Republicans in Texas are threatening to have Democrats removed from office after they fled the state in an attempt to block a contentious redistricting plan.
The state's attorney general, Ken Paxton (R), says Democrats' seats could be declared "vacant" if they do not return to Texas to do their jobs.
The Texas Democrats claim they are protesting a partisan power grab, but Republicans say they are engaged in a publicity stunt and avoiding their duties.
“Democrats have abandoned their offices by fleeing Texas, and a failure to respond to a call of the House constitutes a dereliction of their duty as elected officials,” said Attorney General Paxton.
“Starting Friday, any rogue lawmakers refusing to return to the House will be held accountable for vacating their office. The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don’t show up to work, you get fired.”
With dozens of legislators missing, Republicans in the Texas House do not have a quorum, meaning they cannot conduct business.
More than 50 Democrats have absconded to blue states like New York and Illinois. The governors of those states have threatened to retaliate against Texas' plan to add up to five House GOP districts, although critics note that many Democratic states are already aggressively gerrymandered.
Texas governor Greg Abbott (R) has called on state police to arrest the absentee Democrats, and he is going to the Supreme Court to expel top Democratic leader Gene Wu as his party pledges to run out the clock on the two-week special legislative session.
“What is at stake here? Nothing less than the future of Texas,” Abbott wrote in his lawsuit. “If a small fraction of recalcitrant lawmakers choose to run out the clock today, they can do so for any, and every, Regular or Special Session, potentially bankrupting the State in an attempt to get their way.”
Paxton, seemingly reluctant to let Abbott steal his thunder, wrote his own letter to the Supreme Court.
The attorney general said he "appreciates the governor's passion" but Abbott lacks the authority to pursue quo warranto proceedings, which challenge a person's right to hold a public office.
In a podcast appearance, Paxton pumped the brakes a bit on the plan to remove Democrats, which he said will start Friday if the House still does not have a quorum.
"We'd have to go through a court process, and we'd have to file that maybe in districts that are not friendly to Republicans," Paxton told Benny Johnson. "So it's a challenge because every district would be different."
Abbott has also suggested that Democrats who accept donations in order to cover fines for skipping work could be on the hook for bribery charges.
Paxton is challenging Senator John Cornyn in a contentious Republican primary. Not letting himself be outflanked, Cornyn has called on the FBI to help bring the absentee Democrats back to Texas.
