When Texas state lawmakers convene this morning, Monday, July 21, 2025, for a special legislative session, they will face significant time constraints, as they have only 30 days to address a densely packed agenda established by Governor Greg Abbott. This session is primarily defined by two crucial issues: first, the urgent need for legislation responding to the catastrophic floods that swept through Central Texas, resulting in the tragic loss of over 100 lives, including dozens of children; second, the contentious redistricting process mandated by President Donald Trump.
There is widespread agreement among lawmakers about the necessity of passing laws to prevent a recurrence of such a devastating flooding disaster. The Fourth of July flood has become one of the deadliest in Texas’s modern history, exposing some deficiencies in the state’s emergency preparedness and highlighting the vulnerability of millions who reside in flood-prone areas. As a result, lawmakers are expected to focus on establishing more robust flood prevention infrastructure and improving emergency response protocols.
On the other hand, the issue of redistricting is a source of contention. Democrats contend that the proposed changes will further marginalize underrepresented communities in Texas, as the Republican Party seeks to gain additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. This redistricting effort has the potential to dilute the voting power of minority groups, raising concerns about fairness and representation in the electoral process.
Another significant point of contention involves the state’s two highest officials—Governor Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick—who have publicly disagreed about how to regulate hemp-derived products. These consumables, which produce effects akin to marijuana, have gained popularity across the state due to a legal loophole in previous legislation. Patrick has been a vocal advocate for an outright ban on these products, a stance that has incited rare criticism from his own party, culminating in an unusual veto from Abbott concerning this particular priority of Patrick’s.
Beyond the debate over hemp products, Texas Republicans are entering this special session following a notably successful regular session. During the lengthy 140-day lawmaking period that concluded in early June, the Republican majority passed significant reforms, including a program that offers taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school tuition and other educational expenses, which was a key objective of the governor. In addition, lawmakers enacted a variety of other Republican priorities, such as tightening the state’s bail laws and prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in K-12 schools.
In this upcoming session, Governor Abbott has also included a series of socially conservative proposals that were previously unsuccessful in the regular session. These proposals include mandates for individuals to use restrooms that correspond with the sex assigned to them at birth and more stringent regulations on the manufacturing and distribution of abortion pills. With the campaign season looming and some Republican lawmakers eyeing higher political offices, primary politics are expected to exert a more decisive influence over legislative discussions under the iconic pink dome of the Texas State Capitol.
As Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, aptly observed, “You can’t overlook the fact that this special session was primarily driven by interest in redistricting. The entire session is really centered around the upcoming election,” reflecting the intersection of legislative action and electoral strategy in Texas politics.
One of the most pressing questions for the upcoming legislative session in Texas is how key leaders of both chambers—Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows — will navigate the timing and pacing of Governor Greg Abbott’s ambitious 18-item agenda. Patrick, a Republican who has served in his role since 2015, and Burrows, a Republican who represents Borden, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd, Garza, Kent, Lubbock (part), Lynn, Mitchell, Scurry, Terry counties, and current House Speaker, have demonstrated a significant level of collaboration. During the most recent regular session, they effectively worked together to pass almost all of their major priorities, signaling a departure from Patrick’s historical conflicts with previous House speakers. As the special session approaches, both leaders have issued statements indicating their agreement on crucial issues like redistricting and flood relief measures.
The order in which these two significant topics—redistricting and flood response—are addressed could have a profound effect on the dynamics of the entire session. Texas Democrats have accused the state’s Republican leadership of using the immediate crisis of flood relief as a smokescreen to push through politically motivated redistricting efforts. If Republicans choose to prioritize redistricting before addressing measures aimed at enhancing flood warning systems and providing disaster relief funds to communities severely impacted by the recent flash floods, they risk escalating criticism from Democrats. This could also provoke retaliatory redistricting efforts in states led by Democrats.
Should Republicans manage to pass flood response measures early in the session, it may diminish the incentives for Democrats to remain in Austin and actively participate in the legislative process. Sources indicate that Texas House Democrats are being encouraged by their party leaders in Washington, D.C., to consider a strategic retreat—leaving the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to finalize new congressional maps. While Democratic leaders have not formally announced any plans to implement this strategy, discussions on the idea have been openly circulating.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has publicly vowed to support efforts to track down and compel the attendance of any lawmaker who chooses to abandon their constituents for what he describes as “cheap political theater.” There has been no response from spokespeople for Burrows and Patrick to inquiries regarding their perspectives on the tactics being considered by Democrats.
A particularly urgent question looms over how Democrats will navigate the special session, given that they are outnumbered in both legislative chambers and possess limited leverage to block most proposed legislation. One drastic option available to them is to walk out or to simply refuse to show up at the Capitol altogether, thereby withholding the necessary number of lawmakers required for Republicans to carry out business as usual. This tactic isn’t without precedent; in 2021, Democrats staged a walkout to break quorum in a bid to halt a Republican-backed bill that significantly overhauled the state’s election laws. Likewise, in 2003, they fled to Oklahoma in an effort to obstruct a GOP-led redistricting plan. In both instances, the legislation ultimately passed once a sufficient number of Democrats returned to the Capitol.
Representative Gene Wu, a Democrat from Houston who chairs the minority party caucus in the lower chamber, has leveled harsh criticism at Republican state leaders. He accused them of taking advantage of the ongoing flash floods to draw lawmakers back to the Capitol, thereby forcing them to push through an agenda filled with socially conservative measures that he argues should deeply concern the average Texan. He controversially noted that Governor Abbott did not call for a special legislative session in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017; instead, Abbott opted to provide disaster relief using funds from the state’s savings account. In this current situation, however, Abbott has convened lawmakers for a special session while simultaneously urging them to tackle numerous GOP priorities.
“It’s insanity, it’s cruel,” Wu remarked in a recent interview. He elaborated on his concerns, stating, “It’s just the craven politics of it. This is why Americans have grown disillusioned with politicians.” While he did not explicitly articulate whether he intended to lead Democrats in a quorum break, he left the door open to that possibility. “I don’t think any option is off the table,” he stated. Meanwhile, Representative Ron Reynolds, a Democrat from Missouri City, has expressed his readiness to “get into good trouble by breaking quorum when justice is on the line.”
As lawmakers prepared to return for an overtime session, debates surrounding hemp-derived THC products dominated conversations within the Capitol. Throughout the regular session, Patrick had aggressively pushed for a total ban on these products, facing considerable pushback from the hemp industry as well as prominent conservative personalities and commentators who criticized him for overstepping into personal liberties. Despite this opposition, a complete ban on hemp-derived THC narrowly passed through both chambers, only to be vetoed by Governor Abbott at the last minute. Shortly after his veto announcement, Abbott called for a special session, directing lawmakers to consider a range of new regulations for the hemp industry. These regulations aim to restrict sales of THC products to children and teenagers while stopping short of completely eliminating the burgeoning industry.
Patrick, however, remains resolute in his pursuit of a ban on hemp-derived THC, which sets the stage for a potential clash between two of the state’s most influential elected officials. He has argued that the unrestricted accessibility of these drugs is leading to increased addiction rates, particularly among young people who lack adequate protection and oversight. Last week, Patrick even shared a column authored by Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who has championed the federal legislation that indirectly legalized these products in 2018. The op-ed called for significant changes to the federal farming bill, which legalized the production of hemp and hemp derivatives. “This is a massive course correction and should send a strong message to everyone who supports legalizing marijuana in Texas and allowing THC to be sold to anyone of any age,” Patrick wrote, signaling his continued commitment to take a hardline stance on this issue.
Democrats and Republicans alike are closely monitoring the ongoing redistricting efforts in Texas to gauge the extent of their aggressiveness. President Trump is advocating for a strategic pickup of five additional House seats for the GOP, but there is uncertainty about which specific congressional districts will be targeted—and whether a new map can be crafted without jeopardizing the positions of existing Republican incumbents.
As the redistricting unfolds, Republicans must navigate the complexities of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark piece of legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in electoral processes. This requirement adds a significant layer of difficulty to their plans.
One of the most apparent targets for potential Republican pickups are the two congressional districts in South Texas currently held by Democratic Representatives Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen. David Wasserman, the senior editor and elections analyst for the Cook Political Report, has indicated that these areas present viable opportunities for the GOP. The challenge will be to draw in sufficient Republican voters into these districts to create winning margins, all while ensuring that the nearby district of Republican Representative Monica De La Cruz of Edinburg remains secure. De La Cruz’s district is strategically located between the Cuellar and Gonzalez seats, making it crucial for Republicans to maintain her incumbency.
Additionally, the possibility of redistricting in the Dallas and Fort Worth metropolitan areas has not been ruled out, suggesting that Democratic-held seats in these regions could also face reshaping. However, Wasserman indicates that a pivotal decision lies in the extent to which Republicans are willing to aggressively pursue Democratic seats in Houston. They could opt for a more conservative approach by focusing on eliminating just one of the vulnerable Democratic seats, such as that held by U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, or they could take a higher-risk strategy and attempt to capture two seats, which could significantly alter the political landscape in Texas.
