With Texas expected to end its first special legislative session Friday and immediately begin a new one, the dozens of Democratic legislators who fled the state to block Republicans’ redistricting proposal are hammering out a plan for their return home.
Texas Democrats met late into the night Tuesday then again Wednesday, including breaking into smaller groups, to discuss their next steps and what their ultimate exit strategy looked like after spending the last 10 days out of the state, according to four sources close to the talks.
But those sources said the lawmakers do not yet have full consensus on an exit plan. “It’s hard to get folks on the same page,” said one of the sources, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party strategy.
Still, there does appear to be agreement on one point: The Democrats won’t come back to Austin until Republicans officially bring the first special session to a close. They’re beginning to describe their ability to block Republicans from passing their new map that could net the party as many as five seats in the U.S. House during the first special session as proof of victory.
Republican leaders in Texas have promised to call “special session after special session,” and they need just a handful of Democrats to relent in order to achieve a quorum so they can move forward with their redistricting plan. In a sign of Democrats’ limited option, the GOP-led state Senate was still able to pass the plan this week because Senate Democrats couldn’t get their entire 11-member delegation to break quorum.
So while it appears likely Democrats will succeed in delaying the process enough to force a second special session, there is an acknowledgement among the caucus that their protest will need to come to an end some point soon.
“From the get go, they knew they were never going to stay out of Texas forever. People didn’t expect them to. The goal that the smartest among them set was: We need to bring national attention to this issue so other states are ready to counter if Republicans really do this,” one aide to a Texas House Democrat breaking quorum told NBC News.
“They’ve done that. That’s as much as anyone could expect — they are a minority in a legislature, but the entire country turned their attention to this issue. And the fact that California and New York are now considering redrawing their maps [in response to Texas] is a win,” continued the aide.
The aide added that while it’s “hard” to strike a victorious message if Republicans ultimately enact the new maps, as expected, it’s incumbent on Democrats across the country to drive the point home.
“This is a communications battle. When you’re in the minority, what you have is a bullhorn and an ability to draw attention to issues. Eventually, the majority will vote. That’s democracy,” the aide said.
More than 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers have been out of the state since the beginning of August, depriving state Republicans of the minimum number of lawmakers needed to consider legislation. Republicans have been clear that their plan is strictly about politics.
State Sen. Phil King, a Fort Worth-area Republican who helms the chamber’s special redistricting committee, said Tuesday before the Senate passed the plan that while his first objective for a new map is “that it be legal, the second objective is to support a plan that, simply put, elects more Republicans to the U.S. Congress.”
President Donald Trump has been similarly blunt, telling CNBC last week that his party is “entitled to five more seats.”
Democrats have pointed to those comments to justify their decision to abscond, arguing that the plan is a naked power grab that will also harm the representation of minority communities.
As the quorum break has stretched on, lawmakers and their aides have begun to telegraph that they’re considering an off ramp — and setting the stage for what a victory lap might look like. The state House Democratic delegation released a statement Tuesday that lacked specifics, but acknowledged an exit plan is being discussed.
A new statement Wednesday revealed how Democrats are defining victory: “In keeping with our original promise to Texans, the First Called Special session will never make quorum again,” state Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Wu declared, before applauding how “blue states nationwide are mobilized and ready to act if Abbott moves forward.”
“Texas House Democrats will issue our demands for a second special session on Friday. Abbott can choose to govern for Texas families, or he can keep serving Trump and face the consequences we’ve unleashed nationwide,” Wu added.
Republicans have pointed out that the state legislature has not been able to consider any legislation without enough Democrats present, including a relief package for the July 4 floods outside of San Antonio that killed 130 people.
“Every hour you remain away is time stolen from those Texans in need. Each one of you knows that eventually you will come back, and we will pass the priorities of the special session,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows said last Friday. “But with each passing day, the political cost of your absence is rising, and it will be paid in full.”
But Democrats have criticized Republicans for prioritizing the redistricting legislation. They argue that GOP Gov. Greg Abbott could narrowly focus a special session on flood relief before turning to redistricting or could even take action unilaterally.
Texas Democratic strategist Luke Warford told NBC News in an interview shortly before the quorum break began that the true measure of success for Democrats will be about forcing Republicans to pay political consequences since they are in control of the legislature.
“The job of Democrats is to tell the story to people about what is happening, about how craven the Republican actions are, and about how they are trying to rig the system,” said Warford, who started a group called the Agave Democratic Infrastructure Fund to help fund the party’s ecosystem in the state.
“Our job here is to slow things down, and make it hurt, and to tell the story to Texas voters,” he added.
