Texas House Speaker Signs Arrest Warrants for 52 Absent Democrats

Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan gavels in the 87th Legislature's special session in the House chamber at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on July 8, 2021. Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images

House Speaker Dade Phelan on Tuesday signed arrest warrants for the 52 state House Democrats who absented themselves from legislative business in order to block Republican-led election reforms, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Earlier in the day, the Texas House of Representatives voted 80-12 to bring back the wayward Democrats. Hours prior to the vote, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Republicans were within their rights to force their colleagues to return.