They Prioritized Power Over Flood Relief And The Hearings Are Set

Gerrymandering gets a fast track, while Senate ignores disaster aid.

The band-aid has been ripped off, and the first day of the Special Session started with a surprising four-hour-long session from the Texas Senate. We’ll get to that, but first, we started this morning with a press conference from Congressman Greg Casar and the Legislative House Democratic Caucus.

Congressman Greg Casar and the State House Democrats kicked things off with a press conference that mostly rehashed what we already knew. Trump, Abbott, and the Texas GOP are staging a power grab, and Democrats are going to do whatever it takes to fight it.

The House gaveled in momentarily today, long enough to establish there was a quorum and to read the Governor’s Special Session orders. Then they gaveled out.

The House gaveled in just long enough to say they showed up, then left. Not a single Democrat used the back mic to question the process. If this is a constitutional crisis, you’d hope for more than silence and press releases. But, I suppose there will be plenty of time for that.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, Democrats showed up swinging.

There’s been chatter lately about whether Senate Democrats fight hard enough or do enough when the sake of democracy is on the line. Truth be told, I might be one of the ones who have previously said that. They’re so outnumbered in that body that sometimes it seems like they’ve forgotten how to fight, but not today.

Senator Phil King offered SR5, which was the first order of business. SR5 is related to the Senate Redistricting Committee and its rules, as well as how it will conduct itself.

It should be noted that Senate Republicans wanted to address redistricting before the flooding, before Dan Patrick’s reefer madness, and before Abbott’s laundry list of other items. And every single Senate Democrat took Phil King (R-SD10) to the ringer over it.

Here are some of the highlights.

Senator Carol Alvarado (D-SD06) questioned the necessity, legality, and motivation behind the measure. King acknowledged they are only doing this because Governor Abbott put redistricting on the special session call. He did not offer a substantive justification beyond that.

Senator Molly Cook (D-SD15) pointed out the racial implications of the redistricting process, while King played dumb. He refused to state whether a loss of racial representation would be problematic. 🙄

Then came Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-SD19), who took it up several notches. He called out the lack of legal justification, slammed federal overreach, and then… the feed mysteriously cut right when he brought up Trump and Epstein 👀. We all know about Trump’s relationship with Dan Patrick. That’s all I’m saying.

After the Senate session, Senate Democrats held a press conference where they made it clear they are standing firmly beside House and congressional Democrats.

We have official meeting dates times and instructions.

These have been uploaded to the TLO. These are for the House hearings.

• First meeting- Austin: Thursday, July 24, 2:00 pm

  • At Texas Capitol, room E1.030

  • Members of the public can testify in person at the hearing. Individuals who are unable to attend in person may request to testify via video conference by registering at the provided Zoom link. Links here.

  • Each person will get two minutes to testify. Public testimony is limited to a total of 5 hours. 😡 Registration closes July 23 at 2:00 pm.

  • This hearing will focus on those counties of the State lying wholly or partly within Congressional Districts 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 27, 28, 31, 34, 35, and 37 for the 119th Congress (2025-2026).

• Second meeting - Houston: Saturday, July 26, 11:00 am

  • University of Houston Main Campus 4455 University Drive, Houston, TX 77204 Student Center, Houston Room (Room 220)

  • Members of the public can testify in person at the hearing. You can also electronically submit comments related to congressional redistricting without testifying in person. Links here.

  • Each person will get two minutes to testify. Public testimony is limited to a total of 5 hours. 😡

  • This hearing will focus on those counties of the State lying wholly or partly within Congressional Districts 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 18, 22, 29, 36, and 38 for the 119th Congress (2025-2026).

• Third meeting - DFW: Monday, July 28, 5:00 pm

  • The University of Texas at Arlington 300 West 1st Street, Arlington, TX 76010 E.H. Hereford University Center, Rosebud Theatre

  • Members of the public can testify in person at the hearing. You can also electronically submit comments related to congressional redistricting without testifying in person. Links here.

  • Each person will get two minutes to testify. Public testimony is limited to a total of 5 hours. 😡

  • This hearing will focus on those counties of the State lying wholly or partly within Congressional Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 24, 25, 26, 30, 32, and 33 for the 119th Congress (2025-2026).

It appears that the Senate will hold four redistricting hearings, all of which will be conducted via Zoom. However, no official information has been posted as of now.

So we’ll sit through these meetings over the next week, and then maybe, we’ll finally see the maps.

Maybe Republicans screw themselves with some greedy gerrymander, and we hit the ground organizing and bulldozing through the next 18 months.

Or maybe the maps completely screw Democrats, but California and New York return the favor, and we still pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, take Congress, and take Texas back.

One day at a time.

Tomorrow, the Senate Committee on State Affairs will hold a hearing on THC.

Republicans will also consider a bill that would prosecute individuals who make mistakes on a ballot and ban teachers’ associations and municipalities from lobbying.

Republicans’ priorities after a devastating flood in which dozens of little girls died show the depravity of their characters.

Stopping Black and brown people from voting is more important to the GOP than the lives of children.

The alcohol lobby is more important to the GOP than the lives of children. .

And these hearings prove it.

We’re watching. And we’re not backing down.

This special session is not about the will of the people.

It’s about the will of a party so desperate to cling to power that they’ll redraw the maps mid-decade, punish voters for paperwork errors, and silence the educators and local leaders who dare to speak up.

They’re hoping we’re too tired, too distracted, too heartbroken to fight back.

But we see them.

We see the cruelty of their priorities. We see the manipulation behind their maps. And we see the cracks in their foundation, widening by the day.

So, go ahead and draw your maps. Push your sham hearings. Cozy up to your donors.

We’ll be right here, testifying, organizing, showing up, and building the coalition that’s going to take Texas back.

The flood may have exposed their failures, but we’re the ones who will clean it up.

And we won’t forget who tried to drown democracy while the waters were still rising.

• August 23: Last day of special session

• November 4: Constitutional/TX18/SD09 Election

• Who Will Be On The 2026 State Ballot?

• Who Will Be On The 2026 Federal Ballot?

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

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