A plan by Texas House Democrats to block a Republican redistricting effort until the complete release of the Jeffrey Epstein files failed on Wednesday.

Texas Republicans insisted that Democrats have around-the-clock police escorts to ensure they wouldn’t leave again.

Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives returned to Austin on Aug. 18, 2025, but their protest of redistricting efforts continues. Democratic Texas Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez speaks at a news conference outside of the House chamber in the State Capitol on Aug.

The Texas House gaveled in at noon with Democratic members present, marking an official end to the quorum break.

The Texas House approved new mid-decade redistricting maps on Wednesday after a two-week delay with a vote of 88-52.

The national party is seeking to frame the quorum break as galvanizing event for Democrats. Texas Republicans are likely to pass the redistricted maps.

Republican lawmakers are pursuing the unusual mid-decade redistricting plan amid pressure from President Donald Trump to protect the GOP’s slim majority in the U.S. House.

The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance,” said State Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), the bill’s primary author.

Collier is a seven-term Democratic lawmaker and former chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus who also represents a majority-minority district. Democrats have charged that the redrawn congressional maps would tear up those districts, stripping those voters of their voices.