Texas Democrats return to Capitol for Republicans’ US House map overhaul as California counters

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Democrats ended a two-week walkout Monday that stalled Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts as part of a national partisan brawl over President Donald Trump’s desire to reshape U.S. House maps to his advantage.

Their return to the Texas Capitol will allow the Republican-run Legislature to proceed as California Democrats advance a countereffort to redraw their congressional boundaries in retaliation. The tit-for-tat puts the nation’s two most populous states at the center of an expanding fight over control of Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Dozens of Texas House Democrats left the state Aug. 3 to deny their Republican-majority colleagues the attendance necessary to vote on redrawn maps intended to send five more Texas Republicans to Washington.

They declared victory after Republicans adjourned their first special session on Friday and Democrats around the country rallied in opposition to the Trump-led gerrymandering effort. They pointed specifically to California’s release of proposed maps intended to increase Democrats’ U.S. House advantage by five seats, effectively neutralizing any Republican gains in Texas.

For the first time since Trump’s redistricting push accelerated into a national issue, the Texas House floor was near full capacity Monday afternoon.

Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows did not mention redistricting on the floor Monday but promised swift action on the Legislature’s agenda.

“The majority has the right to prevail. The minority has the right to be heard,” the speaker said. “We are done waiting.”

Democrats were greeted by cheering supporters inside the Capitol before the House convened. The House met for a short session but did not take up any bills and was not scheduled to return until Wednesday.

“We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,” Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu said in a written statement.

Wu has promised Democrats would challenge the new designs in court.

Trump has pressured other Republican-run states to consider redistricting, as well, while Democratic governors in multiple statehouses have indicated they would follow California’s lead in response. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said that his state will hold a Nov. 4 special referendum on the redrawn districts.

The president wants to shore up Republicans’ narrow House majority and avoid a repeat of the 2018 midterms during his first presidency, when Democrats regained House control and used their majority to stymie his agenda and twice impeach him. On a national level, the partisan makeup of existing district lines puts Democrats within three seats of a majority. Of the 435 total House seats, only several dozen districts are competitive. So even slight changes in a few states could affect which party wins control.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott jumped to the president’s aid, adding redistricting to an initial special session agenda that included a number of issues, but most notably a package of bills responding to devastating floods that killed more than 130 people last month.

Abbott has blamed Democrats’ absence for delaying action on those measures. Democrats have answered that Abbott’s capitulation to Trump is responsible for the delay because he insisted on effectively linking the hyper-partisan matter to the nonpartisan flood relief.

Redistricting typically occurs once at the beginning of each decade to coincide with the census. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California is among those that empower independent commissions with the task.

California lawmakers were scheduled to convene later Monday.

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Barrow reported from Atlanta.

Bill Barrow And Fernanda Figueroa, The Associated Press