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4w ago

Texas Democrat Nicole Collier Stays Overnight on House Floor to Protest GOP Police-Escort Order

Republicans required returning Democrats to accept DPS escorts to ensure attendance for a pending vote on House Bill 4.

State Rep. Nicole Collier talks on the phone from the floor of the House, where she has chosen to remain until Wednesday, after Democratic lawmakers who had left the state to prevent Republicans from redrawing Texas’s 38 congressional districts returned to the Capitol in Austin, Texas, U.S., August 18, 2025. Collier is staying in the chamber because she did not want to sign the required permission slip allowing lawmakers to leave the Capitol under escort by Department of Public Safety agents. Texas House of Representatives Minority Leader Gene Wu/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. REFILE - CORRECTING INFORMATION FROM "U.S. REP." TO "STATE REP.\
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Protesters cheer on Texas State Representative Nicole Collier after she chose to remain in the Texas House chamber until Wednesday after Democratic lawmakers who left the state to deny Republicans the opportunity to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, returned to the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, U.S., August 18, 2025. Collier is staying because she did not want to sign the required permission slip that would allow lawmakers to leave the Capitol under escort by Department of Public Safety agents. REUTERS/Nuri Vallbona

Overview

  • Collier refused to sign the permission slip consenting to round-the-clock DPS monitoring and remained in the chamber overnight, calling the requirement an affront to her dignity.
  • House Speaker Dustin Burrows ordered that Democrats who previously broke quorum could exit the floor only under custody of DPS escorts until the congressional map receives final passage.
  • Most Democrats accepted the escorts; Collier was joined overnight by Reps. Gene Wu and Vince Perez, and a Democratic caucus livestream from the floor drew tens of thousands of viewers.
  • The Texas House is slated to vote Wednesday on the Republican-drawn congressional map, a mid-decade redraw encouraged by President Donald Trump that could create up to five additional GOP-leaning seats.
  • The confrontation features civil arrest warrants, fines and removal efforts in Texas and has spurred a Democratic counter-move in California, where leaders are advancing a referendum to rework that state’s map.