SAN ANTONIO – On Wednesday, a State Representative from San Antonio, Philip Cortez, spoke out about why he decided to return to Texas after heading to Washington D.C. with a group of Democrats protesting the passage of House Bill 3.
During the zoom meeting, Cortez insisted he is still on board with the Democratic mission surrounding the voting bill.
“Well first and foremost, it’s important to emphasize that I was proud to stand with my Democratic colleagues when we broke quorum to go to Washington.
After spending a week in Washington, Cortez said he was asked to return to Texas on behalf of a small group of Democrats who are working in D.C. to see if some compromise can be found with Republicans on the language in House Bill 3.
“We have identified some pressure points in the bill that we would like to see addressed,” Cortez said.
Despite his reasoning, Cortez is still receiving backlash from some of his colleagues who are still in Washington.
In a tweet, State Rep. Gina Hinojosa wrote “To be clear, he is not negotiating on our behalf. He made the decision to rejoin Republicans without speaking to the Democrat delegation.”
House Democratic Caucus Chair Chris Turner said he asked Cortez to return to our nation’s capitol.
“Our group is strong, our group is united, and we’re looking forward to continuing our work here in Washington,” Turner said.
Turner said he and the Texas Democrats in Washington are going to use this time to block passage.
Cortez insists he is on the same page with ensuring Texans’ right to vote.
“It’s important that any issue, especially a controversial one like this, that we have different tracks that we’re taking to address the issue,” Cortez said.
Cortez said he is planning to have a bipartisan meeting in Austin to re-open the dialogue Thursday.