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.

Shortly after the vote, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to find and arrest the Democrats who fled the state, an order which will remain in effect until they are "accounted for and brought back" to Austin.