state troopers have shown up multiple times to her residence in San Antonio while her husband and children were at home.
“Imagine my surprise when I found myself being hunted by my own state government,” Garcia said. “Imagine my surprise when upholding the Constitution of the United States of America has been what’s made me public enemy number one in the state of Texas.”
Texas Rep. Mihaela Plesa said the legislators who left for different states are standing their ground for the sake of their constituents, and won’t back down.
“We know exactly what we’re fighting for, and we don’t take our marching orders from a man who thinks he’s a king,” Plesa said, referring to Trump.
Durbin was scheduled Aug. 6 to speak alongside Texas Democrats, but that press conference was canceled after a bomb threat was reported at the St. Charles hotel some of the democratic lawmakers were staying at.
Texas lawmakers faced another bomb threat to their hotel last Wednesday. In both instances, guests were evacuated safely and no explosives were found.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and New York and California state officials have threatened to propose their own redistricting maps in reaction to the moves made by Texas Republicans and Trump.
Durbin said the Texas redistricting controversy is an issue not limited to the Lone Star State.
“This is an American issue, where we have to stand together for the families of this country,” Durbin said.
The special session called by House Republicans in Texas is set to end on Aug. 19. If Abbott calls another special session, Texas Democrats said it should be to vote on providing aid for victims of the flash floods that occurred over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and killed over 100 people.
“If Gov. Abbott says he will take care of the people of Texas first,” said Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, “We’ll be back. All we want him to do is actually listen to the people and do what they ask.”