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By Gabe Whisnant
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Texas Republican leaders said Tuesday they are prepared to end their current stalemated special session and immediately start another, prolonging their confrontation with Democrats over the GOP's effort to redraw congressional maps at the direction of President Donald Trump.
Why It Matters
The announcement marks the latest sign that Trump's push to reconfigure congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections is set to become a prolonged fight, potentially unfolding in multiple statehouses under both Republican and Democratic control.
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What To Know
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows confirmed the plan during a brief session Tuesday morning that again failed to meet the quorum required for official business. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers have left the state in an effort to block what they call a partisan gerrymander aimed at cementing GOP power before the next election cycle.
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Burrows told members from the House floor that lawmakers would not attempt to reconvene until Friday. If Democrats are still absent — and they have given no indication they plan to return — Republicans will end the current session, and Gov. Greg Abbott will immediately call another.
Abbott, a close Trump ally, confirmed his intentions in a written statement. "The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans," Abbott wrote. "There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed."
Abbott had convened the current session with a wide-ranging agenda that included disaster relief for recent floods that killed more than 130 people. Democrats walked out after Abbott added Trump's redistricting proposal to the list. While Burrows did not mention redistricting on Tuesday, he criticized Democrats for skipping debate on the flood relief package.
The proposed redistricting plan would reshape Texas' congressional map to add five Republican-leaning districts, part of Trump's broader effort to strengthen the party's narrow U.S. House majority. Nationally, Democrats are within three seats of reclaiming control, with only several dozen competitive districts among the 435 total.
What People Are Saying
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ratcheted up President Trump's redistricting fight by calling Tuesday for progressive activist Beto O'Rourke to be put "behind bars" for helping Democrats who have managed to block the GOP's gerrymandering efforts with an extended walkout: "It's time to lock him up," Paxton said in a fiery written statement.
O'Rourke denied any wrongdoing and called the attorney general a "corrupt, lying thug."
Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu said in a statement: "We said we would defeat Abbott's first corrupt special session, and that's exactly what we're doing."
What Happens Next
Texas Republicans have issued civil warrants for the absent Democrats, but because they are out of state, they remain beyond the reach of Texas law enforcement. Burrows said Tuesday those lawmakers should bear the full cost of efforts to locate them, noting that "state troopers and others have run up six figures in overtime costs" trying to bring them back.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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