On August 20th, local time, the Texas House of Representatives passed a bill on the re-drawing of congressional districts. The district map was drawn as requested by U.S. President Trump, aiming to increase five seats for the Republican Party in the midterm elections next year.
In mid-July this year, U.S. President Trump urged Texas Republicans to pass congressional district re-drawing, so that the Republican Party could gain five more seats in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections next year. As the Republican Party had an overwhelming advantage in controlling the Texas State Legislature and without other “blocking tools”, more than 50 Democratic state representatives collectively left Texas for other places in early August, resulting in the House of Representatives failing to meet the quorum required for legislation. The Speaker of the House of Representatives Borros failed to convene legislative sessions multiple times.
On the 18th, dozens of Democratic lawmakers in the state ended their “exodus” and returned to Texas. The leader of the Democratic Party in the Texas House of Representatives said that their return was due to the realization of their two goals: the current special legislative session ended prematurely on the 15th due to the resistance of Democrats; and California and other states led by Democrats were already considering re-drawing their congressional districts to compensate for the seats in the House of Representatives that Democrats might lose in Texas. (By Zhang Yingzhe, Central News)
Texas Democratic lawmakers return after a two-week “exodus”.