Abbott Doubles Down on Redistricting Push With a Second Special Session as Newsom Vows To ‘Punch Back’ With New Maps

Texas lawmakers are kicking off a second special session after Democrats blocked Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting plan by fleeing the state and ensuring there was not a quorum in the state house to approve the new maps. More than 50 Democrats fled the state earlier this month to block Republicans from passing the new maps, which were expected to give the party the opportunity to pick up five seats in the House of Representatives. On Thursday, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, kicked off his campaign to pass a constitutional amendment in his liberal state to draw new maps to counteract Texas’s actions. However, the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, doubled down on his push to pass the new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms after the legislature failed to do so during a first special session that ended on Friday.In a statement, Mr. Abbott said he was calling a second special session just hours after the first one ended. “Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,” Mr. Abbott said. “Because of their dereliction of duty, Texas families and communities impacted by the catastrophic Fourth of July flooding have been delayed critical resources for relief and recovery. Numerous other bills to cut property taxes, support human trafficking survivors, eliminate the STAAR test, establish commonsense THC regulations, and many others have all been brought to a halt because Democrats refuse to show up for work. We will not back down from this fight.”The decision session was officially scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. on Friday. However, many Democrats were still camped out in other states, meaning Republicans would not have the required number of members present to conduct business.It appears that the stand-off may be ending as Texas Democrats signaled they would return after the end of the first special session and once California’s lawmakers unveiled their new maps. The Texas house speaker, Dustin Burrows, said that he believes there will be a quorum on Monday. However, he sent a warning to the Democrats who fled the state and seemed to imply they might face action to enforce the civil arrest warrants that were issued when they first fled the state. “Those who have refused to make quorum, I’m sure you’re missing home,” Mr. Burrows said. “Do not think you have permission to return to Texas and enjoy a peaceful weekend before finally showing up to work.”The beginning of the second special session comes a day after Mr. Newsom held a rally at Los Angeles and vowed to “fight fire with fire.”California Democrats are expected to vote on the new maps as early as next week, which could give their party the chance to win five more House seats to counteract Texas’s maps. The new California maps will have to be approved by voters in a special election in November. Mr. Newsom insisted that his plan to redraw California’s congressional districts in time for next year’s midterms is more transparent and democratic than the move by Republicans in Texas, as the maps will be put up for a vote as a constitutional amendment, leaving it up to Californians to approve them. After the 2030 census, the state’s independent redistricting commission will resume its job of drawing congressional maps.

Abbott Doubles Down on Redistricting Push With a Second Special Session as Newsom Vows To ‘Punch Back’ With New Maps

Abbott Doubles Down on Redistricting Push With a Second Special Session as Newsom Vows To ‘Punch Back’ With New Maps

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