38-day Texas Democrat walkout ends as three more lawmakers return to Austin
CBSN
Three more Texas state lawmakers have returned to Austin, effectively ending a 38-day walkout by Democrats hoping to stall a GOP-sponsored election bill. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan declared just after 7 p.m. on Thursday that the legislature had reached a quorum, allowing lawmakers to begin voting again.
There were still 49 absences on Thursday night, but with 99 total legislators in the House, there were enough members present for a quorum, according to the Texas Tribune. The House then adjourned until 4 p.m. Monday. This was Republicans' second attempt to call a special session of the legislature. Since Republicans hold the majority, Democrats stalled the vote on the elections bill by walking out of the regular session in May. Then, more than 50 Democrats fled the state at the start of the special session, denying the Republicans a quorum to vote.
Air travelers faced hundreds of flight cancellations and thousands of delays on Tuesday in the wake of powerful storms that struck the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard. Many airports also continue to struggle with disruption from reduced staffing at often-jammed security checkpoints amid a partial government shutdown that has lasted more than a month. Mark Strassmann contributed to this report. In:

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