Greg Abbott says he will try to remove Democrats unless they return to allow vote to take place on redrawing the US House map to favour Republicans
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I am Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.
We start with the news that Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott has said he will begin trying to remove Democratic lawmakers from office on Monday if they don’t return after dozens of them left the state in a last-resort attempt to block redrawn US House maps that president Donald Trump wants before the 2026 midterm elections.
The revolt by the state House Democrats, many of whom went to Illinois or New York on Sunday, and Abbott giving them less than 24 hours to come home ratcheted up a widening fight over congressional maps, Associated Press reported.
The planned vote on Monday could see five new Republican-leaning seats created in the House of Representatives. The move by the Democrats threatens to thwart Republican efforts by denying them a quorum, or the minimum number of members to validate the vote’s proceedings.
