Texas Gov. Greg Abbott moves to amp up the pressure on Democrats who fled in redistricting standoff

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to call “special session after special session after special session” in response to Democratic lawmakers who have fled the state to block redistricting legislation, saying they’ll have to stay out of Texas for years to prevent it becoming law.“We are in the process as we speak right now of searching for, preparing to arrest Democrats who may be in Texas, may be elsewhere,” Abbott, a Republican, told NBC News in an interview at the governor’s mansion Thursday evening.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to call “special session after special session after special session” in response to Democratic lawmakers who have fled the state to block redistricting legislation, saying they’ll have to stay out of Texas for years to prevent it becoming law.

“We are in the process as we speak right now of searching for, preparing to arrest Democrats who may be in Texas, may be elsewhere,” Abbott, a Republican, told NBC News in an interview at the governor’s mansion Thursday evening.

“But I’ll tell you this also, Democrats act like they’re not going to come back as long as this is an issue,” Abbott said. “That means they’re not going to come back until like 2027 or 2028, because I’m going to call special session after special session after special session with the same agenda items on there.”

More than 50 Democratic lawmakers fled the state earlier this week to block the state House from moving forward with the Republican majority’s proposed congressional map, designed to boost the number of GOP-held seats ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

The Republican-led state House has approved civil arrest warrants for the missing lawmakers, and Abbott has filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court seeking to remove the House Democratic leader from office for “an intentional abandonment of his constitutional duty.”