Democrats say they’re keeping everything on the table, from filibusters to quorum breaks, to interfere with a mid-decade redistricting effort.
DALLAS — Tensions flared at the Texas Capitol Monday as lawmakers returned for a special session sharply divided over what should take priority: disaster mitigation and relief or a controversial redistricting effort.
Democrats insist that nothing should come before addressing the deadly flooding that killed more than 130 people earlier this month.
But Republicans, following the lead of the White House, have set their sights on redrawing the state’s congressional maps—an unusual mid-decade move aimed at tightening their party’s grip on Congress.
Within hours of the session’s start, the Senate debated a resolution to create a redistricting committee.
“This is appalling. It’s embarrassing,” said State Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas. “We should just tell Washington, D.C., no—we have more important things to do.”
House Democrats echoed the sentiment in a letter to Speaker Dustin Burrows, pledging to withhold cooperation.
“House Democrats refuse to engage in any other legislative work until after adequate flood relief and disaster mitigation legislation are passed and signed by the Governor,” the letter said.
In a news conference alongside House Democrats inside the Capitol, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, said his party is willing to use every procedural tool available to delay the redistricting process.
“Filibusters, dragging out hearings, quorum breaks—we’re keeping everything on the table to make sure these issues are front and center for everyday Texans,” Casar said.
But Republican consultant Alfredo Rodriguez, president of Dyce Communications, dismissed those efforts as symbolic in an episode of WFAA’s Yallitics podcast.
“They have no power to stop this. This is going to happen,” Rodriguez said. “Elections have consequences. The winner gets to decide the path of redistricting. And that’s what we’re doing here in Texas.”
Special sessions in Texas are limited to 30 days, leaving lawmakers little time to navigate competing priorities. Hearings on both issues are already underway.
On Wednesday, a joint House-Senate committee will hear invited testimony on the catastrophic July 4th weekend floods. The next day, a House committee will begin taking testimony on redistricting. That panel will also hold public hearings in Houston on Saturday and in Arlington on Monday, July 28.
Meanwhile, the flood committee will reconvene July 31 in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River claimed 107 lives—70 adults and 37 children.
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