Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered the arrest of elected Democrats of the Parliament on Monday on Monday who fled the state to avoid a vote on the new electoral districts that would give Donald Trump five seats at the Congress. Abbott asked the Department of Public Security of Texas (DPS) to arrest members absent from the Parliament and bring them back to Austin.
The order will remain in force until all the “missing” Democrats have been found, he wrote on social networks.
The conflict between Republicans and Democrats in Texas, which could have repercussions in the rest of the country, intensified on Monday. A parliamentary session started in Austin without the Democratic deputies. They had left the state the day before to prevent the vote on the new electoral districts for the legislative elections of 2026.
The Republicans hope to obtain additional seats in Texas in order to increase their short majority in the mid-term elections, scheduled in November 2026. The Democrats fled to the States of Illinois and New York, led by the Democrats, so that the quorum necessary to vote is not reached. They succeeded, as recognized by the Republican President of the Dustin Burrows Assembly.
It is not the first time that such a “walkout” has been held during delicate debates in Parliament. Democrats argue that the proposed changes constitute a manipulation of the electoral districts aimed at disadvantage the opposing party during the elections.
