Joined by Greg Casar, demonstrators protested the redistricting push and Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to remove the Texas Democrats who broke quorum from the House.
AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott is directing DPS troopers to find, arrest and return Democratic state lawmakers to the Texas Capitol.
More than 50 Texas Democrats are hundreds of miles away in Illinois. They’re trying to block new congressional maps that could give Republicans five more U.S. House seats. Their absence broke quorum, which prevents the Texas House from doing business.
On Monday night, dozens of Democrats rallied outside the Governor’s Mansion in Downtown Austin. They protested both the redistricting push and Abbott’s threat to remove the Texas Democrats who broke quorum from the House.
Those Democrats face fines of $500 a day and could be forced back to the Capitol by state troopers if they return to Texas. The members who left may have to pay that money out of their own pockets for being gone.
Congressman Greg Casar put on the protest, joined by the fellow Austin Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
The group held signs and chanted as they marched near the Governor’s Mansion.
Under the proposed redistricting map, some Austin-area congressional districts would undergo significant changes. That district is currently represented by Casar, but under the proposed map, he would have to face off with Doggett, who represents the current District 37.
“They’re trying to suppress the votes of Black and brown Austinites right now under this map,” Casar said. “We won’t let that happen, because if they’re able to suppress the votes of Austinites under Trump’s plan, soon enough, they’ll try to suppress the votes of all Americans.”
Abbott also claims some absent members may be breaking bribery laws by soliciting funds to help cover the fines. On Monday afternoon, he directed the Texas Rangers to investigate the Democrats for possible violations.
“Greg Abbott is saying that he wants to create a single-party state here in Texas by removing all of the Democrats from office,” Casar said. “That’s never happened in the state of Texas, and we’re not going to let it happen here.”
Our KVUE team captured video of the sergeant-at-arms and her lieutenants going door to door to lawmakers’ offices in the Capitol on Monday afternoon to check if the Democratic lawmakers were there. They were not, since they are out of state.
“I am disappointed that while these members are here reporting for their duty under the Constitution, others are out of the state in New York, in Chicago, in places they do not represent,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) said.
“While our work may be delayed, whether it’s tomorrow or next week, the House will complete its required duties,” he added.
Burrows said the lawmakers should be at the Capitol in Austin to address issues such as helping flood victims and ending the STAAR test.
“I am very hopeful and optimistic they will come,” Burrows said. “I know that they believe in a lot of the work that we’re doing, and we will continue to have open lines of communication.”
The House will be back in session on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Speaker Burrows said he hopes to see more Democrats present then, but there is no indication that will be the case.
In the Texas Senate on Monday, state Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford) filed a proposed new congressional map identical to the House’s map. It is set for hearings on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the Texas Capitol.