Abbott To AWOL Texas Democrats: Respect Voters Or Be Removed

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott threatened Sunday to remove dozens of House Democrats from office after they fled to the state to block a GOP-led redistricting plan during a special session of the legislature. 

In a statement, Abbott gave more than 50 Democrats who left the state to deny a quorum – effectively halting the legislative process – until 3:00 p.m. on Monday to return or face removal proceedings. Abbott said that the actions of the Democrats amounted to “an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office” and that Texas law empowered him to fill the vacancies. 

“Real Texans do not run from a fight. But that’s exactly what most of the Texas House Democrats just did,” Abbott said. “Rather than doing their job and voting on urgent legislation affecting the lives of all Texans, they have fled Texas to deprive the House of the quorum necessary to meet and conduct business.”

The special session, which began on July 21, was set to address a variety of issues, including redistricting, flood relief, abortion, and taxes. Democrats could lose as many as five House seats if Republican-backed maps are implemented, prompting backlash from state and national Democrats. 

“The absconded Democrat House members were elected to meet and vote on legislation—not to prevent votes that may not go their way,” Abbott said. “Every session, legislators on both sides of the aisle find themselves on the losing side of a legislative vote. And every session, most of those legislators find a way to disagree agreeably and behave like adults, rather than going AWOL.”

Abbott also said that some Democrats could face bribery charges if they solicited donations to pay for the $500 daily fine for skipping the special session. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also called for the truant Democrats to be arrested. 

“Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately,” he said. “We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law.”

The Texas Democrats went to Illinois, where they held a press conference on Sunday alongside Democrat Governor JB Pritzker. 

“Governor Abbott is doing this in submission to Donald Trump so that Donald Trump can steal these communities’ power and voice,” Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu claimed. “We will not be complicit in the destruction of our own communities. We’re not here to play political games, we’re here to demand an end to this corrupt process.”

Texas House Democrats have previously fled the state in efforts to block other legislation from being passed, including an election integrity bill in 2021. That bill ended up passing after a weeks-long standoff that ended when a quorum was restored after the vacant lawmakers were threatened with arrest.