INTERNACIONAL
Texas Dems also skipped town in 2021 to avoid a vote, and several caught COVID-19 in DC
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Texas House Democrats departed the state Sunday in an attempt to halt a redistricting Monday vote, claiming that the legislation is «using an intentionally racist map» to undermine the voices of Black and Latino voters in the state of Texas.
Democrats’ absence means that Republicans are unable to go ahead with a scheduled vote under House rules, blocking the potential passage of redistricting legislation that would establish a new congressional map that could lead to five new GOP U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
«This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,» state Rep. Gene Wu, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement Sunday.
TEXAS DEMOCRATS FLEE STATE TO BLOCK TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING VOTE IN DRAMATIC LEGISLATIVE MOVE
J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois, left, and State Representative Gene Wu, a Democrat from Texas, during a news conference at the Democratic Party of DuPage County office in Carol Stream, Illinois, Aug. 3, 2025.
Most of the House Democrats fled to Chicago, while others headed to New York and Boston.
The Texas House stipulates that at least 100 members of the 150-member chamber must be present to conduct business, and roughly 50 Democrats are absent — meaning the vote is stalled until they return. It’s unclear how Democrats plan to proceed, and Wu told reporters that precise plans were still up in the air.
The redistricting legislation would shift Democrat voters from toss-up districts into ones that are more solidly Republican, and also move other Republican voters into districts that lean more toward Democrats — ultimately paving the way for more GOP seats.
This isn’t the first time Democrats have fled the state in protest of legislation.
In July 2021, more than 50 Democrats also left the state of Texas and headed to Washington, D.C., to tie up Texas legislation that would implement new voting restrictions in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s loss of the 2020 election, which some Republicans claimed was «stolen.»
Specifically, the measure Democrats opposed included new voter ID restrictions for those voting by mail and prohibited drive-by voting and extended voting hours. Likewise, the measure included new limitations for those who work at the polls, and barred local election officials from distributing a mail-in ballot to anyone who hadn’t officially requested one.
Democrats ultimately returned to Texas weeks later, after multiple members caught COVID-19 while in D.C., and House Republicans finally passed the measure in August 2021 before Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law in September 2021.
TRUMP, REPUBLICANS RACE TO REDRAW TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP AS DEMOCRATS THREATEN LEGAL WAR
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to arrest the Democrats who departed the state Sunday, should they not be back by 3 p.m. Monday when the Texas House reconvenes. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Abbott threatened to arrest the Democrats who departed the state Sunday, should they not be back by 3 p.m. Monday when the Texas House reconvenes. Even so, there is no indication of when the Democrats plan to return to Texas.
«Rather than doing their job and voting on urgent legislation affecting the lives of all Texans, they have fled Texas to deprive the House of the quorum necessary to meet and conduct business,» Abbot said in a statement late Sunday.
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The Texas Democrats have attracted support from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who labeled the Democrats’ decision to flee Texas a «righteous act of courage,» and accused Republicans of attempting to silence «millions of voices, especially Black and Latino voters.»
«Texas Democrats were left with no choice but to leave their home state, block a vote from taking place and protect their constituents,» Pritzker said in a news conference Sunday.
The Texas Democrats have attracted support from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who labeled the Democrats’ decision to flee Texas a «righteous act of courage.» (Mark Black/The Associated Press)
Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
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Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…
-Justice Department weighing release of Ghislaine Maxwell interview
–Hunter Biden says he’s started new job with California nonprofit
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California Dem Subject of US Attorney Probe Involving Maryland Mortgage
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is under criminal investigation for mortgage fraud, a Trump administration source told Fox News.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham broke the news on Tuesday night on «The Ingraham Angle,» saying the source said a criminal investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland on possible charges involving mortgage fraud…. READ MORE
U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), joined by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), speaks at a press conference introducing the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Zohran Mamdani
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The presumptive Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani will challenge incumbent Mayor Adams, who is running as an independent, in November’s mayoral election. (Getty Images)
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Palestinians return with bags from a food distribution point run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) group, near the Netsarim corridor in the central Gaza Strip on Aug. 2, 2025. (YAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
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BILL ON THE HILL: Comer subpoenas the Clintons, Trump’s DOJ in House Oversight’s Epstein probe
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On Monday, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest amid ongoing legal proceedings over his alleged attempt to overturn the 2022 presidential election results.
The case has gripped the nation since its inception in 2023 and has intensified international scrutiny, especially as it unfolds under the authority of a Supreme Court justice recently sanctioned by the Trump administration in the United States.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, accused Bolsonaro, 70, of violating court-imposed restrictions.
According to the ruling, first reported by the Associated Press, Bolsonaro used a Sunday protest in Rio de Janeiro to publicly address supporters using a cellphone owned by one of his three sons, all of whom are lawmakers.
TRUMP ADMIN SANCTIONS BRAZILIAN JUDGE OVERSEEING BOLSONARO COUP-PLOT PROBE
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gestures during the inauguration ceremony of new ministers at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on March 31, 2022. – Bolsonaro on Thursday fired key ministers who will contest the October elections, including his possible running mate for defence, in a ceremony in which he praised the last military dictatorship. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
Bolsonaro’s brief message, «Good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom,» was deemed a violation of his release conditions.
Bolsonaro’s legal team announced plans to appeal, arguing that the statement was symbolic, not criminal, and did not justify additional restrictions.
Mounting International Fallout
The political stakes have now extended well beyond Brazil. The case triggered backlash from President Trump, a longtime Bolsonaro ally, who tied newly imposed U.S. tariffs on Brazilian imports to what he called an ongoing «witch hunt.» His remarks have further strained the already delicate diplomatic relationship between the two nations.
In a pointed statement on X, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs condemned the Brazilian court’s actions, writing: «Putting even more restrictions on Jair Bolsonaro’s ability to defend himself in public is not a public service. Let Bolsonaro speak!»
APPEALS COURT GRANTS TRUMP SHORT-TERM WIN OVER BOASBERG IN IMMIGRATION RULING
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
The bureau also warned that individuals involved in what it described as «sanctioned behavior» would be held accountable.
The statement marked a sharp escalation, particularly as it followed closely on the heels of sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department, under Trump’s administration, against Justice de Moraes. He was designated a «U.S.-sanctioned human rights abuser» and accused of weaponizing the judiciary to silence political opponents.
The Basis for Sanctions
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent accused de Moraes of leading an unlawful crackdown:
«Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies. He is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions, and politicized prosecutions—including those against former President Jair Bolsonaro,» Bessent said.
TRUMP FOE JUDGE BOASBERG RULES DEPORTED MIGRANTS CAN CHALLENGE REMOVALS, IN BLOW TO ADMIN
Former President Jair Bolsonaro addresses supporters during a rally in Sao Paulo., Brazil, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Bolsonaro and some of his former top aides are under investigation into allegations they attempted plotted a coup to remove his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
These sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 13818, issued during Trump’s first term in 2017. The order declared a national emergency concerning global human rights abuses and corruption and expanded upon the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act passed in 2016. The law empowers the U.S. government to impose financial and travel sanctions on foreign officials accused of human rights violations.
Despite growing international pressure, the Brazilian government has yet to issue a formal response.
Details of the Case
Brazilian prosecutors allege that Bolsonaro led a coordinated effort to delegitimize, and ultimately overturn, the results of the 2022 election, including planning violent acts and even an alleged assassination plot targeting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Justice de Moraes. Bolsonaro lost the election by a narrow margin.
A panel of Supreme Court justices accepted the charges in March, ultimately ordering Bolsonaro to stand trial. Monday’s house arrest ruling builds on earlier restrictions: an ankle monitor, a nighttime curfew, and a travel ban keeping the former president confined to Brasília despite his deep political roots in Rio de Janeiro.
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A former army captain and deeply polarizing figure, Bolsonaro now joins a short but consequential list of former Brazilian presidents arrested since the country’s return to democracy in 1985, a system he has frequently criticized and linked to the military dictatorship he once praised.
Justice de Moraes, defending the court’s decision, wrote: «The judiciary will not allow itself to be mocked. Justice applies equally to everyone. A defendant who knowingly violates precautionary measures—especially for the second time—must face legal consequences.»
Fox News’ Alec Schemmel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
sanctions,jair bolsonaro,brazil,world
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