Texas House Dems say they won't work on other legislation until Hill Country floods are addressed

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Screenshot / Texas House of Representatives

The Texas House Democrats sent their letter to House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, pictured above, during the first day of the special session.

On Monday, the first day of the Texas Legislature’s special session, Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock,advising they won’t work on any other legislation until the body addresses this month’s devastating Hill Country floods.

The strongly worded letter comes as state Republicans and Gov. Greg Abbott, at the request of President Donald Trump, are preparing to engage in an unusual redistricting plan ahead of the 2026 midterms. Abbott added redistricting to the special session agenda last week after Trump, who is increasingly worried about his party’s plummeting approval ratings, instructed Abbott that he wants to pick up five Texas districts in the U.S. House.

“Texans are still picking up the pieces after historic flooding, but Abbott is letting Trump take over Texas, using our state as a testing ground for extreme, divisive politics,” the Texas House Democratic Caucus said in its letter to Burrows. “He is more focused on playing political games than delivering the relief and support our communities desperately need.”

The letter also comes as House Democrats consider taking extreme measures, perhaps including a quorum-breaking walkout, to slow down or prevent the GOP redistricting efforts from moving forward.

At least 100 of the Texas House’s 150 members must be present for quorum, meaning the Texas Democratic Party would only need 51 of its 63 members to leave the Texas Capitol to sandbag the redistricting plan.

Indeed, Texas House Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said during a recent town hall that everything is on the table.

“Nobody should underestimate what Texas Democrats will do to preserve voting rights and democracy,” he added.

The Senate Committee on State Affairs is discussing Texas’ THC laws on Tuesday, with the House Select Committee on Preparedness and Flooding set to discuss the Hill Country disaster on Wednesday morning.

However, House Republicans have already scheduled three redistricting hearings. The first is set for Thursday at the State Capitol. Another meeting will be held in Saturday morning in Houston and the third on Monday in Arlington.

Stay tuned.

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