NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows on Friday vowed that runaway Democrats who try to return home over the weekend will not have a “peaceful weekend” and instead will be arrested and “compelled to this chamber.”

A new special session of the Texas House of Representatives got underway on Friday afternoon, just two hours after the Republican-dominated chamber once again was unable to reach a quorum after Democrats failed to show up.

As the Democratic lawmakers who fled Texas to prevent any votes on congressional redistricting in the red state signal they’re coming home, Republicans in the GOP-dominated Texas legislature adjourned the current special session when they gathered in the morning.

Minutes later, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called into order a second straight special session of the state legislature, to pass GOP-crafted maps to create up to five Republican-friendly congressional districts at the expense of currently Democrat-controlled seats. The new session got underway at Noon CT but was quickly adjourned.

FLEEING TEXAS DEMOCRATS SIGNAL THEY’LL COME HOME

Burrows said at the start of the second special session on Friday that he expected to reach a quorum on Monday, with the likely return of the fleeing Democrats.

Burrows added that any Texas Democrats who return over the weekend will be arrested and brought back to the Capitol immediately. “Civil arrest warrants will be reissued. If you are located, you will be compelled to this chamber,” he said.

“Those who are here today, you have earned the weekend at home with your families, but those who have refused to make quorum. I’m sure you’re missing home. Do not think you have permission to return to Texas and enjoy a peaceful weekend before finally showing up to work,” Burrows said. “DPS will remain active and civil arrest warrants will be reissued. If you are located, you will be compelled to this chamber. If that happens, I will ask those members who’ve gone home for the weekend to return immediately.”

REDISTRICTING BATTLE: NEWSOM VOWS TO FIGHT ‘FIRE WITH FIRE’

The action in Austin comes one day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats unveiled their playbook to counter the push by President Donald Trump and Republicans to enact rare – but not unheard of – mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The fast-paced moves in Austin are the latest in the high-stakes national battle between Republicans and Democrats over congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Newsom vowed to “meet fire with fire” by redrawing blue-state California’s congressional maps to create five more Democrat-leaning districts.

The state Democratic lawmakers, who fled to the blue states of Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, said that they would return to Texas after the adjournment of the current special session. However, they didn’t say specifically which day they would come home.

The end of the walkout by the Democrats will lead to the passage of the new maps, but Texas Democrats vow they’ll fight the new state maps in court and say the moves by California are allowing them to pass “the baton.”

“Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts,” Texas state House Democratic leader Rep. Gene Wu said on Thursday.

Abbott is urging Texas’ highest court to remove Wu from office, and state Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked that 13 Democratic state lawmakers also be removed from office. The fleeing lawmakers also face fines of up to $500 per day for their absence.

In Texas, the state Senate passed the new congressional maps, but Democratic lawmakers in the House fled the state, preventing the House from reaching a quorum. That effectively blocked any votes in the chamber to approve the GOP redistricting push.

Both houses of the state legislature started meeting at 10am CT on Friday, and the House, after once again falling short of reaching a quorum, adjourned the current special session. Abbott then called for the second special session.

“Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,” the governor charged in a statement Friday morning.

Additionally, the three-term conservative governor vowed earlier this week that “I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed.”

The Republican push in Texas, which comes at Trump’s urging, is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to pad their razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms. However, while the Republican push in Texas to upend the current congressional maps doesn’t face constitutional constraints, Newsom’s path in California is much more complicated.

SCHWARZENEGGER’S NEW STARING ROLE: PUSHING BACK AGAINST NEWSOM’S REDISTRICTING DRIVE

The governor is moving to hold a special election this year, to obtain voter approval to undo the constitutional amendments that created the non-partisan redistricting commission. A two-thirds majority vote in the Democrat-dominated California legislature would be needed to hold the referendum.

Democratic Party leaders are confident they’ll have the votes to push the constitutional amendment and the new proposed congressional maps through the legislature.

“Here we are in open and plain sight before one vote is cast in the 2026 midterm election and here [Trump] is once again trying to rig the system,” Newsom charged on Thursday.

Thursday’s appearance by Newsom, who is considered a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, will also serve as a fundraising kickoff to raise massive amounts of campaign cash needed to sell the redistricting push statewide in California.

The non-partisan redistricting commission, created over 15 years ago, remains popular with most Californians, according to public opinion polling.

That’s why Newsom and California Democratic lawmakers are promising not to scrap the commission entirely, but rather replace it temporarily by the legislature for the next three election cycles.

“We will affirm our commitment to the state independent redistricting after the 2030 census, but we asking the voters for their consent to do midterm redistricting,” Newsom said.

However, their efforts are opposed by a number of coalition of figures supportive of the non-partisan commission.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Among the most visible members is former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican elected governor in Democrat-dominated California.

Democrats currently control 43 of the state’s 52 House seats. In Texas, Republicans control 25 of the state’s 38 congressional districts.

Fox News’ Lindsey Reese contributed to this story

Past efforts by Democrats to abscond and deny Republicans a quorum similarly only delayed the passage of bills, but didn’t quash them. And Gov. Gregg Abbott vowed to keep calling the Legislature back until enough lawmakers are present to pass the redistricting proposal.

They said they will return to Texas provided that California releases its own redrawn map proposal and Texas Republicans end the special legislative session, both of which are expected to happen Friday.

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers who left Texas and thereby halted the vote on redistricting moved closer to ending their nearly two-week walkout on Thursday.

Here is a rundown of what states are doing.

Changing congressional maps in a bid to ensure one party’s victory over another — called gerrymandering — has typically been done more furtively. But President Donald Trump’s call for Texas to redraw the maps to better ensure that Republicans retain control of the House in the 2026 elections has blown the lid off the practice.

So far, though, only California has taken steps toward redistricting.

A partisan move by Texas to redraw its congressional maps in the middle of the decade to secure five more GOP seats in the U.S. House set off a clamor to replicate the effort in red and blue states.

State Rep. Jon Rosenthal, a Democrat from Houston, told The Associated Press this week that their protest was about raising awareness.

“They may still pass these maps, but we’re going to do everything we can to awaken America,” he said.

California Democrats propose retaliation

In response to Texas, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the state will move forward with redrawing congressional maps aimed at putting five more Democrats into the U.S. House.

WATCH: Newsom announces California is moving ahead on response to Texas redistricting

The proposed maps, which are expected to be released Friday, are an attempt to counterbalance Texas’ and Trump’s plan to add five Republican seats.

Newsom has been outspoken about retaliating if Texas’s redistricting takes effect, telling Trump this week in a letter that the president was “playing with fire.”

Unlike Texas, however, California has an independent commission that handles redistricting after the census each decade, which is typically when districts are reshaped to account for population shifts. Any changes would first need the approval of state lawmakers and voters.

State lawmakers plan to officially declare a special election next week.

Missouri Republicans take steps toward redistricting

At Trump’s urging and partly in response to California’s threats, Missouri’s Republican majority is preparing for a special session on congressional redistricting

A document obtained by The Associated Press shows the state Senate has received a $46,000 invoice for software licenses and staff training for redistricting.

While Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe hasn’t officially announced a special session, Republican House Majority Leader Alex Riley told the AP it is “pretty likely” to happen. Riley added that he has had discussions with White House staff about it.

Republicans hold six of Missouri’s eight congressional seats. The party could target a Democratic-held district in Kansas City to pick up another seat.

In justifying the redistricting, Missouri Republicans accused neighboring Illinois of rigging its maps and pointed to a draft proposal circulating in California.

New York Democrats try to change state law

New York, similar to California, has an independent commission that changes the political maps only after every census. But state Democrats introduced legislation to allow mid-decade redistricting.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said that if Texas proceeds, “we must do the same.”

But the soonest new maps could be in place would be for the 2028 elections. That is because the proposal would require an amendment to the state constitution, a change that would have to pass the Legislature twice and be approved by voters.

Wisconsin Democrats take a different tack

While Republicans control the Legislature, Democrats turned to the courts to try to force a redrawing of congressional district boundary lines before the 2026 midterms.

Two lawsuits were filed in July after the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court — without explanation — previously declined to hear challenges directly.

Maryland Democrats promise a response to Texas

Maryland House Majority Leader David Moon, a Democrat, says he will sponsor legislation to trigger redistricting if Texas or any other state holds redistricting ahead of the census.

Florida’s governor hints at support for redistricting

Republican state House Speaker Daniel Perez said his chamber will take up redistricting this year through a special committee. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has told the public to “stay tuned” and has reiterated his support for the state joining the redistricting fray.

Ohio must redraw its maps before the 2026 midterms

A law in Republican-led Ohio requires new political maps before the 2026 midterm elections. The GOP holds 10 of its 15 House seats already and could try to expand that edge.

Indiana’s governor spoke with the vice president

Vice President JD Vance said he spoke with Republican Gov. Mike Braun last week, as the redistricting melee intensified, but both politicians remained mum about the discussions.

Braun, who would have to call a special session to draw new maps, has said he expects a “broad conversation” with legislative leaders on the move’s constitutionality and said no commitments have been made.

Republicans face more limited possibilities of squeezing out another GOP seat in Indiana. Republican U.S. representatives outnumber Democrats 7-2 in the state already.

Kansas Republicans haven’t ruled out redistricting

Republican state Senate President Ty Masterson didn’t rule out trying to redraw the state’s four congressional districts, one of which is held by the state’s sole Democrat House representative.

The Legislature’s GOP-supermajority could do so early next year, which would put the new lines in place before the June 1 candidate filing deadline.

Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York, Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report.

CHICAGO — Texas Democrats moved closer Thursday to ending a nearly two-week walkout that blocked the GOP’s redrawing of U.S. House maps before the 2026 election and put them under escalating threats by Republicans back home.

The Democrats announced they will return so long as Texas Republicans end a special session and California releases its own redrawn map proposal, both of which were expected to happen Friday.

Democrats did not say what day they might return.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott still intends to push through new maps that would give the GOP five more winnable seats before next year’s midterm elections.

Texas House Democrats said in a statement that attorneys told them they must return to the state to “build a strong public legislative record” for an upcoming legal battle against a new map.

“Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts,” said state Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader.

At the same time, the Texas Democrats want to wait until California Democrats file their bill to redraw the state’s maps, Wu added. “We want to make sure the baton is fully in their hands before we let go,” he said.

Texas Democrats, who are the minority in each chamber, fled Aug. 3 to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts to stop the Legislature from passing any bills.

Abbott asked the state’s highest court to remove Wu from office, and other Republican officials threatened their arrest. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he asked the FBI to assist Texas authorities in locating the lawmakers and Attorney General Ken Paxton asked that 13 members be removed from office.

Lawmakers face fees of up to $500 each day they are absent after the House adopted new rules in 2021 after a similar walkout over voting restriction legislation.

Texas has 38 congressional districts, 25 of which Republicans hold. In California, Democrats control 43 of the state’s 52 House seats.

California governor calls for Nov. 4 special election on state’s redrawn maps

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that California will hold a Nov. 4 special election to seek approval of redrawn districts intended to give Democrats five more U.S. House seats in the fight for control of Congress.

The move is a direct response to the Republican-led effort in Texas, pushed by President Donald Trump as his party seeks to maintain its slim House majority in the midterm elections.

The nation’s two most populous states emerged as the center of a partisan turf war in the House that could spiral into other states — as well as the courts — in what amounts to a proxy war ahead of the 2026 elections.

Newsom goes to LA to launch campaign for new districts

In Los Angeles, Newsom staged what amounted to a campaign kickoff rally for the as-yet unreleased new maps with the state’s Democratic leadership in a downtown auditorium packed with union members, legislators and abortion rights supporters.

Newsom and other speakers veered from discussing the technical grist of reshaping districts — known as redistricting — and instead depicted the looming battle as a conflict with all things Trump, tying it explicitly to the fate of American democracy.

“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country,” Newsom said. “We are not bystanders in this world. We can shape the future.”

An overarching theme was the willingness to stand up to Trump, a cheer-inducing line for Democrats as the party looks to regroup from its 2024 losses.

“Donald Trump, you have poked the bear and we will punch back,” said Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential contender.

Showdown between Texas and California could spread

Thursday’s announcement marks the first time any state beyond Texas officially waded into the mid-decade redistricting fight.

Elsewhere, leaders from red Florida to blue New York are threatening to write new maps. In Missouri, a document obtained by The Associated Press shows the state Senate received a $46,000 invoice to activate six redistricting software licenses and provide training for up to 10 staff members.

In California, lawmakers must officially declare the special election, which they plan to do next week after voting on the new maps. Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers — enough to act without any Republican votes — and Newsom said he’s not worried about winning the required support from two-thirds of lawmakers to advance the maps.

Newsom encouraged other Democratic-led states to get involved.

“We need to stand up — not just California. Other blue states need to stand up,” Newsom said.

House control could come down to a few seats in 2026

Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the U.S. House, with four vacancies.

New maps are typically drawn once a decade after the census is conducted. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California is among states that rely on an independent commission that is supposed to be nonpartisan.

The California map would take effect only if a Republican state moves forward, and it would remain through the 2030 elections. After that, Democrats say they would return mapmaking power to the independent commission approved by voters more than a decade ago.

Opposition to California plan begins to take shape

Some people already have said they would sue to block the effort, and influential voices including former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may campaign against it.

“Gavin Newsom’s latest stunt has nothing to do with Californians and everything to do with consolidating radical Democrat power, silencing California voters, and propping up his pathetic 2028 presidential pipe dream,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Christian Martinez said in a statement. “Newsom’s made it clear: he’ll shred California’s Constitution and trample over democracy — running a cynical, self-serving playbook where Californians are an afterthought and power is the only priority.”

California Democrats hold 43 of the state’s 52 House seats, and the state has some of the most competitive House seats.

Outside Newsom’s news conference Thursday, U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted patrols, drawing condemnation from the governor and others.

“We’re here making Los Angeles a safer place since we don’t have politicians that will do that,” Gregory Bovino, chief of the patrol’s El Centro, California, sector, told a reporter with KTTV in Los Angeles. He said he didn’t know Newsom was inside nearby.

Texas Democrats on Thursday moved closer to ending a nearly two-week walkout that has blocked the GOP’s redrawing of U.S. House maps before the 2026 election and put them under escalating threats by Republicans back home.

The Democrats, many of whom are staying in Illinois to avoid a vote, announced they will return so long as Texas Republicans end a special session and California releases its own redrawn map proposal, both of which were expected to happen Friday.

Stream NBC 5 for free, 24/7, wherever you are. WATCH HERE WATCH HERE

Democrats did not say what day they might return.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott still intends to push through new maps that would give the GOP five more winnable seats before next year’s midterm elections.

Texas House Democrats said in a statement that under the advice of legal counsel, they needed to return to the state to “build a strong public legislative record” for an upcoming legal battle against a new map.

The Democrats announced they will return so long as Texas Republicans end a special session and California releases its own redrawn map proposal, both of which were expected to happen Friday.

CHICAGO (AP) — Texas Democrats on Thursday moved closer to ending a nearly two-week walkout that has blocked the GOP’s redrawing of U.S. House maps before the 2026 election and put them under escalating threats by Republicans back home.

Democrats did not say what day they might return.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott still intends to push through new maps that would give the GOP five more winnable seats before next year’s midterm elections.

Texas House Democrats said in a statement that under the advice of legal counsel, they needed to return to the state to “build a strong public legislative record” for an upcoming legal battle against a new map.

“Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts,” said state Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader.

Lathan reported from Austin.