**TEXAS HOUSE DEMOCRATS WILL DENY QUORUM, DEPART STATE TO FIGHT
GOV. ABBOTT’S INACTION ON FLOOD RELIEF AND TRUMP TEXAS TAKEOVER**
After weeks of public outcry, House Democrats stand with Texans to reject racist gerrymander and fight for families still recovering from deadly floods
**AUSTIN, TX — **Today, Texas House Democrats are taking the extraordinary and necessary step of leaving the state to deny quorum, creating a firewall against an unprecedented crisis of inaction created by Governor Greg Abbott’s dereliction of duty and his submission to Donald Trump’s demands.
For two weeks, while families in the Hill Country mourned the loss of over 130 Texans in catastrophic floods, Democrats fought to make their relief the legislature’s top priority. Instead, Governor Abbott and Republican leadership used the tragedy as political cover, ramming through a corrupt, racially-motivated mid-decade redistricting plan designed to silence millions of Black and Latino voters and steal five congressional seats for Donald Trump.
After thousands of Texans testified against this corrupt bargain in hearings across the state, their pleas were ignored. House Democrats have been left with no other option than to use the only tool available to stop this assault on our democracy and on the people of Texas.
“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” said Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu. “Governor Abbott has turned the victims of a historic tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump. He is using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal. Apathy is complicity, and we will not be complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal.”
New polling confirms what last week’s hearings made evident: Texans overwhelmingly oppose this takeover. An independent poll released Friday by the bi-partisan RABA Research firm found that only 15% of Texans believe redistricting should be a priority right now, and nearly 70% say it’s unfair for politicians to redraw district lines to choose their voters.
At any other time, elected leaders would see this kind of opposition and change course, but these are not normal times. Abbott and Trump know their policies are unpopular, and they’re trying to rig the system in 2025 because they know they can’t win in 2026.
“We’re leaving Texas to fight for Texans,” said Chair Wu. “We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander. We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent. As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”
A press conference is scheduled for 7:15PM after Texas House Democrats land which will be led by Rep. Wu. For more information, visit RiggedRedistricting.com.