Overview

• More than 50 Texas House Democrats remain in California, Illinois and New York to deny Republicans the quorum needed for a redistricting vote, stalling the special session set to run through August 19.
• Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to convene successive 30-day sessions and levy $500 daily fines or arrest any lawmaker who returns without voting, aiming to compel the exiled Democrats back to Austin.
• Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the Texas Supreme Court to vacate the seats of absent legislators and sought enforcement of civil arrest warrants in out-of-state courts to locate them.
• In a formal letter to President Trump, Gavin Newsom warned that blue-state leaders are preparing their own mid-decade map redraws to neutralize expected GOP gains.
• Sen. John Cornyn’s claim that the FBI would help track missing Democrats remains unverified as ongoing lawsuits test the limits of jurisdiction and enforcement.