On Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit to remove 13 Democratic lawmakers from office after they fled the state to block a Republican-backed redistricting plan aimed at securing more GOP congressional seats.
Legal Action Over Absent Lawmakers
Texas Democrats continued their defiance against the Republican-led redistricting plan on Friday by refusing to attend a special session of the state legislature, reported ABC News.
More than 50 Democratic lawmakers fled the state to deny the GOP a quorum needed to pass the new congressional maps, which would add five pro-GOP districts ahead of the 2026 elections.
In response, Paxton filed a lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court to remove 13 of these absent Democrats, accusing them of deliberately sabotaging the legislative process.
Paxton stated that the lawmakers had “absented themselves from the State with the express purpose of denying the House a quorum,” adding that “their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked.”
Governor Abbott’s Pressure On Democrats
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has also taken a firm stance against the absent Democrats, calling for their arrest and seeking the Texas Supreme Court’s involvement in removing them from office.
Abbott had earlier threatened to restrict pay for the absent lawmakers and highlighted that they must return for the state’s legislative work to continue.
“People expect their representatives to go to work,” Paxton told Fox News. “If they do not show up, we will be in an Illinois courtroom… [trying] to get them back to the state of Texas, hold them in contempt, and if they refuse to come, hopefully put them in jail.”
Democrats Stand Firm On Redistricting Protest
Despite the growing pressure, the Texas Democrats are standing firm. House Minority Leader Gene Wu indicated that the Democrats would remain absent until they receive assurances that the special session will focus on issues like flood mitigation and disaster preparedness, rather than redistricting.
Democrats argue that the GOP’s proposed maps unfairly target urban and Latino districts.
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