According to two people briefed on the talks, Republicans in the Texas Legislature intend to postpone voting on legislation to address the state’s deadly July 4 flooding until after they have approved a partisan redistricting of Texas U.S. House boundaries in an effort to thwart Democratic attempts to block new House maps.
Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, summoned a special legislative session on Monday, and Republican leaders gaveled in the assembly with a long list of demands. Redistricting, spearheaded by President Trump, and flood relief, prompted by a tragedy that killed at least 135 people, are by far the most significant.
Next week, public hearings on the floods will begin in hard-hit Kerrville and Austin on Wednesday. Over the course of the next two weeks, redistricting hearings will take place in Austin, Houston, and the Dallas region.
With the goal of gaining five more Republican seats in the U.S. House and assisting the party in maintaining control of the chamber following the 2026 midterm elections, Texas Republicans had been discreetly working for some months to embrace Mr. Trump’s proposal for an aggressive redrawing of the state’s congressional districts.
Following the July 4 floods, state leaders were urged to enhance warning systems and offer disaster assistance.
With only 30 days to complete both, those two demands—one a natural tragedy and the other obviously political—could ignite a fire as the legislative session heats up.
Republicans control all levels of Texas government, so voting on new congressional boundaries before responding to the floods in the Hill Country could make them politically vulnerable. Few Texans have expressed worries about the state’s political maps, and the state is still in shock from one of the biggest disasters in its modern history.
In a letter signed Monday, 48 Texas House Democrats urged Dustin Burrows, the speaker of the State House, to take up flooding legislation before redistricting.
According to the letter, the government currently has no higher purpose. According to the members, Texas neighborhoods are suffering and families are mourning their departed. Flood relief must be the first priority during this special session.
Republicans may be able to achieve their objective by preventing Democrats in the Texas House from staging a walkout to prevent the chamber from having a quorum for a final redistricting vote if the new maps are advanced first. New flood laws would also be hampered by such a walkout.
The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the preparations, warned that the timeline might still alter and suggested that final voting on the revised maps would take place early next month.
Republican members stated that since the problems brought up by the floods were more complex than those pertaining to political maps, it made sense to move forward with redistricting first.
State Representative Wes Virdell, who represents Kerr County, the flooding epicenter, and is a member of the select committee addressing the catastrophe during the special session, stated that he would not be surprised if the redistricting vote took place prior to the disaster preparations owing to logistical reasons.
According to Mr. Virdell, it will take more time for us to obtain a comprehensive analysis of what transpired and potential future responses. Redistricting, on the other hand, is only the details. It’s merely a matter of logistics.
Questions concerning the timing of bills during the special session were not answered by representatives for Speaker Burrows or State Senate leader Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Texas Democrats have been considering staging a walkout, with some of the party’s national leaders encouraging them to do so. In previous redistricting attempts, they have done this in opposition to what Democrats claim are heavily gerrymandered Republican designs intended to deny Democratic voters in Texas’ largest cities equitable representation. Republicans continued to rework the maps to their advantage despite those earlier attempts.
This time, however, several Democrats have been reluctant, especially in light of new regulations in the Texas House designed to prevent a quorum-breaking walkout, which would penalize each absent member $500 per day.
To deny a quorum and halt further legislative action, at least 51 of the 62 Democrats in the 150-member Texas House would need to participate in the walkout. It was unclear if the figures were present as of Monday.
Democratic National Committee head Ken Martin visited Houston on Friday to meet with Democratic leaders in the Texas House and offer his support.
In a statement, Mr. Martin declared, “We will give Texas Republicans a showdown if they want one.”
Mr. Martin also cited California Governor Gavin Newsom’s promise to try to redesign the state’s maps in a way that would favor Democrats in response to any revised maps in Texas. According to Mr. Martin, the D.N.C. is right there with him.
Since Californians chose in 2010 to establish in the state constitution an independent commission that creates the state’s political maps once every ten years after the decennial census, it would really be nearly impossible for the state to react to the Texas strategy in time for the midterm elections.
Texas Republicans, on the other hand, are accustomed to hardball gerrymandering, even if it necessitates redrawing boundaries in the midst of the decade, motivated by political considerations rather than demographic shifts mandated by the census. The legislature accomplished this in 2003, turning a slim Democratic two-seat majority into a 21-to-11 Republican lead.
In the sweltering heat, a few dozen Democrats demonstrated along a Southwest Houston freeway on Saturday against the upcoming redistricting. State Representative Gene Wu, the leader of the Democrats in the Texas House, was one of them. He is facing a lot of heat on the walkout from both supporters and cautious members of his caucus.
In an interview, Mr. Wu stated that we are ready to take any necessary action. I am aware that many nationals are pressuring our members to do particular things, but we will follow their advice since our members know what to do and when.
Speaker Burrows appointed Mr. Wu on Monday to the State House’s 21-member redistricting committee, which is run by Republicans. Thursday was anticipated to be its first meeting.
In an interview, state representative Ron Reynolds, a politician from the Houston region, stated that Democrats ought to support the nuclear option, which is a walkout.
According to Mr. Reynolds, “I believe that the only way we can stop this racial gerrymandering is to break a quorum.”
During the month-long session, lawmakers will also debate legislation on over a dozen other items, including property taxes, restrictions on mail-order abortion drugs, and controls on consumable hemp products, all under the behest of Mr. Abbott.
From Austin, Dave Montgomery provided reporting assistance.
