By Maiya Keidan and Brad Brooks
(Reuters) -Democratic lawmakers in Texas returned to the state on Monday, ending a walkout that broke quorum and blocked Republican efforts to redraw congressional maps at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Texas House of Representatives Minority Leader Gene Wu, chairperson of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement that Democrats had returned and had “rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation.”
But Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday already called a second special legislation session in another attempt to rework the state’s congressional maps in an effort to give Republicans another five seats in Congress.
Trump believes redistricting would help maintain Republicans’ slim control of Congress in midterm elections next year, but the plan has many vocal naysayers with Democrats threatening retaliation.
Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic Governor, on Thursday unveiled his own redistricting plan that he said would give Democrats there five more congressional seats.
Texas House Democrats left the state earlier this month to deny Republicans the quorum needed to vote on redistricting legislation – a tactic taken several times, mostly without success.
(Reporting by Maiya Keidan and Brad Brooks; Editing by Mark Porter)
