Democrats get police escorts to prevent
a new redistricting walkout as California moves to retaliate
[August 19, 2025]
By BILL BARROW, TRAN NGUYEN, FERNANDA FIGUEROA and JOHN
HANNA
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Democrats who ended a walkout Monday found
themselves shadowed by law enforcement officers to keep them from
repeating the protest that stalled Republican efforts to redraw
congressional districts and fulfill President Donald Trump's desire to
reshape U.S. House maps.
Republicans in the Texas House forced returning Democrats to sign what
the Democrats called “permission slips,” agreeing to around-the-clock
surveillance by state Department of Public Safety officers to leave the
floor. However, Democratic Rep. Nicole Collier, of Fort Worth, refused
and remained on the House floor Monday night.
The Democrats' return to Texas puts the Republican-run Legislature in
position to satisfy Trump’s demands, possibly later this week, as
California Democrats advance new congressional boundaries in
retaliation.
Lawmakers had officers posted outside their Capitol offices, and
suburban Dallas Rep. Mihaela Plesa said one tailed her on her Monday
evening drive back to her apartment in Austin after spending much of the
day on a couch in her office. She said he went with her for a staff
lunch and even down the hallway with her for restroom breaks.
“We were kind of laughing about it, to be honest, but this is really
serious stuff," Plesa said in a telephone interview. "This is a waste of
taxpayer dollars and really performative theater.”
Collier, who represents a minority-majority district, said she would not
“sign away my dignity" and allow Republicans to “control my movements
and monitor me.”
“I know these maps will harm my constituents,” she said in a statement.
"I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their
discrimination.”
2 states at the center of an expanding fight
The tit-for-tat puts the nation's two most populous states at the center
of an expanding fight over control of Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm
elections. The battle has rallied Democrats nationally following
infighting and frustrations among the party's voters since Republicans
took total control of the federal government in January.
Dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers left for Illinois and elsewhere on
Aug. 3, denying their Republican colleagues the attendance necessary to
vote on redrawn maps intended to send five more Texas Republicans to
Washington. Republicans now hold 25 of Texas’ 38 U.S. House seats.
They declared victory Friday, pointing to California's proposal intended
to increase Democrats' U.S. House advantage by five seats. Many absent
Democrats left Chicago early Monday and landed hours later at a private
airfield in Austin, where several boarded a charter bus to the Capitol.
Cheering supporters greeted them inside.
Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows did not mention redistricting on
the floor but promised swift action on the Legislature’s agenda.
“We aren’t playing around,” Republican state Rep. Matt Shaheen, whose
district includes part of the Dallas area, said in a post on the X
social media platform.
Democrats promise to keep fighting
Even as they declared victory, Democrats acknowledged Republicans can
now approve redrawn districts. Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu said
Democrats would challenge the new designs in court.
Lawmakers did not take up any bills Monday and were not scheduled to
return until Wednesday.
Trump has pressured other Republican-run states to consider
redistricting, as well, while Democratic governors in multiple
statehouses have indicated they would follow California's lead in
response. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said his state
will hold a Nov. 4 special referendum on the redrawn districts.
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Supporters for the returning Texas democrats chant as members enter
the house at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Monday, Aug. 18,
2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)
The president wants to shore up Republicans’ narrow House majority
and avoid a repeat of the midterms during his first presidency.
After gaining House control in 2018, Democrats used their majority
to stymie his agenda and twice impeach him.
Nationally, the partisan makeup of existing district lines puts
Democrats within three seats of a majority. Of the 435 total House
seats, only several dozen districts are competitive. So even slight
changes in a few states could affect which party wins control.
Redistricting typically occurs once at the beginning of each decade
after the census. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the
power to draw maps. California is among those that empower
independent commissions, giving Newsom an additional hurdle.
California Democrats start redrawing process
Democratic legislators introduced new California maps Monday. It was
the first official move toward the fall referendum asking voters to
override the independent commission's work after the 2020 census.
The proposed boundaries would replace current ones through 2030.
Democrats said they will return the mapmaking power to the
commission after that.
State Republicans promised lawsuits.
Democrats hold 43 out of California's 52 U.S. House seats. The
proposal would try to expand that advantage by targeting
battleground districts in Northern California, San Diego and Orange
counties, and the Central Valley. Some Democratic incumbents also
get more left-leaning voters in their districts.
“We don’t want this fight, but with our democracy on the line, we
cannot run away from this fight,” said Democrat Marc Berman, a
California Assembly member who previously chaired the elections
committee.
Republicans expressed opposition in terms that echoed Democrats in
Austin, accusing the majority of abusing power. Sacramento
Republicans said they will introduce legislation advocating
independent redistricting commissions in all states.
Texas' governor jumped to the president's aid
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott launched the expanding battle when
he heeded Trump's wishes and added redistricting to an initial
special session agenda that included multiple issues, including a
package responding to devastating floods that killed more than 130
people last month.
Abbott has blamed Democrats' absence for delaying action on those
measures. Democrats have answered that Abbott is responsible because
he effectively linked the hyper-partisan matter to nonpartisan flood
relief.
Abbott, Burrows and other Republicans tried various threats and
legal maneuvers to pressure Democrats' return, including the
governor arguing that Texas judges should remove absent lawmakers
from office.
As long as they were out of state, lawmakers were beyond the reach
of the civil arrest warrants that Burrows issued. The Democrats who
returned Monday did so without being detained by law enforcement.
The lawmakers who left face fines of up to $500 for each legislative
day they missed. Burrows has insisted Democratic lawmakers also will
pay pick up the tab for law enforcement who attempted to corral them
during the walkout.
___
Barrow reported from Atlanta. Nguyen reported from Sacramento,
California. Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.
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