The battle over redrawing voting lines in Texas reached a crescendo at the Capitol this week. On Monday, most of the House Democrats who were breaking quorum returned to the state, clearing the way for a vote on the contentious plan.

The Texas State Capitol was cleared of visitors Tuesday evening and closed to the public after a social media threat, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

House Republicans in Texas are about to pass a Trump-backed congressional map meant to strip Democrats of five U.S. House seats, sparking a national feud over partisan redistricting. Texas State Rep.

Texas state representative Nicole Collier (D) compared herself and her peers to runaway slaves, as well as Jews during the Holocaust this week.

Texas state Rep. Gene Wu joined a private strategy call on Thursday with Democratic leaders from other GOP-led states that might also redraw their maps.

Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier has now spent over 24 hours on the Texas House floor in protest after refusing a Republican demand to be placed under the watch of the state Department of Public Safety.

A proposed map from Texas Republicans would flip five districts red by merging Democratic seats in the Houston, Austin, and Dallas-Fort Worth areas to form new Republican-leaning seats and by making two Rio Grande Valley districts currently held by Democrats more competitive.

Texas Democrats don’t have the power to stop Trump’s gerrymander, but they can find new and sensational ways to make sure all eyes are on it.