Texas House Republicans on Monday issued civil arrest warrants for more than 50 Democratic representatives who slipped across state lines to deny the chamber a quorum for debating new redistricting maps, thrusting the legislature into its second walk-out crisis in four years.
The warrants, signed by House Speaker Dustin Burrows and enforceable only within Texas, instruct the Department of Public Safety to detain absent members and return them to the Capitol in Austin. Governor Greg Abbott has also ordered troopers to “assist in the arrests” and said he may call successive 30-day special sessions if the stalemate drags on.
Democrats, now scattered across Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, say the Republican-drawn maps would erode the voting power of minority communities that drove most of the state’s population growth over the past decade.
“My district is majority-minority, and these political games hurt people like mine,” Representative Jessica Gonzalez told reporters in Chicago.
Under House rules adopted in 2023, each lawmaker who breaks quorum faces a fine of $500 a day. Prof Matthew Wilson of Southern Methodist University said removing elected members from office would be “unprecedented” and questioned whether law-enforcement agencies in Democratic-run states would comply with any extradition requests.
Republican leaders counter that the walk-out is delaying unrelated measures, including flood-relief funding, although no such bill has yet reached the floor. They accuse Democrats of trying to thwart efforts backed by President Donald Trump to secure at least five additional Republican seats in the U.S. House through mid-term redistricting.
The current special session expires on 19 August, but Mr Abbott has signalled he will restart the clock until the maps pass.
A previous Democratic exodus in 2021 lasted nearly five weeks before members returned and a voting-restrictions bill was approved.
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Texas Republicans approved a Trump-backed congressional map aimed at flipping five Democratic-held U.S. House seats, ending a two-week Democratic walkout that temporarily blocked the measure.
FBI Director Kash Patel has approved his request for the bureau to assist in locating Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a GOP-backed mid-decade redistricting plan, though no agents have yet been deployed, according to Senator John Cornyn on 7 August.
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.
The death toll from the devastating floods in Texas has reached 131, with heavy rain forecast again just 10 days after the Hill Country disaster according to local authorities.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
Kuwait says oil prices will likely stay below $72 per barrel as OPEC monitors global supply trends and U.S. policy signals. The remarks come during market uncertainty fueled by new U.S. tariffs on India and possible sanctions on Russia.
A major fire has broken out at Hamburg’s city port, leaving several people injured.
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North Korea has criticised the joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, with state media reporting that the drills demonstrate Washington’s intent to “occupy” the Korean peninsula and target its regional adversaries.
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