Abbott Vows Indefinite Sessions, Arrest Threat Over Texas Redistricting Walkout

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday he will keep calling 30-day special sessions of the Legislature "again and again" until House Democrats who left the state return to vote on a Republican-drafted congressional redistricting plan. The Republican governor warned that the impasse "could literally last years." Roughly 50 of the 150 Texas House members—all Democrats—have decamped to other states, denying the chamber the 100-member quorum needed to conduct business. Abbott said anyone who re-enters Texas will be "arrested and taken to the Capitol" under civil warrants authorized by House rules. In addition to arrest warrants, absent lawmakers face a $500-per-day fine and suspension of direct-deposit pay until they resume duty. Abbott added that if the boycott continues he may seek to enlarge the redistricting map further, potentially giving Republicans as many as six additional congressional seats.