A Texas Democrat is making a stand at the state Capitol on Tuesday morning by camping out on the House floor overnight. State Rep. Nicole Collier refused to sign a Republican order that would have put her under police escort, so she stayed through the night in protest.
Collier said she wouldn’t “sign her dignity” by agreeing to the state’s Department of Public Safety’s around-the-clock monitoring.
She spent the night inside the chamber, joined by fellow State Democrats Gene Wu and Vince Perez, in a show of defiance against what they call intimidation tactics.
“My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights,” Collier said. “I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts. My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation. When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents — I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination.”
Wu shared a video with Collier on X, saying, “We are fighting for all Texans & the American people. Stand with us!”
Democrats return to Texas
Her stand came just hours after House Democrats returned from their two-week walkout. Earlier this month, more than 50 lawmakers left for blue states like Illinois and New York, denying Republicans a quorum and stalling the redistricting process.
However, those Democrats slowly started returning on Monday. By that afternoon, the Democrats walked into the Capitol to cheers from supporters.
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Republicans respond to return
House Republicans were prepared for the return. On Monday, they ordered lawmakers to remain under DPS supervision until Wednesday morning. They even required “permission slips” to leave the floor.
Most Democrats complied, showing off their escorts to reporters. Collier, however, refused.
According to CNN, she can only leave the floor under the supervision of a law enforcement officer and cannot leave the state Capitol unless she agrees to outside supervision.
Redistricting efforts move forward
With Democrats back inside, the House finally reached a quorum for the first time this month.
The quorum cleared the way for Republicans to move forward on new congressional maps. The changes could add up to five more GOP seats in Washington D.C.
