Janis Holt, a Republican elected in 2025 to represent Texas’s 18th House district, commented on recent actions by Texas House Democrats in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter). Holt addressed the decision by Democratic legislators to break quorum and travel out of state, as well as potential responses from Republican leadership.
On August 3, 2025, Holt wrote: “The Texas House Democrats have decided to break quorum and fly to Illinois. This should be interesting. In the long run, however, I believe it will make the Republicans stronger. Stay tuned, it’s going to be a wild week.”
Later that day, she added: “We must use every tool in our toolbox to punish the Democrats for breaking quorum and stopping the Texas House from doing the business that we were sent here to do.”
In a subsequent post on August 4, Holt stated: “Gov. Greg Abbott is ready to hold the derelict democrats accountable for breaking the law. 3:00pm tomorrow will tell the tale.”
Breaking quorum is a tactic sometimes used by minority parties in legislative bodies to prevent votes on contentious bills by denying enough members for official proceedings. In this instance, Democratic lawmakers left Texas for Illinois in protest over pending legislation.
Holt succeeded Ernest Bailes as representative of Texas’s 18th House district following her election in 2025.
