Tamir Kalifa
/ Getty Images
Updated July 12, 2021 at 4:52 PM ET
Texas House Democrats announced Monday that they've left the state in a second attempt to block controversial GOP legislation that critics have slammed as voter suppression.
Democrats, in an attempt again to break quorum and stop votes on Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3, said they were flying to Washington, D.C., where they planned to push for federal voter protections.
"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," a statement from House Democratic leaders said. "We are now taking the fight 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."