Abbott gave Texas House Democrats a deadline of 3 p.m. local time on Monday to return to the statehouse for the special session or risk losing their jobs. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suggested Democrats who left should be arrested and forcibly brought back, though he later admitted that would be a "challenge."

Redistricting typically occurs once per decade in each state following the census. But Texas Republicans broke that tradition last week by proposing a new map mid-decade after Trump pushed them to redraw the state’s congressional districts so that the GOP would be more likely to win more seats in the midterm elections next year.

The governor's threat comes as Democratic legislators flee Texas to stall a vote on a redistricting plan that would favour Republicans.