- calendar_today August 11, 2025
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Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier had to abruptly disconnect from a private call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders this week after claiming she had been told it was a felony for her to join the call while on the premises of the Texas Capitol.
The bizarre moment came amid an increasingly heated dispute over Texas’s hard-fought redistricting bill, which Democrats have said flouts federal voting protections.
Collier participated in the video call with Newsom, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and other Democrats as the Texas House of Representatives was convening on a redistricting bill in support of former President Donald Trump’s recommendations. The lawmaker, who was on the House floor during the call, said during her remarks that the map violated the Voting Rights Act and would erode minority voters’ power to elect the candidates of their choosing.
“This bill will prevent Black and brown individuals from selecting the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier said, as she stood on the Texas House floor.
As Martin spoke about 30 minutes into the call, Collier cut in and left the conference call to go back to the House floor.
“I’m sorry. I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,” Collier said to other call participants.
“They said I can’t be on the floor, and I can’t be in the bathroom,” she added, before addressing an individual, apparently off-camera.
“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” Collier said to the person.
To the call, Collier added, “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.” She then hung up.
The moment caught those on the call off-guard, and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was among the first to react, labeling the moment “outrageous” and commending Collier for her efforts.
“Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker said, eliciting a head nod of agreement from Newsom.
Booker continued, addressing Collier off-camera and pointing to the moment as an attempt to silence a Black woman.
“What they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a Black woman, and that is outrageous,” Booker said. “What we just witnessed, them trying to shut her down and saying it’s illegal for her to be in the bathroom and on this call, this is the lengths that they’re going to in Texas.”
TEXAS’ CONTENTIOUS REDISTRICTING BILL SPILLS INTO NATIONAL POLITICS
The interaction was the latest over one of the most contentious redistricting fights in the country. Dozens of Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives had previously fled the state for two weeks in a failed attempt to block Republicans from securing a quorum needed to approve legislation. In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other top GOP leaders called for the lawmakers to be arrested and threatened to have them removed from office if they didn’t return.
The lawmakers eventually returned to Austin, but the environment at the state Capitol has changed markedly. Members of the Texas legislature have said Texas Department of Public Safety officers were being assigned to follow them around since they returned to work, guarding their offices, or trailing them through the Capitol. Some lawmakers have said they were even required to sign “permission slips” to leave the Capitol.
The Texas bill would add as many as five Republican congressional seats, Democrats say, which would cement GOP power in Texas for the next decade. California Democrats announced this week that they were moving to counterbalance the possible Republican gains in Texas. Working with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Newsom unveiled a new congressional map in California that could help erase as many as five Republican seats.
The California map was released on Friday, and shows the new way Democrats will represent Californians on the West Coast and potentially wipe away Republican gains that Texas’s proposal could secure.
Redistricting battles in individual states have become increasingly national in the last several years, as both parties look to secure an advantage in Congress in the 2022 and 2024 elections. In Texas, Democrats have made the clash over the redistricting bill a rallying cry as well as a symbol for what they consider to be voter rights concerns.
As the battle plays out in Texas, Collier’s remarks have offered a dramatic moment that appears to sum up the current tension: A lawmaker who had to leave her party leaders on the call by disconnecting while in a Capitol bathroom, after being told her participation could constitute a crime.
