With the GOP-driven redrawing of congressional boundaries about to become law, Texas Democrats move to the next stage of their fight. Was the quorum

The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives passed Wednesday a redrawn congressional map that creates up to five new winnable GOP seats in Congress.

Upon returning after a 15-day walkout, Texas House Democrats were asked for consent to be escorted off the floor by DPS officers. Nicole Collier refused and was locked in the chamber Monday night.

The Texas House gaveled in at noon with Democratic members present, marking an official end to the quorum break.

Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier has now spent over 24 hours on the Texas House floor in protest after refusing a Republican demand to be placed under the watch of the state Department of Public Safety.

State Rep. Ray Lopez, a San Antonio Democrat, will not seek reelection to a fifth term in the Legislature’s lower chamber.

The redistricting fight heats up in Texas House as lawmakers prepare to vote on new mid-decade redistricting maps while Democratic activists voice their disapproval.

More Texas House Democrats spent the night at the state Capitol in Austin in support of Rep. Nicole Collier, who wasn’t allowed to leave the building after she refused to consent to a police escort. Texas House Republican leaders would only allow Democratic lawmakers to return to their homes if they signed waivers allowing law enforcement to shadow them until a vote on redistricting Wednesday.