The Blast - August 4, 2025

15 days until sine die
96 days until the candidate filing period begins
126 days until the candidate filing deadline

IN TODAY’S BLAST

• Where do we go from here?

• Today’s winner: Dustin Burrows

• Dems who remain earn an audience with the speaker

• Mistaken identity in Abbott anti-Dem ad

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Hello to our Blast readers in Texas, Illinois and wherever else you may be.

Texas House Democrats have broken quorum, kicking off a political firestorm that threatens a nationwide tit-for-tat for years to come.

House Speaker Dustin Burrows has called for House sergeants to round up absent members, Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to remove Democrats for abandoning their office and Attorney General Ken Paxton is pushing to “lock them up.” Meanwhile, Democratic governors say they will counter with their own mid-decade congressional redraws if Texas Republicans get their way.

Here’s how this could play out.

The House will return tomorrow and attempt to constitute a quorum, 100 members. After that, the House Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding will meet in the Capitol Extension. Expect Republicans to have some stern words for Democrats during that meeting.

But beyond tomorrow, the fight could drag out all the way until November 2026, even if Democrats come home.

In theory, if Texas Republicans want to give President Donald Trump five more congressional seats, they will have to get the maps approved by Nov. 8, the beginning of the candidate filing period. But it’s not that simple.

Officials at the Texas Secretary of State are beginning to discuss what practical deadlines they’re working with, but it’s not immediately clear what the deadlines are. Even if they do, the Legislature could shift the deadlines around.

In 2021, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 13, which created compressed filing periods and alternate primary dates depending on how long it took the Legislature to adopt the maps. That could be a template for the upcoming filing period.

Meanwhile, if Abbott and Paxton carry through on their threat to try to unseat absconding members from the Legislature, those cases would inevitably get bogged down in court.

Most absent Democrats hail from districts where Democrats serve as the district judge and would likely rule in their favor. However, there would be appeals that would likely take the 51-plus cases to the Texas Supreme Court. The legal fight would involve contested subpoenas and some illuminating discovery, which Republicans would be eager to see thanks to the bribery angle that Abbott has suggested.

Those court cases could loom over Democrats’ heads all the way until the election. Most of those Democrats serve in safe seats anyway, but it would be a headache at a minimum.

Until then, the fight to 100 continues.

Republicans only need to rope 12 Democrats back to Austin to make quorum, and they’re already halfway there. Additionally, multiple Republican members are confident that there are enough Democratic stragglers still in town.

“I saw, for instance, there is one member who said that they are doing a fundraiser here in Austin tomorrow,” Burrows told reporters this afternoon. “I’ve sent that fundraising letter to DPS and said they should be invited to attend as well.”

It appears that was Rep. Jolanda Jones of Houston, although her fundraiser has been canceled.

So far, The Blast can only account for 42 Democrats who are for sure outside the state.

Some Republicans are looking back to 2021 and past leadership when considering how the current quorum break has escalated.

“I think if Dade Phelan had set a tougher precedent, that would have ended the walkouts,” one veteran member told The Blast.

The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one.

TODAY’S WINNER: DUSTIN BURROWS

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows appears to be shoring up Republican caucus support as a byproduct of the quorum break.

So far, Burrows’ actions and his speeches on the dais, to the media and behind closed doors have helped instill confidence in him, according to pro- and (previously) anti-leadership Republicans The Blast has spoken with.

“If this is handled correctly, there won’t be a next speaker’s race,” freshman anti-leadership Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, told the Tribune’s Alejandro Serrano. “And when I say correctly, I mean Republicans are united behind Republican principles and requiring Democrats to show up and do their jobs, and it sounds like we’re heading in that direction with this speaker.”

Burrows was elected with only 36 Republicans on the first day of the regular session, and his support within the GOP caucus grew as the session continued. Rep. Katrina Pierson, a Republican freshman from Rockwall who voted against Burrows, stood next to him as he briefed reporters this afternoon.

“He’s come a very long way with all the new freshmen that were there, people didn’t know him very well. I think he’s proven himself now,” Pierson told The Blast. “It is within his authority to do the things that he is doing, and I think a lot of the people respect him for it.”

Others believe Burrows could very well lock down the 76 votes to be reelected speaker from within the Republican caucus come January 2027 without needing Democrats to bail him out. That could chip away at the bipartisanship that has existed in the Texas House.

But Capitol observers point out that Burrows doesn’t have a ton of agency here. The House rules are instituting $500 daily fines on absent members automatically. Plus, he could be under pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott to put the screws to Democrats. And then there’s President Donald Trump.

Trump has endorsed all Texas House Republicans who voted to pass the education savings account program this year. But Trump could rescind his support for Burrows and Texas Republicans on a moment’s notice if they don’t deliver.

DEMS WHO REMAIN EARN AN AUDIENCE WITH THE SPEAKER

At least six Democrats are in Austin, as sergeants fan out to bring truant members back to the Capitol.

Speaker Pro Tempore Joe Moody, D-El Paso, checked in at the quorum call. So did Democratic Reps. Terry Canales of Edinburg, Oscar Longoria of Mission, Armando Martinez of Weslaco and Richard Raymond of Laredo. Sergio Muñoz of Mission failed to register present but was on the floor. Multiple members say Bobby Guerra of Mission was also in the Capitol, although The Blast did not see him.

Moody took leave during the 2021 quorum break and was stripped of his speaker pro tempore title because of it.

Canales and at least two other Democrats have met with the speaker “to talk about what sort of changes we could institute to the maps,” Canales told The Blast. During his press conference later, Speaker Dustin Burrows declined to comment on his conversations with Democrats, and the speaker’s office did not confirm Canales’ claim.

“There’s different ways to fight, and one of them is to show up and try to negotiate,” Canales said.

A source familiar with the meetings says Canales, Martinez and Raymond met with the speaker. All three are moderate Democrats who hail from South Texas congressional districts that Republicans have targeted to solidify their recent political gains. A lot of that momentum has come from Hispanic voters.

Canales told The Blast he can’t leave because he has five children and, as a practicing attorney, he has court obligations.

“I applaud what my colleagues are doing and I stand with them, but leaving is not an option for me,” Canales said.

He added that the outcome is inevitable, that the quorum break will eventually end, and that it’s important for some members to remain to keep a dialogue with the speaker.

For what it’s worth, Canales predicted that the House won’t have a quorum tomorrow.

SPONSOR CONTENT

Common Ground is Clear: Protect Youth, Preserve Access. Read more.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY IN ABBOTT ANTI-DEM AD

Among the dozens of ads Gov. Greg Abbott rolled out today slamming House Democrats by name for leaving the state was one targeting Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez — except the woman pictured in the ad wasn’t her.

It was another Cassandra Hernandez, a former El Paso City Council representative who ran for mayor last year. Abbott’s campaign deleted the post shortly after and rolled out an updated one.

For the Legislature’s Cassandra Garcia Hernandez, the flub was evidence of “how incredibly circus-like and disorganized and unprofessional this whole situation has become.”

She argued that Republicans were more focused on performing outrage at the quorum breakers and pushing redistricting to satisfy President Donald Trump than on flood relief, which she said Democrats wanted to address before all else.

“The real outrage should be directed, honestly, to them, and allowing Donald Trump to dictate to them how we do business in Texas,” she said.

“If the Democrats who abandoned Texas were serious about addressing flood relief, they will come back to Austin and do the job they were elected to do,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris countered in a statement to the Tribune.

— Kayla Guo

• The Senate Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting has submitted PLANC2308, the House’s proposed map, for consideration as part of SB 4.

This week:

• The House Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding will meet at 3 p.m. or at the end of the House’s business tomorrow.

• The House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. or at the end of the House’s business on Wednesday.

• The Senate Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting will meet at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, 9 a.m. on Thursday and 9 a.m. on Friday.

View the full list of upcoming committee notices here and here.

The House will convene at 1 p.m. tomorrow.
The Senate will convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

• State Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, was present today but missed the quorum call because he was stuck getting ping-ponged between floors on the Capitol elevators.

• HD-15: Republican Brad Bailey says he has raised $200,000 in the first two weeks of his campaign to succeed state Rep. Steve Toth, R-Conroe.

• Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin will join Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Texas House Democrats in Illinois tomorrow morning as the quorum break continues.

Do you or someone in your office have a new job you’d like mentioned? Email us.

• The New York Stock Exchange has named Texas Workforce Commission Chair Bryan Daniel as president of NYSE Texas.

The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one.

“Denying quorum has been a Texas political strategy since 1870” by Hayden Betts of The Texas Tribune

“Flood relief, THC regulation and more in limbo after House Democrats leave Texas” by Colleen DeGuzman of The Texas Tribune

“Skeddaddle” alert: “Texas reopens the gerrymander wars” by the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board

“A member of Whitmire’s LGBTQ Advisory Board repeatedly asked for a meeting. Then the mayor removed him” by Abby Church of the Houston Chronicle

Do you or someone in your office have a birthday you’d like mentioned? Email us.

(Aug. 4) Former President Barack Obama
(Aug. 5) State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe

SPONSOR MESSAGES 

Methodist Healthcare Ministries is committed to health equity—striving to create more fair and just opportunities for all to thrive.

Learn how the City of Corpus Christi is securing an affordable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly water solution for the Coastal Bend during serious drought conditions.

Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel - "Our clients’ courage to come forward...despite the potential risks, protected taxpayer dollars and ensured the integrity of Medicaid." Attorney Paul Lawrence on the recent $2.8M Walgreens healthcare fraud settlement.

Disclosure: The Texas Secretary of State has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.