Texas House Democrats leave the state to prevent a quorum for congressional redistricting

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to the Wednesday, July 6, Brew. 

By: Briana Ryan

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Texas House Democrats leave the state to prevent a quorum for congressional redistricting
  2. Washington D.C. Council amends Initiative 82 to cap tipped wage at 75% of the full minimum wage by 2034
  3. The U.S. Senate has confirmed five individuals to Article III judgeships since June 15

Texas House Democrats leave the state to prevent a quorum for congressional redistricting

In the Aug. 4 Daily Brew, we told you about the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature’s plans to pursue congressional redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Today, there’s another chapter to that story as Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives have left the state to prevent a quorum necessary for the chamber to vote on the proposed map.

First, let’s review how we got here.

Republicans have a 219-212 majority with four vacancies in the U.S. House of Representatives. Three of those vacancies happened due to the deaths of three Democrats, and another happened due to the resignation of one Republican.

The Associated Press’ Meg Kinnard and Joey Cappelletti wrote that heading into the midterms, “Democrats see retaking the House as the party’s best chance to break Republicans’ hold on Congress and President Donald Trump is determined to keep the GOP’s majority.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) added redistricting to the state’s 30-day special legislative session agenda, writing that he was doing so “in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.” On July 30, Texas Republicans released a proposed map to create five more Republican-leaning districts. Texas’ U.S. House delegation currently includes 25 Republicans, 12 Democrats, and one vacancy. That vacancy happened due to the death of a Democratic member.

On Aug. 3, Texas House Democrats left the state to deny a quorum. Rep. James Talarico (D) wrote, “My Democratic colleagues and I just left the state of Texas to break quorum and stop Trump’s redistricting power grab. […] It’s time to fight back.”

Following a chamber vote on Aug. 4, House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) signed civil warrants allowing state police to find and arrest legislators who left the state. However, those warrants only apply within Texas. Also on Aug. 4, Abbott said he would remove the legislators from office if they did not return.

State legislatures require a specific number of members to be present to conduct official business, such as debating or voting on legislation. A quorum is the minimum number of members needed to conduct official business, and this number differs by state. 

In Texas, two-thirds of elected members must be present for a quorum. Republicans have an 88-62 majority in the state House, meaning that 12 Democrats and all Republicans must be present for a quorum. The map below shows the quorum requirements in state legislatures across the country.

We have identified 15 noteworthy state legislative walkouts since 1924. Noteworthy walkouts are those where extended absences denied quorum and disrupted chamber business. These walkouts happened in seven states. Democrats initiated nine walkouts, while Republicans initiated six. Eleven were in one of the four states with a two-thirds quorum requirement. Oregon has had the most noteworthy state legislative walkouts with six, followed by Texas with four, and one each in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

Texas Democrats previously walked out twice in 2021 to protest election legislation, and once in 2003 to protest mid-decade congressional redistricting.

Click here to learn more about noteworthy state legislative walkouts.

Washington D.C. Council amends Initiative 82 to cap tipped wage at 75% of the full minimum wage by 2034

On July 28, the Washington, D.C. Council voted to amend Initiative 82, a 2022 ballot measure, as part of the city’s 2026 budget. The budget—which the council approved 7-5—now heads to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s (D) desk and then to the U.S. Congress for final approval.

Voters approved Initiative 82 74% to 26%. The measure gradually increases the tipped minimum wage from $5.35 in 2022 by $2 annually to match the minimum wage of non-tipped employees in 2027.

The council’s amendment maintains the tipped minimum wage at $10 per hour until July 1, 2026. The council previously froze the minimum wage at $10 in June when it was set to rise to $12 per hour. At $10 per hour, the tipped minimum wage is 56% of the city’s full minimum wage. It will increase to 60% of the city’s full minimum wage in 2028 and 5% each year afterwards until it reaches 75% in 2034. 

Councilmember Christina Henderson (I), one of the drafters of the change, said, “No one is happy 100 percent here. We want workers to be able to have the annual wage growth and restaurants to be able to have more manageable labor costs. We think that this strikes a balance.”

Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D), who voted against the change, said, “While I appreciate that my colleagues are attempting to address the pressures the restaurant industry is experiencing in the face of failed economics on the national level, keeping workers at a subminimum wage and overturning the will of the voters is the wrong way to accomplish this.”

In June 2018, Washington D.C. voters approved Initiative 77 56% to 44%. It would have gradually increased the rate to match the city’s full minimum wage by 2026. In October 2018, the council voted 8-5 to repeal the initiative.

From 2010 through 2025, voters in 21 states and Washington, D.C., decided on 282 initiatives in total. Lawmakers have altered 31 of them.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed five individuals to Article III judgeships since June 15

As of July 31, there were 48 vacancies out of 890 authorized federal judicial posts. Forty-seven of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where the U.S. Senate confirms appointees to lifetime judgeships. Five individuals have been confirmed since June 15, and 10 have been nominated.

The following are the confirmed individuals:

By July 31, President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 15 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison: 

  1. President Joe Biden (D) nominated 30 individuals at this point during his term, all of whom the Senate confirmed.
  2. Trump nominated 28 individuals at this point during his first term, 20 of whom the Senate confirmed.
  3. President Barack Obama (D) nominated 12 individuals at this point during his first term, all of whom the Senate confirmed.
  4. President George W. Bush (R) nominated 29 individuals at this point during his first term, four of whom the Senate confirmed.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Trump, Biden, Obama, and Bush administrations. 

The chart below  is limited to successful nominations, where the Senate confirmed nominees to their respective courts:

The chart below counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

Our staff compiles the data in these charts from publicly available information from the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the larger states of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Click here to learn more about current federal judicial vacancies.