Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune
National
By Hayden Betts

Denying quorum has been a Texas political strategy since 1870

At least 50 House Democrats that Texas left the state held a press conference in Washington D.C. The democrats broke quorum and stopped Republicans from taking up GOP priority bills on July 13, 2021.
The last time Texas House Democrats broke quorum was in July 2021, when they headed to Washington D.C. The delegation did so in an effort to block the passage of a bill they said would have restricted voting access. (Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune)

In June 1870, 13 Texas senators walked out of the Capitol to block a bill giving the governor wartime powers, depriving the upper chamber of the two-thirds quorum required for voting. Though the fleeing members were arrested, and the bill eventually passed, the “Rump Senate incident” established quorum-breaking as a minority party tactic that has persisted in Texas politics ever since.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.