Texas state House Democrats who fled the state to Washington, D.C., to block a Republican election reform bill during a special legislative session have few victories to show for their weekslong awareness campaign.
Instead of convincing the Senate to pass the For the People Act or other voting rights legislation, the Texas Democrats fractured their party, hurt their influence in the state House, and face arrest if they returned to the state while still resisting the House chamber.
One of the most tangible changes prompted by their trip is bringing awareness to the prevalence of breakthrough coronavirus cases among vaccinated people. Several of the legislators tested positive once in the city, as did some White House and congressional staff who came in contact with them.
The lawmakers did accomplish their symbolic goal, though. More than 50 of the Texas state House Democrats successfully denied quorum through the end of a 30-day special session called by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, preventing consideration of a bill that would ban drive-thru voting, empower partisan poll watchers, and strengthen absentee ballot identification requirements.
WORKING HARD? TEXAS FUGITIVE DEMOCRATS IN WASHINGTON INSIST TRIP IS NO VACATION
“It’s something very few — especially back in Texas, back in Austin — thought would be successful for a week, much less for weeks,” state Rep. Chris Turner, leader of the Texas House Democrats, said at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol last week.
Texas Democrats are eager to report wins. The state party distributed a list of accomplishments achieved during the special session, including meeting with many top national Democrats to include Vice President Kamala Harris, creating coalitions and rallies, and laying “the groundwork” for a voting rights bill introduced by Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
But the Democrats are starting to crack, and negative repercussions from the trip are becoming clear.
True to his pledge to keep calling special legislative sessions until his priorities are passed, Abbott called another session immediately.
More than half of the lawmakers who spent weeks in a downtown Washington hotel left as of Sunday, NBC reported — not enough to keep breaking quorum. A quorum requires at least 100 of the 150 lawmakers in the House to be present for business, requiring at least 51 of the 67 Democrats in the chamber to stay away, assuming full Republican attendance.
A judge in Austin on Sunday issued a restraining order preventing the arrest of the Democrats that would force them back into the chamber to vote, giving hope to lawmakers they could return to the state, their homes, and their jobs while still avoiding the House floor and breaking quorum without being arrested. But the Texas Supreme Court blocked that decision on Tuesday.
The Texas state House failed to reach a quorum in the second special session, but four of the Democrats who fled to Washington returned to the Capitol on Monday. That number could increase with the threat of arrest.
Other Texas Democrats are fuming at their colleagues.
“We talked about this as a caucus. The agreement was that we would still deny quorum,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett said in an interview Monday. “It looks like our numbers are razor-thin, but as of now, we’re still holding out. We never really got an answer from our colleagues about, ‘Why go back?’ Some of them are like, ‘Well, they’re just going to do what they want to do anyway.’”
State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos scolded three of her Democratic colleagues who attended the special session on Monday.
“You all threw us under the bus today! Why?” she tweeted alongside a photo of the three huddling in the state Capitol.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa tweeted the names of the four Democratic legislators seen on the House floor “for transparency’s sake.”
@jamestalarico @RepMaryGonzalez @moodyforelpaso you all threw us under the bus today! Why? pic.twitter.com/yD6ODZKFcP
— Representative Ana-Maria Ramos (@Ramos4Texas) August 9, 2021
Meanwhile, Democrats are facing tangible power repercussions in the state House over the quorum-breaking stunt.
Last month, Republican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan stripped El Paso Democrat Joe Moody from his position as speaker pro tempore. Texas Republicans are also eyeing changes to quorum rules outlined in the state constitution that dictate how many members are needed to conduct business, changing the amount from two-thirds of state lawmakers to a simple majority, which would prevent repeating the last several months.
The Texas Democrats’ ultimate wish of the U.S. Senate passing voting rights legislation any time soon is far-fetched, especially as Senators will recess within days after passing infrastructure and spending bills. Plus, Senate bills need at least 60 votes to overcome a filibuster threat and move toward a final vote, meaning support from at least 10 Republicans.
Some Democrats have advocated for a filibuster carve-out that would allow passage of only a voting rights bill without eliminating it, but West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a supporter of the filibuster, has shot that proposal down.
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Still, some of the Democrats persevere.
“If certain laws pass before we get any answers from the Senate, or if it seems like we’ve given up, then that means the Senate is off the hook, and I’m not trying to let the Senate off the hook,” Crockett told NBC News.
