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Californias Newsom, Pelosi back Texas Democrats as GOP warns of more escalations over walkout
Accompanied by California and Texas lawmakers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, discusses the push to schedule a special election to redraw California's Congressional voting districts, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)2025-08-08T15:49:39Z SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared shoulder-to-shoulder Friday with Texas Democratic lawmakers in a show of support for their nearly weeklong walkout, which has blocked a vote on congressional redistricting maps sought by President Donald Trump in a widening national battle over U.S. House control.Texas has been the epicenter of Trumps push to gerrymander congressional maps to shore up Republicans narrow House majority before next year. But the standoff is threatening to spill into other states including California, New York, Florida and Indiana in an emerging proxy war for control of Congress in 2026. California is moving toward a special election in November that Democrats hope could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state, in direct response to the maneuvering in Texas. We are trying to defend democracy, as opposed to see it destroyed district by district, Newsom said amid the crowd of lawmakers at the governors mansion. There are no rules for Donald Trump. Accompanied by California and Texas lawmakers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, discusses the push to schedule a special election to redraw Californias Congressional voting districts, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Accompanied by California and Texas lawmakers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, discusses the push to schedule a special election to redraw Californias Congressional voting districts, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Pelosi defended the Texas walkout, calling it self-defense for our democracy. She said Democrats will not let Trump pave over free and fair elections in the country. Newsom, Pelosi spotlight high-stakes in battle over House linesThe appearance of nationally prominent Democrats Newsom a potential 2028 presidential candidate and Pelosi underscored the increasingly high stakes for a deeply divided Washington. Earlier Friday the Texas House failed to meet a quorum for the third time this week as Democratic lawmakers continued to stay away from Austin. Texas Republicans had warned they would escalate efforts to end the walkout if defiant Democrats do not return to the Capitol. But the lawmakers who bolted for points across the country Aug. 3 still were not back for Fridays scheduled House floor vote. Texas House Speaker, Dustin Borrow, R - Lubbock, adjourns the House after a quorum was not met at the State Capitol, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez) Texas House Speaker, Dustin Borrow, R - Lubbock, adjourns the House after a quorum was not met at the State Capitol, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Frustrated Republican leaders continued to ratchet up the pressure, including new and expanding efforts to try to remove Democratic lawmakers from office and seeking help from the FBI to assist state troopers trying to find them.We have all hands on deck, we are continuing to explore options to force Democrats home, Speaker Dustin Burrows said after the chamber failed to reach a quorum. We will keep pressing forward until the job is done. Each one of you knows eventually you will come back.A court setback though temporary, for now for Texas DemocratsTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, who ran unsuccessfully for governor and Senate, in state district court, alleging that his political group, Powered by People, improperly gave money to cover costs for the absent Democrats and continued to raise more for them. In an initial win for Republicans, Paxton said Friday that he had been granted a temporary restraining order halting the spending and fundraising while the case continues. In a response on the social platform X, ORourke wrote, They want to make examples out of those who fight so that others wont. A Texas road show gets national attentionThe news conference in Sacramento came several days after Texas Democrats appeared in Illinois with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who said he supported the walkout because they dont want to live in a country where the president rigs elections for his side. Thats not democracy. One of the lawmakers in California, Texas State Rep. Ann Johnson, alluded to the national implications of the dispute, saying, We recognize this is not just about Texas. This is about ensuring that the voters get to determine the outcome of their next election. Texas Rep. Ann Johnson, one of the state lawmakers that left Texas to block a vote to redraw the voting districts, speaks at a news conference held by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, fourth from right, in Sacramento, Calif., Friday Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Texas Rep. Ann Johnson, one of the state lawmakers that left Texas to block a vote to redraw the voting districts, speaks at a news conference held by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, fourth from right, in Sacramento, Calif., Friday Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More As California Democrats privately prepare a proposal for new House district lines that would go to voters, Assembly member Isaac Bryan said, This is not a turn-the-other-cheek moment while they continue to send blow after blow to the foundations of democracy.The Texas House is scheduled to reconvene Monday, but the dozens of Democrats who left the state have shown no signs of buckling. Mounting legal threatsTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit directly to the all-Republican state Supreme Court on Friday seeking to have 13 of the Democratic lawmakers immediately removed from office, or at least given a 48-hour warning that they must return or have their offices declared vacated. The lawsuit argues that the lawmakers have effectively abandoned their office and duties, and they were singled out for making public statements that they left for the purpose of blocking the vote and disrupting House business. Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on, Paxton said. Thank you notes are posted on the office door of Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) Thank you notes are posted on the office door of Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Paxtons lawsuit includes Rep. Gene Wu, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, who also faces a similar lawsuit filed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Wus legal team argued that the state constitution allows House members to be removed only by a two-thirds vote of the chamber, not the courts. Wu said this week that quorum-breaking is not an abandonment of office but a legitimate form of dissent. Republicans vow to end up victoriousAbbott promised that hes willing to play the long game to get the bill passed.We have an agenda to pass priorities critical to Texans, and we will get it done. Ill call special session after special sessionno matter how long it takesuntil the job is finished, Abbott said on X.The current special session ends Aug. 19, and the missing lawmakers already face mounting fines for every day they are gone and civil arrest warrants issued by the state House. The widening battle beyond TexasTrump wants five more seats out of Texas to potentially avoid a repeat of the 2018 midterms, when Democrats reclaimed the U.S. House and proceeded to thwart his agenda and impeach him twice.The dynamics could embroil the 2026 midterm campaign in legislative and court battles testing Trumps power over the Republican Party, Democrats ability to mount opposition and the durability of the U.S. system of federalism that balances power between Washington and the states.___Vertuno reported from Austin, and Blood from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, and Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed. Payne and Lathan are corps members for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. JIM VERTUNO Vertuno has been covering news, sports and politics from Texas for The AP since 1998. He won a National Headliner Award for sports writing in 2013. twitter mailto SOPHIE AUSTIN Austin covers California state government and politics for the Associated Press. She reports on environmental, education and reparations policies. twitter mailto NADIA LATHAN Lathan is a statehouse reporter based in Austin, Texas. She is a Report for America corps member. twitter mailto
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