(Headline USA) Texas Democrats still refused to return to the state Capitol on Saturday as Gov. Greg Abbott began a third attempt at passing new election laws, prolonging a monthslong standoff that ramped up in July when dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left the state and hunkered down in Washington, D.C.
“A quorum is not present,” said Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan, who then adjourned the chamber until Monday.
More than 50 Democrats last month bolted to the nation’s capital, but the precise whereabouts of each of them is unclear. In a joint statement Saturday, Democrats said 26 of them would remain “part of an active presence in Washington maintained for as long as Congress is working.”
Critics on Twitter have repeatedly blasted the Texas Democrats, especially after news broke the Dems said they are suing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Texas Democrats who left their jobs to pander to Washington bureaucrats are suing Governor Abbott because they’ve been “deprived of liberty” and “suffered anxiety and distress.”
You can’t make this up.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 7, 2021
Please pray for these heroic Texas Democrats as they suffer away from home, in Portugal. Perhaps consider sending them a care package? https://t.co/J2Brn2872V
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 4, 2021
.@AOC & @CoriBush have a message for Washington and the @texasdemocrats who fled to DC instead of staying for the Special Session in TX.
It’s time to go home and do your job of representing the people who elected you.#TXLege pic.twitter.com/JrcQylRQpx
— Heritage Action (@Heritage_Action) August 7, 2021
A testament to the mental fragility and abject professional disinterest on the part of Texas Democrats.
Texans, if you think this is a valuable use of your taxpayer dollars, you’ve got a chance to say so in November 2022.
I hope you don’t forget this saga. https://t.co/9fmyeyyhsx
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) August 7, 2021
But there were also signs the stalemate may be thawing. Two of the Democrats who decamped last month returned to Austin Saturday, and one of them said enough of his colleagues may also begin trickling back to secure a quorum next week. And, notably, Republicans did not invoke a procedural move that would give Phelan the authority to sign arrest warrants for missing lawmakers, as they did when the Democrats left town.
Republican state. Rep. Jim Murphy, chairman of the House Republican Caucus, also believed that more Democrats would come back in the coming days.
“People are talking to their friends, and we think we’re going to see quite a few more,” he said.
Heading into the weekend, Democratic leaders had not committed to sitting out the entire 30-day session, leaving open the possibility that enough could return at some point to end the standoff. Republicans want to advance an overhaul of elections in Texas under legislation that largely remains the same despite the months of walkouts and protests by Democratic lawmakers.
Texas would ban 24-hour polling locations, drive-thru voting and give partisan poll watchers more access under the bill that Republicans were on the brink of passing in May. But that effort was foiled by Democrats abruptly leaving the Capitol in a late-night walkout.
Democrats made a bigger gambit — by decamping to Washington on chartered jets — to run out the clock on the GOP’s second try. Democrats had hoped to exert pressure on President Joe Biden and Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation, but a Senate Republican filibuster continues to block such a measure.
Democrat Jasmine Crockett, one of the state representatives remaining in Washington, said she would be disappointed if enough of her colleagues returned to give Republicans a quorum next week. She said their group is not “naive” and knows they don’t have the votes to permanently hold off passage of a bill in Texas, but are still hoping for movement in Congress.
“I’m not giving up on anything. I’m not going home until the fat lady sings,” Crockett said.
Biden never met with the Texas Democrats in Washington. The group was quickly forced to change some plans after several of their members tested positive for COVID-19. Reports that two Democrats snuck away to Europe also led to bad headlines and invited mockery from Republicans back home.
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
