Texas Republicans are moving closer to approving new congressional maps amid a Democratic show of protest over the GOP House speaker’s order that members who fled the state weeks earlier be placed under law enforcement watch.

A Texas Democrat has stayed overnight at the state Capitol to protest how the Texas House’s top Republican had dozens of her colleagues shadowed.

Texas Republicans on Wednesday will take up a new state congressional map intended to flip five Democratic-held U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections, after dozens of Democratic lawmakers ended a two-week walkout that had temporarily blocked its passage.