{"id":16564,"date":"2025-10-11T17:24:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T17:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=16564"},"modified":"2025-10-11T17:24:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T17:24:44","slug":"case-to-remove-dems-who-fled-state-begins-at-tx-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=16564","title":{"rendered":"Case To Remove Dems Who Fled State Begins At TX Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\"\"
\u00a0Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

This article may contain commentary
\nwhich reflects the author’s opinion.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Texas House Democrats made national headlines this summer when they fled the state to stall a vote on a new congressional map that would help Republicans pick up 5 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott petitioned the Texas Supreme Court to remove their caucus leader from office.<\/p>\n

Now, that high-stakes case is before the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday (Sept. 4) and could set a precedent for any lawmaker in the future who attempts to flee the state to avoid voting on a measure.<\/p>\n

Abbott touted the court\u2019s decision as a victory, posting on social media that the briefing schedule brings the \u201cring leader of the derelict Democrats \u2026 closer to consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/div>\n

The Court has combined Abbott\u2019s lawsuit against Houston Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, with a similar case brought by Attorney General Ken Paxton, who seeks to oust Wu along with 12 other Democratic members.<\/p>\n

Although Abbott and Paxton initially disagreed over which office had the legal authority to file such suits, Paxton said that he now looks forward to working alongside Abbott to \u201chold these cowards accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On Aug. 3, dozens of House Democrats left Texas to halt the Legislature and block passage of the GOP\u2019s proposed congressional map. The redistricting push came under pressure from President Donald Trump, who has called for adding five Republican seats to bolster the party\u2019s slim House majority ahead of the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n

As the minority party, their only viable tactic to derail the map is to break quorum\u2014refusing to attend sessions so the chamber lacks the numbers needed to move legislation forward.<\/p>\n

Wu\u2019s attorneys contend that by leaving the state, he is acting in accordance with the will of his constituents, aiming to block the passage of legislation they oppose, the outlet noted.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/div>\n

Wu \u201chas not died and has not been expelled from the House by the constitutionally prescribed means: a 2\/3 vote of the House,\u201d his lawyers said in a brief. \u201cHis presence in another state is not a voluntary resignation \u2014 as his opposition to this petition makes evident.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Texas Supreme Court is composed entirely of Republicans, with two-thirds of its members initially appointed by Governor Abbott. Among them are two justices \u2014 including the chief justice \u2014 who previously served as Abbott\u2019s general counsel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have their own independent authority, of course, but it does put them in a tough political position,\u201d Andrew Cates, an Austin-based attorney and expert on Texas ethics law, told The Texas Tribune in an earlier interview. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to be in the position of potentially biting the hand that initially fed them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas Republicans also made a big move this week to try and stop this from ever happening again.<\/p>\n

Late on Monday, the Texas House enacted a bill that would punish people who break quorum in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, legislators have used quorum breaks to raise political funds, creating concerns that members were benefitting financially while preventing the Texas Legislature from conducting its work,\u201d said state Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano), the author of House Bill 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrent law does not limit fundraising or expenditures during these unexcused absences, only during the moratorium period during years when we\u2019re in session. This current arrangement creates a financial incentive to break quorum,\u201d Shaheen added.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

During a quorum break, HB 18 would stop lawmakers from raising money. It would fine members up to $5,000 for each donation they accept and the same amount for each donation they make.<\/p>\n

During a quorum break, lawmakers who aren\u2019t breaching the law would still be able to raise money.<\/p>\n

In his closing remarks in favor of the bill, State Rep. Richard Hayes (R-Hickory Creek) elaborated on what Shaheen had said.<\/p>\n

Hayes pointed out three parts of the state constitution.<\/p>\n

He added that the oath of office that lawmakers take requires them to be present at both regular and special sessions, and the constitution gives the Legislature the power to order them to do so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Getty Images This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion. Texas House Democrats made national headlines this summer when they fled the state to stall a vote on … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16566,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16564\/revisions\/16566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}