On August 4th when the House gaveled in they lacked a quorum and have yet to establish quorum. Below is the timeline of events for the House chamber and state leadership response.
8/18/2025
- Quorum was present on August 18, 2025. A Call on the House is still in effect, meaning members must receive permission to leave the chamber; members who previously had an arrest warrant issued can only leave while in the custody of DPS. Arrest warrants are still active for members who were still absent.
8/17/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 17, 2025.
8/16/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 16, 2025.
8/15/2025
- Quorum was not present on the morning of August 15, 2025 and the House and Senate adjourned sine die. Governor Abbott called for a second special session shortly after sine die.
- Speaker Burrows gaveled in the 2nd Called Special Session at noon and quorum was not present. Speaker Burrows stated that he had heard absent members would return by Monday and quorum would be established then.
8/14/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 14, 2025.
8/13/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 13, 2025.
8/12/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 12, 2025. Speaker Burrows stated there will be one more attempt on Friday to obtain quorum during the 1st Called Special Session, after which the House and Senate would sine die for the 1st Called Special Session and Governor Abbott would immediately call for the 2nd Called Special Session.
8/11/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 11, 2025. Speaker Burrows noted that costs are being tracked and quorum breaking members will be held responsible for costs per House Rule 5, Sec. 3. Speaker Burrows also emphasized the efforts of DPS to track missing members, and announced that a tip line had been set up for information on member whereabouts.
8/10/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 10, 2025.
8/9/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 9, 2025.
8/8/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 8, 2025. House Speaker Burrows has stated the House will next meet at 1 PM on Monday, August 11, with pro forma sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Members were told they were on call and should be available within 6 hours in case quorum could be established over the weekend.
- Similar to actions to domesticate the civil arrest warrants in Illinois, Speaker Burrows stated similar efforts will likely begin in other states soon.
8/7/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 7, 2025. House Speaker Burrows has stated the call to order on Wednesday and Thursday will be pro forma, and that the House will next try to obtain quorum to conduct business on Friday, August 8.
- AG Paxton and House Speaker Burrows have filed to enforce the civil arrest warrants in Illinois.
- Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock statement supporting decision to suspend direct deposit for members breaking quorum.
8/6/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 6, 2025. House Speaker Burrows has stated the call to order on Wednesday and Thursday will be pro forma, and that the House will next try to obtain quorum to conduct business on Friday, August 8.
8/5/2025
- Quorum was not present on August 5, 2025. House Speaker Burrows has stated the call to order on Wednesday and Thursday will be pro forma, and that the House will next try to obtain quorum to conduct business on Friday, August 8.
- Governor Abbott filed an emergency petition in the Supreme Court of Texas seeking to remove Texas State Representative Gene Wu from office.
- Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the Texas Supreme Court not to dismiss the Governor’s filing until the Speaker’s deadline, when the Attorney General can be heard on this issue.
8/4/2025
- House Speaker Dustin Burrows called the House to order at 3pm but a quorum was not present. Speaker Burrows said leaving the state does not stop the work but only delays it and as such the cost to the state grows. The House passed a motion to call the House (86-6) and for all those without an excused absence to be brought back under warrant of arrest if necessary (85-6). Under a call, members must now have written permission from the Speaker to leave the chamber; any members leaving are required to return. The House stands adjourned until 1 pm Tuesday.
- Immediately following the proceeding Texas Attorney General released a statement; click here for the statement.
- Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return House Democrats who broke quorum. Governor Abbott stated: “Speaker Dustin Burrows just issued a call of the Texas House and issued warrants to compel members to return to the chamber. To ensure compliance, I ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans. This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol.”
- Governor Abbott directed the Texas Rangers to investigate these members on potential violations of Texas law.
8/3/2025
- Texas House Democrats released a statement announcing a quorum break. House Speaker Burrows responded with a statement that the House will be convening at 3 PM on August 4 and “all options will be on the table”
