Texas House Democrats are now openly signaling their potential intention to break quorum during the upcoming special session, reviving a controversial tactic last used in 2021.
The Texas House Democrat Caucus has launched a new website, StopTheTexasSteal.com, which accuses Republicans of attempting to “exploit tragedy to silence Texas voters” through a redistricting effort included on Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session agenda. The website declares that Democrats are considering breaking quorum to halt the agenda.
“We won’t let Republicans exploit tragedy to silence Texas voters,” the statement reads. “We’re preparing our members to use every tool available—including breaking quorum if necessary—to force Abbott to focus on flood relief instead of Trump’s power grab.”
With 62 Democrats in the 150-member Texas House, at least 50 would need to break quorum to deny the chamber of its two-thirds requirement to conduct business.
The rhetoric echoes recent comments from national Democrats, including U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who this week accused Abbott and Republicans of using redistricting to “rig the Texas congressional map” instead of focusing on recovery from the devastating Hill Country floods.
President Donald Trump has called for new maps to produce five additional Republican congressional seats in Texas.
Adding fuel to the fire, State Rep. Ron Reynolds, chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, penned an op-ed saying, “I am ready, willing, and able to get into good trouble by breaking quorum when justice is on the line.”
The Texas Legislature is set to convene for a special session on July 21. If Democrats follow through on their threat to flee the state, it would mark the third time in two decades—and the second in four years—that they’ve attempted to halt the legislative process over redistricting or election legislation.
The question now turns to whether Republicans, and Gov. Abbott, will respond differently this time.
