Texas Democrats feud as some return to Legislature and others stay away

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Some of the Texas House Democrats, who are still in Washington, DC, didn’t hold back on Monday as they saw more of their colleagues return to Austin and bring the chamber to a single-digit quorum.

“You threw us all under the bus today! Why?” Dallas Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos said in a tweet addressed to three of her Democratic counterparts returning to Austin.

The House of Representatives had up to 95 members at one point on Monday afternoon, five members were not quorate, but the House has barely been able to operate since most Democrats fled under Republican electoral law last month. It was the third day of the second special session and the GOP-led House again issued a “Call of the House,” a procedural step to lock the doors of the Chamber and prevent members from leaving without permission.

Among the 95 members present were at least four new Democrats: El Paso–District Representatives Art Fierro, Mary González, and Joe Moody; and State Representative James Talarico of Round Rock. Moody is the former speaker prototype, a title that House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, withdrew from Moody in retaliation for the quorum interruption during the first special session.

Talarico was the most open about his return, announcing it on Twitter and making a statement explaining his decision.

The House of Representatives sat in session hours after a Travis County state district judge issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who broke the quorum by leaving the state. The Democrats, who remain in Washington, cited this order on Monday afternoon when they criticized their colleagues who had left the country’s capital.

“I’ve said that before … it’s a team sport … now we’ll see who plays which positions on the team,” tweeted Jasmine Crockett, MP from Dallas. “The fact that some of us have obtained a preliminary injunction to protect us ALL, but some are trying to please the governor and his IMPRESSIVE agenda ?! SIMPLY WOW! “

While the Democrats who pushed the quorum were able to maintain a largely closed front during the first special session that ended Friday, it was clear they were reaching a fork in the road when the second special session began a day later. A group of them released a statement saying that 26 House Democrats would be staying in Washington to continue their struggle to get federal electoral law passed in Congress.

Another House Democrat still in Washington, Austin Rep. Gina Hinojosa, also checked out the Democrats, who returned on Twitter Monday afternoon, and called Fierro, González, Moody and Talarico while the House waited to open see if there is still the quorum for the day.

“The quorum is still not met,” tweeted Hinojosa. “Pray that no other Democrats will voluntarily go to the ground.”

Ramos appeared to be the most critical, tweeting at least four times about the returning Democrats. In one of her tweets, she said the returning Democrats were there to “sell us”.

In his statement on his return, Talarico claimed the Democrats had made headway in lobbying for federal legislation, which remains a long way on Capitol Hill.

“We have reinvigorated the national debate on the right to vote and pushed Congress closer than ever to passing voter protection laws,” said Talarico, also referring to the growing problems facing the legislature at home, such as the resurgent coronavirus pandemic.

Talarico represents a contested suburb of Austin, where it has attracted two serious Republican challengers since leaving the state. One of them, Caroline Harris, is an associate of Senate Electoral Author, Senator Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola.

The scene Monday was a departure from the first special session when the Democrats, who break the quorum, were able to achieve unity. The core group of 57 that traveled to Washington saw only one of them, State Representative Philip Cortez of San Antonio, return to Austin, and he returned to Washington days later.

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