AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas House Democratic leader Gene Wu, D-Houston, said the caucus’s eventual return is based on what Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, decides to put on the second special session’s call sheet.
“What happens next is entirely up to Greg Abbott,” Wu said in a statement. “After deliberation among our caucus, we have reached a consensus: Texas House Democrats refuse to give him a quorum to pass his racist maps that silence more than 2 million Black and Latino Texans — in keeping with our original promise to Texans, the First Called Special Session will never make quorum again, defeating Abbott’s first attempt at passing his racial gerrymander.”
Wu has led over 50 Texas House Democrats over the last two weeks, after they fled to Democratic states across the country to prevent the House from reaching a quorum—the two-thirds threshold needed to take any official action.
On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said the House and Senate will end the first special session on Friday morning if the Democrats do not return. Abbott would subsequently call a second 30-day special session to start on Friday. Wu said we’ll know more about their intentions then.
“Texas House Democrats will issue our demands for a second special session on Friday,” he wrote. “Abbott can choose to govern for Texas families, or he can keep serving Trump and face the consequences we’ve unleashed nationwide.”
Nineteen hours prior to Wu’s statement, ABC 13 Houston reported that the quorum breakers had decided to come home for the special session, although with no official return date. A source close to the situation told Nexstar the caucus was debating the issue, but no decisions had been made. Another pair of sources close to the caucus had not heard of any return plans.
“Members are still assessing their strategies going forward and are in meetings to make decisions about future plans currently,” the caucus posted on X in the immediate aftermath of the ABC report. “If and when Texas House Democrats breaking quorum decide to go home is squarely dependent on the actions the Governor, Speaker, and Texas Republicans in charge make with regard to prioritizing flood victims over redistricting that hurts Texans.”
Earlier Monday morning, State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, also released a statement highlighting the quorum breakers’ resolve.
“Texas House Democrats are standing strong because we have the people and the Constitution on our side. That’s why the governor is folding and ending his special session early,” she wrote. “As I’ve said since this quorum break began, we are taking things day by day and fighting to win each day. If Governor Abbott and Republicans want us to come home, they can drop this shameful and undemocratic power grab and refocus on what Texans deserve – prioritizing flood relief and helping communities rebuild.”
Abbott weighed in on Wu’s statement over social media.
“How embarrassing. Texas Democrats mailing in their “demands”… FROM CHICAGO,” Abbott wrote. “Come back and fight like Texans rather than running and hiding like cowards.”
“Democrats fundamentally misunderstand Texans,” Abbott’s Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris wrote. “Texans expect their elected leaders to show up to work, and the Democrats refuse to do so. Voters, especially Hispanic Texans, are increasingly deserting the Democrats and deserve to be able to vote for candidates who better align with their values. At the end of the day, candidates win on the merits, not the map. If Democrats have any hope of winning elections, they need to change their platform. Running away from a fight is not a solution and is the antithesis of being a Texan.”