Gov. Abbott threatens to remove from office ‘derelict’ Democrats who abdicated their duties

Texas House Democrats fled the Lone Star State for the District of Columbia in July 2021, denying Republicans a quorum — the Texas Constitution requires two-thirds of the state House to be present to conduct legislative business — and thereby temporarily preventing the passage of legislation that would improve election integrity.

This strategic play, celebrated by then-Vice President Kamala Harris and other radicals, was not the first time state Democrats had abdicated their duties in order to thwart the execution of the people’s will. Texas Democrats also fled to New Mexico in 2003 in order to prevent a vote on redrawing congressional districts in Republicans’ favor.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott suggested in response to the 2021 holdout, which lasted 38 days, that Democrats could be arrested. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan signed 52 arrest warrants for the absentee lawmakers, but no one was ultimately held to account.

‘Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately.’

Years after confirming that they could torpedo the democratic process without consequence, Texas House Democrats have once again fled the state — this time to prevent their GOP colleagues from advancing new congressional maps that would give Republicans five more pickup opportunities ahead of the midterm elections.

Abbott indicated on Sunday that unless the “derelict Democrat House members” return to Texas and show up when the House reconvenes at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, they will be removed from office.

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

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 Texas House Democrats abandoning their posts on Sunday. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

The governor indicated that the exodus amounts to “an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office.”

“This truancy ends now,” said Abbott.

The governor indicated that he will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382.

The opinion, released by Attorney General Ken Paxton on Aug. 24, 2021, states that “whether a specific legislator abandoned his or her office such that a vacancy occurred will be a fact question for a court” and that “through a quo warranto action, a district court may determine that a legislator has forfeited his or her office due to abandonment and can remove the legislator from office, thereby creating a vacancy.”

In addition to potentially risking their offices, Abbott said that Texas House Democrats may have also committed felonies, as many of the absentee lawmakers “are soliciting funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules,” which might be in violation of the Lone Star State’s bribery laws.

The governor was referring to the $500-per-day fine that Republicans implemented in 2023 to deal with legislators who intentionally broke quorum.

“It seems to me that the only way some of the fleeing Democrats can avoid bribery charges is not to break quorum,” Abbott tweeted. “It seems that would eliminate any potential quid pro quo connected to any payment they received to deny a quorum and skip a vote.”

Paxton minced no words, writing, “Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately.”

“We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law,” added the Texas attorney general.

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 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Texas Supreme Court ruled in August 2021 that Texas House Democrats who intentionally break quorum can be arrested and dragged into the state legislature.

Meanwhile, radicals farther afield have celebrated the Democrats’ anti-democratic gambit.

‘The DNC is proud to support these legislators in standing up and showing real leadership.’

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), whose approval rating a recent YouGov poll indicated was 25%, expressed support for the Texas Democrats over the weekend, stating, “It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) suggested that the absentee lawmakers’ efforts to undermine the democratic process “is what fighting for our democracy looks like.”

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement that “the DNC is proud to support these legislators in standing up and showing real leadership. We will fight alongside them to stop this anti-democratic assault.”

State Rep. James Talarico (D), fresh off suggesting that there was no “historical, theological, biblical basis” for Christians to oppose abortion, said the purpose of the Democratic exodus was to “stop Trump’s redistricting power grab.”

Talarico’s fellow obstructionists suggested their departure was in the interest of democracy. State Rep. Mary Ann Perez, for instance, said that “by breaking quorum, we are standing up for democratic values.”

Dozens of absentee lawmakers gathered in Chicago, where they were celebrated by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Others traveled to Massachusetts and New York.

“Texas Democrats are once again neglecting their responsibility to serve the people of the Lone Star State by engaging in absurd theatrics intended to mislead the public into believing they are upholding their values,” Mason Di Palma, communications director for the Republican State Leadership Committee, said in a statement to Blaze News. “By traveling to Illinois and New York, two of the most partisanly gerrymandered Democrat-controlled states in the country, these stunts are rooted in nonsense and illustrate how disconnected today’s Democratic Party is from the needs of the American people.”

“Texas Democrats need to return home immediately, stop wasting taxpayer money on their media tour, and work collaboratively with Republicans in Austin to advance the future of Texas,” added Di Palma.

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