Texas Democrats find voting rights are a tough sell as Capitol Hill turns its focus to Biden’s economic agenda

The scores of Texas Democrats who fled Austin this week to block passage of a Republican election law and implore Congress for the passage of new federal voting rights protections arrived on Capitol Hill and quickly earned effusive praise from fellow Democrats.

“They are brave, they are bold, they are courageous,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) called the runaway lawmakers “defenders of the Constitution,” while Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) hailed them as “freedom fighters.”