The Eyes of Texas—And the Nation—Are Upon Austin
Texas is the front line. If the Republican Establishment can get away with dropping the Legislative ball and blaming the Democrats in Texas, they’ll get away with it throughout our great nation. Scroll down to take action.
August 20, 2025 | Media Inquiries: press@mctxgop.org
4-minute read
President Trump’s call for Congressional redistricting in Texas has turned into a grandstanding opportunity for Texas leadership and a gaslighting frenzy for the Democrats.
In Special Session #1 of the 89th Legislative Session, Texas Democrats fled to Democrat-run states to prevent a vote on redrawn Congressional maps that would better represent voters, who delivered a decisive victory to President Trump and Republicans in the 2024 General Election.
Dustin Burrows, who was elected as House Speaker by a coalition of Democrats and a minority group of “Republicans,” talked tough when the Democrats skipped town, but not a single Democrat has been arrested, fined, or has even lost a committee chairmanship for abandoning their seats, fundraising along the way.
The Democrats claim that Texas is gerrymandering, while Democrat states like California, Massachusetts, and Connecticut have district maps that provide little or no representation to Republican voters.
Special Session #2 Gavels in
On Monday, August 18, the Texas House achieved a quorum for the first time in two weeks after enough runaway Democrats returned from their quorum break.
The doors were locked to prevent Democrats from leaving and Speaker Burrows announced that Democrats who had participated in the walkout would “remain under close watch.”
According to Speaker Burrows, the House Democrats will be escorted by Texas Department of Public Safety officers to ensure their attendance when the House returns to session on August 20 at 10 am.
Although House Rules impose a $500 daily penalty for unexcused absences, Speaker Burrows did not mention enforcing this or any other penalties.
Speaker Burrows Holds the Power
The Texas Constitution and House Rules make it clear that holding the Democrats accountable is entirely up to Speaker Burrows. However, given his reliance on Democratic support for re-election as Speaker, he is unlikely to take further action despite his bold posturing and strong rhetoric.
First, the Texas Constitution says that the House shall make its own rules.
Texas Constitution
Sec. 11. RULES OF PROCEDURE; PUNISHMENT OR EXPULSION OF MEMBER. Each House may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish members for disorderly conduct, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence.
Second, according to the House Rules, even if there was a clear rules violation, the interpretation, application and enforcement of the House Rules is SOLELY at the discretion of the Speaker, Dustin Burrows.
Texas House Rules
Duties and Rights of the Speaker
Chapter A. Duties as Presiding Officer
Sec. 1. Enforcement of the Rules. The Speaker shall enforce, apply, and interpret the rules of the House in all deliberations of the House and shall enforce the legislative rules prescribed by the statutes and the Constitution of Texas.
Dustin Burrows as Speaker ultimately holds ALL of the power in this situation. Texans are being subjected to a lot of political theater coming from both sides of the aisle while flood relief, property tax relief, Congressional redistricting, and other important Republican Priorities hang in the balance.
What’s at Stake in Special Session #2?
It’s important to remember that all legislation being addressed in the Special Sessions (except for flood relief) could have been passed during the Regular Session if House leadership had been doing the work of the people they represent.
Here are a few of the items at stake in Special Session #2:
Property tax relief: Texans are being crushed by some of the highest property taxes in America.
Flood relief: The Kerrville disaster is still unresolved.
Congressional redistricting: Democrats routinely redraw Congressional maps to lock in control. It’s important for Texas to perform redistricting to provide fair representation to voters who overwhelmingly elected Republicans in the November 2024 Election.
Over-the-Counter Ivermectin: House Bill 25 to make Ivermectin over the counter has been added to the Special Session. Rep. Joanne Shofner (R-HD 11) worked tirelessly during the first Special Session to obtain 76 co-authors for the bill. Texans for Vaccine Choice rallied the grassroots to support the addition of this bill.
Protecting unborn children: Further protection for unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.
Banning taxpayer-funded lobbying: Prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying, including the use of tax dollars to hire lobbyists and payment of tax dollars to associations that lobby the Legislature.
Protecting women’s spaces: Defending women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.
The Attorney General’s election powers: Strengthening the Attorney General’s authority to investigate and prosecute state election crimes.
TAKE ACTION
Get Loud: Contact Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Burrows, your state representative, and your state senator. Demand they deliver on conservative priorities in Special Session #2.
Instead of the planned increase of five seats for Republican districts, tell them we should increase it to seven or more in light of California Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democrat governors’ threats to redistrict their states even further. No excuses. No delays.
Governor Greg Abbott’s Office
(512) 463-2000
Email
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s Office
(512) 463-5342
Email
Speaker Dustin Burrows’ Office
(512) 463-0542
Email
Texas is the front line. If the Republican Establishment can get away with dropping the ball and blaming the Democrats in Texas, they’ll get away with it throughout our great nation. Round Two has begun. Let’s make sure our elected officials know We the People are watching and demanding action.