Harris to meet with Texas Democrats

Vice President Harris will meet this week with Texas state lawmakers who flew to Washington, D.C., to break quorum and block the passage of a bill that critics argue would make it more difficult to vote.

White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced plans for the meeting while en route to Philadelphia, where President Biden will deliver remarks on Tuesday afternoon on protecting the right to vote.

“The Texas legislation is part of a concerted attack on our democracy being advanced in statehouses across the country on the basis of the same repeatedly disproven lies that led to the assault on the nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6,” Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One.

She would not say whether Biden would meet with the Texas legislators, but said the president “applauds their courage.”

The group is already expected to meet with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to discuss their efforts and push for passage of federal voting rights legislation.

Texas Democratic lawmakers left the state on Monday to deny Republicans the quorum they need to convene a special legislative session in a bid to block the passage of an elections bill. Some of the lawmakers tweeted photos of themselves boarding a private plane and upon arriving in Washington, D.C.

The walkout is a repeat of a tactic state Democrats have used several times before, most recently earlier this year, when legislators walked out just hours before the legislature adjourned its regular session, effectively killing the elections package. This time, Texas lawmakers will likely have to stay away for weeks to run out the clock on the special session.

The Texas House voted Tuesday to have law enforcement track down Democratic lawmakers who fled the state, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has also threatened the Democrats with arrest upon their return to the Lone Star State.

If passed, the Texas bill would implement limits on early voting, curbside voting and drop boxes, prohibit round-the-clock voting centers and voting facilities in outdoor structures like parking garages and scrap straight-ticket voting, among other items that Democrats have argued would suppress the vote.