TEXAS — Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, signed a civil warrant Sunday night for the arrest of state Rep. Philip Cortez, D-San Antonio, who rejoined his colleagues in Washington Sunday to try to help prevent a GOP-backed election bill from passing.

Phelan issued a statement Monday saying Cortez had broken an oral commitment to return to the House chamber.

"Rep. Cortez returned to the Texas Capitol of his own volition and represented to me and his fellow members that he wanted to work on policy and find solutions to bring his colleagues back to Texas," Phelan said. "As a condition of being granted permission to temporarily leave the House floor, Rep. Cortez promised his House colleagues that he would return. Instead, he fled the state and has irrevocably broken my trust and the trust of this chamber."

Cortez returned to Austin last week to try to negotiate with Republicans on the election bill. But in a statement Sunday, Cortez said he was back in Washington and that talks with lawmakers in Austin “have not produced progress.”

“I owe a duty to my constituents to do everything I can to stop this harmful legislation,” he said in a written statement Monday. “I will continue fighting for my constituents to ensure fair and full access to the ballot box. All Texans deserve nothing less.”

The warrant likely won’t have an impact since Texas law enforcement’s reach doesn’t extend beyond Texas’ borders. The warrant is the first one authorized by the speaker since more than 50 House Democrats left the state to keep Republicans from having the quorum needed to pass legislation during the special session. Earlier this month, House Republicans voted to authorize the use of arrest warrants to compel absent members to return to the chamber.

The special session ends on Aug. 6, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will immediately call lawmakers back.