Protest at Texas Capitol after Democratic lawmakers spent the night in chamber

Record ID: 2022349

  • Title: Protest at Texas Capitol after Democratic lawmakers spent the night in chamber
  • Date: 20th August 2025
  • Summary: AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 20, 2025) (REUTERS) PERSON CARTING BLANKETS, LUGGAGE THROUGH TEXAS CAPITOL PROTESTERS SITTING AND STANDING WITH SIGNS IN CAPITOL ROTUNDA VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SITTING AND STANDING WITH SIGNS IN CAPITOL ROTUNDA, CHEERING, WAVING SIGNS PEOPLE, PROTESTERS WITH SIGNS, JOURNALISTS GATHERING AROUND PRESS CONFERENCE PODIUM IN CAPITOL ROTUNDA,
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Democrats Redistricting Texas Texas House of Representatives
  • Location: AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES
  • City: AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: North America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA001860220082025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Texas legislators on Wednesday (August 20) took up a new state congressional map intended to flip five Democratic-held U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections, after dozens of Democratic lawmakers ended a two-week walkout that had temporarily blocked passage.
    Republican legislators, who have dominated Texas politics for over two decades, have undertaken a rare mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump, who is seeking to improve his party's odds of preserving its narrow U.S. House of Representatives majority amid political headwinds.
    Texas Democrats raised multiple objections to and questions about the measure, slowing debate.
    Democrats and civil rights groups have said the new map dilutes the voting power of racial minorities in violation of federal law and have vowed to sue.
    Republican House leadership assigned state law enforcement officers to monitor Democrats to ensure they would not leave the state again. One Democratic representative, Nicole Collier, slept in the Capitol building on Monday night rather than accept a police escort.
    Republicans, including Trump, have openly acknowledged that the new map is aimed at increasing their political power. The party currently controls 25 of the state's 38 districts under a Republican-drawn map that was passed four years ago.
    Democrats and civil rights groups have said the new map dilutes the voting power of racial minorities in violation of federal law and have vowed to sue.
    Nationally, Republicans captured the 435-seat U.S. House in 2024 by only three seats. The party of the president historically loses House seats in the first midterm election, and Trump's approval ratings have sagged since he took office in January.
    (Production by Rich Matthews, Erica Stapleton)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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