Boston, MA- 8/5/2025- Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey welcomes Texas State Sen. César Blanco prior to a press conference at the Massachusetts State House on Aug. 5, 2025. Healey hosted several Democratic Texas state legislators who had left their home state to block the vote of proposed redistricting maps that would likely create five more Republican-leaning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Texan legislators faced threats of potential arrest and removal from office by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott if they did not return to Austin to pass the new maps, in addition to a $500-per-day fine for each day of broken quorum. “It’s outrageous, and it impacts all of us across this country,” Healey said, stepping into a national, partisan debate. “All Americans are going to be impacted by what the next Congress looks like.” (Ben Pennington for the Boston Globe)