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Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows adjourned the 2025 Legislature’s first special session sine die Friday morning, telling lawmakers “not to go very far.�

That move set in motion a series of events that will end the House Democrats� nearly two-week-long quorum break and likely lead to the passage of that has the potential to help Republicans win an additional five seats in next year’s midterm elections.

“I believe our governor will be calling us back for another special session very, very soon,� Burrows told the House before adjourning Friday.

Shortly afterward, Gov. Greg Abbott released his , scheduling the session to begin at noon on Friday.

“We will not back down from this fight,� said Abbott. “That's why I am calling them [the Texas Legislature] back today to finish the job. I will continue to use all necessary tools to ensure Texas delivers results for Texans."

Moments later, state Rep. Ann Johnson (D-Houston) became the first Democrat to announce she’d be returning.

“We broke quorum to protect the Constitution, to defend fair representation, and to stop a racist and rigged process in its tracks - and we succeeded,� Johnson said in a statement.

“Now with that [first special] session behind us, I’m returning to Texas to continue the fight - from the floor of the House.�

The governor has said publicly that he will call as many special sessions as needed for the Legislature to pass the map, which President Donald Trump has sought to help preserve the GOP’s narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

House Democrats, led by state Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) issued a statement from Chicago yesterday saying they would return to Texas when two conditions were met: the Legislature’s adjournment sine die on Friday and California’s introduction of its own redistricting map to counteract Texas� proposed map. California is either today or over the weekend.

“Texas House Democrats broke quorum and successfully mobilized the nation against Trump's assault on minority voting rights," Wu said. “Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we're prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts.�

California’s passage of any proposed redistricting map is far from automatic. It would have to be approved by voters in a special election. Republicans in the state, including former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, .

In addition to California, have begun discussions about redistricting, including Illinois and New York. None of those other states would be able to shift nearly as many seats from Republican to Democratic as easily as California, and New York is effectively prohibited from redistricting for at least another two years.

“What this walkout has done has sparked a whole conversation nationwide about gerrymandering reform and has prompted several blue states to start taking action,� said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder. “If the Texas Democrats hadn’t done this, then those blue states would not be taking action right now.�

This is a developing story and will be updated.