Texas House Democrats return to the state Capitol, ending 38-day standoff


For the first time in 38 days, the Texas House reached a quorum on Thursday, after some of the Democrats who left in July to protest voting restrictions returned to the state Capitol.
More than 50 House Democrats fled Texas last month in order to ensure there wasn't a quorum, keeping the GOP-backed voting measure from passing. The Democrats traveled en masse to Washington, D.C., where they urged lawmakers to take action on federal voting rights legislation. Two of those Democrats came to the Texas state Capitol on Thursday afternoon, along with a colleague who had been out recovering from having his leg amputated, and having those three present was enough for the House to achieve a quorum.
In a statement, the Democrats — state Reps. Armando Walle, Ana Hernandez, and Garnet Coleman — said they were "proud" to have broken quorum, but with COVID-19 "ravaging our state and overwhelming our health care system," it was "time to move past these partisan legislative calls, and to come together to help our state mitigate the effects of the current COVID-19 surge."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The House is in a 30-day special session that will end on Sept. 5, and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has made it clear he wants strict voting legislation passed before then. Over the last several months, Texas Republicans have called for banning 24-hour polling sites, Sunday morning early voting, and drive-thru voting, as well as giving partisan poll watchers more access to voting sites, The Associated Press reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Fractured France: an ‘informative and funny’ enquiry
The Week Recommends Andrew Hussey's work is a blend of ‘memoir, travelogue and personal confession’
-
How digital ID cards work around the world
The Explainer Many countries use electronic ID to streamline access to services despite concern by civil rights groups they ‘shift the balance of power towards the state’
-
Lord of the Flies: William Golding’s modern classic is brought to ‘thrilling life’
The Week Recommends Anthony Lau’s ‘searing’ staging is anchored by an ‘extraordinary’ cast
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
-
Trump declares new tariffs on drugs, trucks, furniture
Speed Read He's putting tariffs of 25% on semi trucks, 30% on upholstered furniture, 50% on kitchen and bathroom cabinetry and 100% on certain drugs
-
Amazon reaches ‘historic’ $2.5B Prime settlement
speed read The company allegedly tricked customers into signing up for Prime membership that was then difficult to cancel
-
Trump DOJ indicts Comey, longtime Trump target
Speed Read The president is using the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies