Ken Paxton petitions Texas Supreme Court to remove quorum-breaking Democrats

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the state's highest court to vacate the seats of more than a dozen Texas House Democrats that left the state to break quorum in an attempt to prevent a vote on redrawn congressional maps.

The move comes after the House again failed to reach a quorum on Friday. Paxton said earlier this week that he would seek the removal of Democrats who left the state if they did not return by 1 p.m. Friday.

What they're saying:

"The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant," Paxton said. "These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold. Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on."

The other side:

Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder said the Democrats were "undeterred by Republican threats."

"If Texas Republicans have a problem with this constitutionally protected quorum break, they can take it up with Gen. Sam Houston and the founders of Texas who authored our constitution. Texas Democrats are exercising a long-standing, constitutionally protected right of the minority party to block extreme agendas — in this case, gerrymandering to keep Trump in power," Scudder said. "These lawmakers have taken significant risks and sacrifices to stop Trump’s agenda, and despite all the threats they face, they remain undeterred, just like the rest of us. If Ken Paxton wants a fight, we will give him one."

Can Democrats break quorum?

In 2021, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Texas Constitution allows for quorum breaks, but also allows for consequences to bring members back.

On several radio shows, Paxton said the process of removing lawmakers who broke quorum would be a lengthy process and that he wasn't sure if it was possible because it hasn't been tried.

"It might be a way to take existing members out of their positions if they fail to show up to perform their duties," Paxton said on the Glen Beck Program Tuesday.

Ultimately, it would be for the courts to decide if lawmakers abandoned their offices, which would lead to special elections to fill those seats.

Paxton told Beck that he believed the House could move forward without special elections even if lawmakers were removed.

"I think it'll change the quorum," Paxton said. "If you have less members, your quorum numbers change."

Which Democrats are being targeted by Paxton?

In the attorney general's filing on Friday, 13 Democrats are named.

Those Democrats are:

• District 27 – Ron Reynolds, Missouri City
• District 47 – Vikki Goodwin, Austin
• District 49 – Gina Hinojosa, Austin
• District 50 – James Talarico, Austin
• District 51 – Maria Luisa Flores, Austin
• District 70 – Mihaela Plesa, Dallas
• District 76 – Suleman Lalani, Sugar Land
• District 101 – Chris Turner, Grand Prairie
• District 102 – Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos, Richardson
• District 104 – Jessica Gonzalez, Dallas
• District 124 – Josey Garcia, San Antonio
• District 136 – John H. Bucy III, Austin
• District 137 – Gene Wu, Houston

Wu was named in another lawsuit filed in the Texas Supreme Court by Gov. Greg Abbott, who is also seeking his removal from office.

Threats to arrest Texas Democrats

The backstory:

Texas Republican leaders have threatened to have the quorum breakers arrested, even requesting aid from agencies outside the state in the effort. 

Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to begin the effort starting Monday, saying the Democrats were "holding hostage critical legislation."

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, seeing the difficulty in Texas DPS carrying out arrests outside the state, called on the FBI Tuesday to assist in the effort with a letter to Director Kash Patel. Cornyn expressed concern that the lawmakers had committed crimes in their "rush to avoid their constitutional responsibilities," saying they need to be fully investigated. 

House Speaker Dustin Burrows urged the "no shows" to return and said he would sign arrest warrants for those who do not. According to the Texas Tribune, these warrants would be largely symbolic as they would only apply within state lines. 

Texas redistricting effort

Dig deeper:

The newly proposed map increases the number of congressional districts that would have voted for Trump by at least 10 percentage points by five.

Republicans currently control 25 of the state's 38 Congressional districts.

The new map makes some big changes in North Texas. It moves Democrat Rep. Marc Veasey’s district from Tarrant to Dallas County, Democrat Rep. Julie Johnson’s district moves from Dallas and Collin County to more conservative sections of East Texas, and Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Dallas seat becomes one of just two majority Black districts in the entire state.

The Democrats claim the redrawn maps will violate the federal Voting Rights Act, but that may be difficult for them to prove.

In Central Texas, Democrats Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett would find their districts vastly different from the current map.

The district currently held by Casar would no longer include Travis County, while the district held by Doggett would no longer include a portion of Williamson County.

In Houston, the new map reshapes four currently Democrat-held districts. The biggest change to the districts would be in the seat currently held by Rep. Al Green. The new map would shift the district from covering southern Harris County and instead move it to the eastern part of the county.