Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will begin trying to remove Democratic lawmakers from office Monday if they don’t return after dozens of them left the state in a last-resort attempt to block redrawn U.S. House maps that President Donald Trump wants before the 2026 midterm elections.

Business in the Republican-dominated Texas House screeched to a halt in its third week of a special legislative session Monday when Democrats no-showed a critical vote on a GOP-driven plan to redraw congressional districts to further conservatives’ agenda in Washington.

State House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Republican, blasted what he described as a “dereliction of duty” and vowed that the votes would only be delayed, not prevented, by the Democratic members’ absences. Without two-thirds of members present, the chamber couldn’t move ahead with any official business.