A Texas House Democrat will remain in the chamber building until the legislative body reconvenes on Wednesday after she refused to sign off on a mandatory escort by law enforcement.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Republican, has required that Democrats who broke quorum earlier this month be escorted by state troopers to leave the House chamber. Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier has refused the plan, saying she does not agree to the monitoring of state legislators.
“I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts,” Collier said in a statement.
She referred to herself as a “political prisoner” for refusing Republican “surveillance protocol.”
“My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation. When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents — I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination,” Collier’s statement continued.
Texas House Democrats returned to the state Monday after leaving two weeks ago to deny their Republican counterparts a quorum to vote on a new congressional map that would favor the Republican Party. Burrows said the police monitor would “ensure your return Wednesday at 10 a.m.”
The majority of the Texas House Democrats complied with the law enforcement escort on Monday. They showed reporters their “permission slips,” which they received to leave the Texas House floor.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Burrows, and other state Republicans have endorsed arresting the lawmakers who left the state. Paxton has said they should be hunted down and ousted from office.
“The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant,” Paxton said in an Aug. 8 statement. “These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold.”
REDISTRICTING WARS THREATEN TO MAKE CONGRESS MORE PARTISAN
Burrows had signed civil arrest warrants for Democrats who left the state, but officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety could not carry out those warrants because they were out of state.
President Donald Trump has demanded that Texas redraw its map to make five GOP-leaning seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. His pressure has sent off a nationwide gerrymandering flurry. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has said California will move to redistrict its map, but only if Texas moves forward with its plan.