Texas Democrats flee the STATE on a private jet with a crate of beer to stop Republicans passing voting rights bills - while Psaki claims GOP election reform is the 'biggest challenge to democracy since the Civil War'
Texas Democrats fled their state on private jets Monday in order to stop Republicans in the state from passing their voting rights bills through the state legislature.
'Today, Texas House Democrats stand united in our decision to break quorum and refuse to let the Republican-led legislature force through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans' freedom to vote,' the Texas state house Democratic caucus said in a statement.
At least 58 Democratic lawmakers left Austin to fly to Washington D.C. on two private jets chartered for the occasion and will use the time in the nation's Capitol to rally support for federal voting legislation.
'We are now taking flight to our nation's Capitol. We are living on borrowed time in Texas. We need Congress to act now to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect Texans - and all Americans - from the Trump Republicans' nationwide war on democracy,' they added.
Julie Johnson, a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives, posted a selfie on a coach bus that drove a group of lawmakers to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Featured in the image was a case of Miller Lite beer.
'When it comes to protecting our right to vote, all cards are on the table,' Johnson tweeted. 'We broke #quorum again today because the Gov & #txlege Repubs chose to bully Texans out of our constitutional rights instead of finding solutions to problems that really exist.'
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday it was 'certainly' possible that some administration officials would meet with the runaway Democrats.
She called the new voting laws 'the worst challenge to our democracy since the Civil War.'
Texas State Rep. Julie Johnson posted a selfie or her and other Democratic lawmakers in a coach bus as they fled the state on private jets for Washington D.C. to prevent Texas Republicans from passing voting integrity legislation
Featured in the image posted to Twitter is a case of Miller Lite beer occupying a seat on the bus
Texas Democrat James Talarico poses for a photo with colleague Senfronia Thompson before getting on one of the private jets at Austin heading to DC
The coach with the Texas Democrats on board is pictured arriving at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Monday at a private jet terminal
The Democrats' departure paralyzed the Texas state house as the legislature requires a quorum of two-thirds of lawmakers be present to conduct business. It's also akin to a move Democrats used in 2003 when they fled to neighboring Oklahoma to block Republicans' plan to redraw the state's congressional districts.
The Democrats risk arrest and expect state Republicans to send law enforcement officials, possibly including the Texas rangers, after them.
To permanently block the two voting bills that Texas Republicans are pushing, the Democrats would have to stay away through the end of the special legislative session, which can last as many as 30 days.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, demanded the Democrats show up to work and 'put aside partisan political games and get back to the job they were elected to do.'
'Texas Democrats' decision to break a quorum of the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve,' he said in a Monday statement on them fleeing the state. 'As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state.'
The state's Democrats already staged one successful walkout to defeat the election legislation prioritized by Abbott. They quietly left the state house floor in the final minutes of the regular legislative session that ended in May, breaking quorum and forcing Republicans to adjourn without passing the measure.
Abbott called the state legislature back for a special session to deal with the two measures he wants passed.
Senate Republicans in Washington blocked Democrats nation-wide voting rights bill earlier this summer.
As of June 21, 17 states enacted 28 new laws that restrict access to the vote this year alone, according to the Brenner Center for Justice.
TEXAS' VOTING RIGHTS BILLS: WHAT'S IN THEM AND WHY THE DEMOCRATS THINK THEY 'RESTRICT' ELECTIONS
Democrats argue that:
The group of Democratic lawmakers posed for a photo before fleeing so they could break the quorum and stop the Republicans from passing voters laws they claim are restrictive
Texas state representatives gather in the House chamber on July 8 after Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session to prioritize his agenda items, including overhauling the states voting laws and border security
The Republican-led states passed the measures after Biden's victory in the 2020 election after former President Donald Trump falsely claimed he won and was the victim of voter fraud.
President Joe Biden will travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday to talk about voting rights. Psaki hinted he may attack Trump.
'He will redouble his commitment to using every tool at his disposal to continue to fight to protect the fundamental right of Americans to vote against the onslaught of voter suppression laws based on a dangerous and discredited conspiracy theory that culminated in assault on our Capitol,' she said.
She then referred to the 'big lie' - a term Democrats have used to refer to the false election claims made by Trump and some other Republicans. The use is a strike at Trump, who calls Biden's election victory 'The Big Lie.'
'He'll call out the greatest irony of 'the big lie' - that no election in our history has met such a high standard with over 80 judges, including those appointed by his predecessor, throwing out all challenges,' Psaki said. 'He'll also decry efforts to strip the right to vote as authoritarian and anti American and stand up against the notion that politicians should be allowed to choose their voters.'
With Biden pushing the issue in Philadelphia, the birthplace of democracy, and Texas Democrats marching around Washington, the pressure will be on Republicans.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the new voting laws 'the worst challenge to our democracy since the Civil War' during her briefing Monday. Texas' Republican Governor Greg Abbott demanded the Democrats show up to work and 'put aside partisan political games and get back to the job they were elected to do.'
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, at a voting rights event in Detroit on Monday, praised the Texas Democrats for the work their 'extraordinary courage and commitment' for American voter rights.
'I applaud them standing for the rights of all Americans, and all Texans to express their voice through their vote, unencumbered,' she said.
'I do believe that fighting for the right to vote is as American as apple pie,' she noted.
The Texas Democrats are scheduled to arrive in Washington D.C. on early Monday evening.
The two Texas bills would add new identification requirements for mail voting, ban some early voting options and create new criminal penalties for breaking election code while empowering partisan poll watchers.
The measures would ban several election programs implemented last year to help people vote during the coronavirus pandemic, including drive-through voting and 24-hour and late-night voting.
Voting rights advocates noted that voters of color used these programs disproportionately.