Democratic lawmakers in Texas said on Sunday they were leaving the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, a move Republicans are seeking to protect their narrow U.S. House majority in next year's midterm elections.
At least 50 Democratic lawmakers boarded chartered flights to Washington, D.C., aiming to halt a special legislative session called to approve new voting maps that critics say heavily favour Republicans.
By leaving the state, Democrats prevent the Texas House from reaching the two-thirds quorum required to hold a vote.
“We’re not going to sit back and watch our democracy be dismantled,” said Democratic Representative Ana-Maria Ramos.
President Donald Trump has championed the redistricting plan, telling reporters he expects the effort to yield as many as five additional House Republicans. Republicans hold a narrow 220-212 majority in the House of Representatives, with three Democratic-held seats vacant after members' deaths.
Republicans accused their rivals of abandoning their duties and vowed to press ahead with redistricting plans once the lawmakers return.
Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest the lawmakers upon their re-entry to Texas.
"Democrats hatched a deliberate plan not to show up for work, for the specific purpose of abdicating the duties of their office and thwarting the chamber’s business", the Governor said in his statement, adding that leaving amounted to an abandonment of the office.
The walkout is the latest in a series of clashes over voting rights and political control in Texas. Democrats argue the redistricting plan would dilute minority representation and entrench Republican power for the next decade.
Redistricting takes place every 10 years and has become a flashpoint in states where control of the legislature hangs in the balance. Similar standoffs have occurred in past years, but this marks one of the most dramatic walkouts in recent memory.
Under the current lines, Republicans control 25 seats, nearly two-thirds of the districts in a state that went for Trump last year by a 56% to 42% margin.
Redistricting experts have said the plan could backfire if Republicans try to squeeze too many seats out of what is already considered a significantly skewed map.
The U.S. will impose "never seen before" measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, Washington's Treasury Secreta...
Record rainfall in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture has killed four people and left thousands stranded overnight at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, as ...
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province. A man died of the v...
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
Record rainfall in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture has killed four people and left thousands stranded overnight at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, as torrential rain disrupted rail, bus and texi services across the prefracture and left more than 20,000 households without power.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province. A man died of the virus in Bas-Uélé in the north, the African Union’s health agency said.
At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine last month, according to UN investigators, marking the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since March 2022.
President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Navy to abandon its next planned electromagnetic aircraft launch system and return to steam-powered catapults on a future aircraft carrier, while also authorising limited overseas ship construction to help address naval capacity shortfalls.
A diplomatic dispute has erupted between Cuba and the Dominican Republic after Santo Domingo ordered the withdrawal of several Cuban diplomats and their family members, prompting a sharp response from Havana.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment