Texas AG Will Ask Courts to Vacate Seats of Democrats Halting GOP Map

A group of Texas Democratic lawmakers left the state to block Republicans from passing a new congressional map that could send five more GOP representatives to Congress – and now Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) will ask courts to declare the Democrats’ seats vacant.

Most Texas House Democrats are participating in the Illinois quorum break, leaving Republicans without enough members present to hold a vote on the map. Paxton said he will pursue legal action against Democrats who do not return to the House by Friday. His announcement comes two days after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) threatened to remove Democrats from office, citing a legally non-binding 2021 opinion by Paxton.  

Abbott said a district court can remove legislators from office if it determines they abandoned their offices. He also claimed he could swiftly fill those vacancies – and one of his top advisors posted on social media promoting a “Quorum-Busting Campaign Bootcamp” later this month to recruit and train Republican candidates to run for those seats. 

“Democrats have abandoned their offices by fleeing Texas,” Paxton said in a statement, “and a failure to respond to a call of the House constitutes a dereliction of their duty as elected officials.”

Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn (R) is calling on the FBI to get involved in returning Democrats to Texas. 

Cornyn sent a letter Tuesday to FBI Director Kash Patel, asking him to take “any appropriate steps to aid in Texas state law enforcement efforts to locate or arrest potential lawbreakers who have fled the state.” 

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) issued civil arrest warrants Monday to compel the missing Democrats’ attendance. Burrows said he is working with state law enforcement on the warrants, but he also acknowledged Texas officers do not have the authority to return Democrats from Illinois.

“The Texas Department of Public Safety will not have police powers outside (Texas), but I know Governor Abbott, I know our senator, other ones are looking at other different things and other mechanisms,” Burrows told Fox News.

Despite the aggressive tactics from Paxton and Abbott, Democrats do not appear to be intimidated. 

State Rep. Jolanda Jones (D), an attorney, described Abbott’s strategy as “hollow threats.” 

“Let me be clear: Abandonment under Texas law is not mere absence – it requires a voluntary and permanent relinquishment of duties,” Jones said in a statement Monday. “That’s not what this is. I am fulfilling my duty by fighting against unconstitutional, racist, surgically precise redistricting maps that target Black and Brown Texans.”

Chad Dunn, a longtime Texas election and voting rights lawyer, told Democracy Docket Paxton will not be able to prove in court that Democrats have abandoned their seats.

“The legislators have given every indication they have no intention whatsoever to withdraw from their office,” Dunn said. “They view it as part of their duty to exercise their right as legislators to not help establish a quorum at this stage.” 

In Chicago with Texas Democrats, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin told reporters Tuesday: “Texas Democrats are doing their damn job.”