Kamala Harris calls Texas Rep. Nicole Collier during Capitol confinement: ‘We are all there with you’

“You really are inspiring so many people,” the former vice president told Texas lawmaker Collier, who slept inside the state Capitol in protest of having a police escort.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris personally reached out to Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier as she continued to be confined inside the state Capitol after refusing a demand from the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives to sign a permission slip that would require 24-hour supervision by law enforcement.

“You really are inspiring so many people. And I just want you to know that you are among those who history will reveal to have been heroes of this moment,” Harris told Collier during a phone call on Tuesday as the Texas lawmaker stood on the Texas House floor, where she has worked and slept for more than 24 hours.

Collier was threatened with arrest if she left the House chamber without agreeing to a police escort to ensure she returns to the Capitol for official legislative business on Wednesday, in which Republicans are close to passing a new congressional map that Collier and other Democrats say is racially discriminatory and a violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Collier and 49 other Democrats fled the state of Texas in protest, breaking quorum and preventing Republicans from passing the map for Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature. Upon their return, Democrats were told they had to sign the permission slips to ensure they would not again evade legislative session.

“I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination,” said the licensed attorney and state lawmaker.

Vice President Harris praised Collier for her willpower to resist Republicans’ power grab during “a moment in the history of our country where it is so lacking in those who should have it.”

The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee urged Rep. Collier to “stay strong” and “do what you are doing,” adding, “You have the right instinct. You are talented and you are principled.”

Collier, who said she was “overwhelmed” by the call, told Harris, “I can’t tell you how much this means to me and the community that I represent, that you care. You took the time to pay attention to the people and that matters. It really matters.”

The former vice president told Collier that while she may have been “alone” in her protest, “When you’re in those rooms and it feels like you’re the only one there, we are all in that room with you.” Collier was eventually joined by other Democrats who tore up their signed permission slips in solidarity on the House floor.

Though the Texas House of Representatives returned to session on Wednesday and moved forward with passing the controversial map, Collier, inspired by her call with Kamala Harris, urged Texas voters to continue to resist with their vote.

“What we’re doing right now in this moment, means that we are making a difference. What we do matters. People are watching and they are ready to hold this government accountable,” said Collier. “Get fired up. Get ready and vote. Let’s do it.”