What took so long?!
Some of these crooks have been vacationing in Europe and the Caribbean. Why did we let them get away with this?
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan signed civil arrest warrants on Tuesday for 52 Democratic representatives who fled the state to block passage of a GOP-backed elections bill.
Phelan signed the warrants after House members present in the capital voted 80-12 to allow law enforcement officers to track down absent lawmakers. Democrats who may be arrested will not face criminal charges or fines, and will only be brought to the House chamber for a vote on the elections bill.
Democrats have claimed that the bill would prevent minority voters from casting ballots, while Republicans have touted the legislation as a step to secure elections by instituting voter ID requirements for mail-in ballots, criminalizing vote harvesting, and prohibiting some pandemic-era procedures such as drive-in voting.
Several House Democrats blasted the civil arrest warrants in public comments on Tuesday.
House Democrats initially blocked passage of the bill by walking out of the chamber in late May, denying a quorum required to pass legislation. Governor Greg Abbott responded by calling a special legislative session to pass the bill.
Photo: Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 13: Joined by fellow Texas state House Democrats, Rep. Senfronia Thompson (TX-141) speaks during a news conference on voting rights outside the U.S. Capitol on July 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. More than sixty Texas House Democrats left the state overnight to Washington, DC, in order to block a voting restrictions bill by denying a Republican quorum. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest the legislators when they returns to the state. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)