Texas Democrats flee state to block Republican-led congressional map proposal backed by Trump

More than two dozen Texas Democrats are leaving the state in an effort to block a controversial vote scheduled for Monday that could result in the creation of five new Republican-leaning seats in the US House of Representatives.

Around 30 Democratic lawmakers are reportedly heading to Illinois, where they plan to remain for a week. Their departure is intended to deny the Republican-controlled House the quorum needed to proceed with the vote on redrawing the congressional map.

In a strongly worded statement, the Texas Democrats accused their Republican counterparts of “cowardly surrendering” to Donald Trump’s push for a redistricting plan designed to cement Republican influence and “advance his disastrous policies”.

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“By denying Trump’s loyalists a quorum, Texas Democratic lawmakers are blocking his redistricting agenda,” the statement declared.

The plan to flee the state is said to have been coordinated with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who met with the Texas Democratic caucus last month and has directed his staff to provide them with logistical support during their stay.

The redistricting proposal has drawn fierce criticism, with Democrats accusing Texas Governor Greg Abbott of using disaster relief as leverage. They claim he delayed aid to victims of last month’s Guadalupe River flooding to pressure lawmakers into backing the redrawn map.

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“We’re leaving Texas to stand up for Texans,” said Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus. “We won’t allow disaster relief to be held hostage for the sake of Trump’s gerrymandering plan.”

Wu added, “We’re not abandoning our duties—we’re walking out on a rigged system that ignores the voices of those we represent. As far as we’re concerned, this corrupt special session is now over.”

The newly proposed map, unveiled last week by Texas Republicans, is designed to strengthen the GOP’s grip in next year’s midterm elections. It aims to carve out five additional Republican-leaning districts, particularly targeting Democratic strongholds in Austin, Dallas and Houston, as well as two closely contested districts in South Texas.