Claim:
In August 2025, Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, slept overnight in the state House chamber because Republicans mandated that no Democratic lawmakers could not leave without a “permission slip” and a police escort, conditions she refused to accept.
Rating:
Rating: True
Context:
Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Texas Republicans announced they would redraw the state’s U.S. congressional district maps mid-decade. The new maps projected that Republicans would gain five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democratic lawmakers protested the redistricting by leaving the state and preventing the quorum needed for a legislative vote on the redistricting. When the Democrats returned, Republicans mandated they not be allowed to leave the House chamber without a “permission slip” and a police escort, ostensibly to prevent them from leaving the state again.
On Aug. 18, 2025, posts appeared on social media platforms, including Facebook, Reddit and X, claiming that Texas Republicans in the state House of Representatives had locked state Rep. Nicole Collier, a Democrat from Fort Worth, in the House chamber overnight, refusing to allow her to leave until she signed a “permission slip” and agreed to a police escort.
Snopes readers wrote in and searched the site for more information about the incident.
The claim is true. It was reported in several reliable publications, including The Texas Tribune, CBS News and NBC News. Collier posted to her X account on Aug. 19 showing her sleeping in the House.
Collier’s decision to remain in the House chamber rather than accept the Republicans’ conditions was the latest development in a long chain of events that began in June 2025 when The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump was pushing the state of Texas to redraw its federal congressional districts mid-decade in order to preserve the thin Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. District maps are generally drawn every decade following the census. Redrawing them mid-decade without being ordered to do so by a court is rare, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
Texas is one of 26 states where the state legislators have the power to draw the maps. State Republicans, who control a majority in both legislative houses, agreed to redistrict, and submitted a congressional map that would likely turn five Democratic seats into Republican seats.
State Democrats (and many Texans) protested the move. However, the Democratic Party hasn’t held a majority in Texas since 2002, giving them very little power in the legislature to stop the redistricting proposal. According to The Texas Tribune, however, there is one option that both political parties in the state have used to delay legislation since as early as 1870 — denying a quorum.
In order for a legislature to vote on a measure, a certain number of representatives must be present. This number is called a quorum. Without the politicians, no votes. So, state Democrats left Texas to block the redistricting bill’s passage.
Republican officials retaliated by issuing civil arrest warrants for the missing Democrats, although the move was largely symbolic because the warrants applied only within state lines. They also “moved to extradite absent members from Illinois, launched investigations and sought to declare at least one Democrat’s seat vacant,” according to The Texas Tribune.
The missing Democrats returned to Texas following California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement of a ballot initiative that would let that state redraw its own congressional districts to counteract the Texas redistricting. State House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Democrats would be given a permission slip that allowed them to leave the House on the condition that they were given an “around-the-clock escort” by Texas state troopers to ensure they did not attempt to break the legislative quorum again.
Collier refused the police escort, meaning she would not be allowed to leave the state House until the next day when the body reconvened. “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,” Collier said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “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.”
Sources:
Astudillo, By Carla. “Texas Republicans’ Redistricting Map: How the GOP Could Increase Its Stronghold.” The Texas Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025, https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/18/texas-redistricting-maps-charts-analysis/.
Betts, By Hayden. “Denying Quorum Has Been a Texas Political Strategy since 1870.” The Texas Tribune, 3 Aug. 2025, https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/03/texas-quorum-breaks-history/.
Davisson, Matthew, and Jack Fink. Texas Democrat Says She’s Locked inside State Capitol after Refusing Mandatory DPS Escort – CBS Texas. 19 Aug. 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-democrat-nicole-collier-locked-inside-house-chamber-returning-texas-capitol/.
Eckman, Sarah J., and Whitaker L. Paige. Mid-Decade Congressional Redistricting: Key Issues. In Focus, IF13082, Congressional Research Service, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF13082.
“Fort Worth Rep. Nicole Collier Refuses to Leave Texas House, Protesting State Trooper Escorts.” KERA News, 19 Aug. 2025, https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-08-19/fort-worth-rep-nicole-collier-refuses-to-leave-texas-house-protesting-state-trooper-escorts.
Goodman, J. David, and Shane Goldmacher. “White House Pushes Texas to Redistrict, Hoping to Blunt Democratic Gains.” The New York Times, 9 Jun. 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/us/politics/trump-texas-redistricting.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare.
Governor Abbott Orders Texas Department Of Public Safety To Arrest Delinquent House Democrats. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-orders-texas-department-of-public-safety-to-arrest-delinquent-house-democrats. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Guo, By Kayla. “Rep. Nicole Collier Spends Night on Texas House Floor after Refusing Police Escort.” The Texas Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025, https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/19/nicole-collier-texas-house-dps-escort-redistricting-quorum/.
—. “Texas House Democrats Return to Capitol, Ending Walkout over Redistricting Plan.” The Texas Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025, https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/18/texas-democrats-return-redistricting-map-illinois/.
Izzo, Jack. “This Democratic US House District in Texas Is Real, but It Was Drawn by Republicans.” Snopes, 8 Aug. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/texas-35-democrat-stolen-house-seat/.
Klibanoff, By Eleanor. “Texas House Issues Arrest Warrants for Democrats Who Left State to Block Congressional Redistricting.” The Texas Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025, https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/04/texas-democrats-house-warrants-arrest-quorum-break/.
Koseff, Alexei. “5 Things to Know about Gavin Newsom’s Plan to Redraw California’s Election Maps.” CalMatters, 18 Aug. 2025. calmatters.org, https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/08/california-redistricting-things-to-know/.
Lewis, Daniel. ‘We’ve Had Enough’: Texas Democrat Who Slept on State House Floor Speaks out | CNN Politics. 2025. www.cnn.com, https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/19/politics/video/texas-democrat-nicole-collier-sleeps-texas-house-floor-redistricting-digvid.
“National Overview.” All About Redistricting, https://redistricting.lls.edu/national-overview/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
“Party Control of Texas State Government.” Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Party_control_of_Texas_state_government. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
“Texas Democratic Legislator Is Sleeping in the State Capitol after Refusing Security Escort to Leave.” NBC News, 19 Aug. 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/texas-democratic-legislator-stay-state-capitol-refusing-law-enforcemen-rcna225730.
Tracy, Matt. “Over 300 Protests Held Saturday against Trump Redistricting Push.” Reuters, 17 Aug. 2025. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/over-300-protests-held-saturday-against-trump-redistricting-push-2025-08-17/.
