Texas AG Gets a Win in Court Against Beto O’Rourke

Yesterday I pointed out several ways in which Texas Republicans were ratcheting up pressure on Democrats who had fled the state to prevent legislators from forming a quorum. Dems fled to Illinois, New York and California so Republicans would be unable to hold a vote on a redistricting plan that could result in five more GOP controlled House seats after the midterms.

Texas AG Ken Paxton filed a couple of lawsuits yesterday to force the Democrats to return. One was aimed at removing 13 of the 50 or so Dems who fled from office. That approach has never been tried and will likely take some time if it succeeds at all. But another lawsuit filed yesterday by AG Paxton was aimed squarely at the funding which has made this flight out of state possible.

Legislators in Texas only work part time and earn $600 per month when the House is in session. That rate was set in 1975 and has never changed. But there is also a fine of $500 per day for every legislator who is absent. So missing this entire session, plus the cost of travel, food and lodgings is costing these Democrats quite a lot of money. Where is that money coming from? Mostly from a group created by former congressman Beto O’Rourke:

O’Rourke’s group, Powered by People (PBP), has played a major role in supporting the roughly 50 Democrats who left for New York and Illinois. The group is paying for airfare, lodging, and assisting with the $500-per-day fines the lawmakers face for skipping the legislative session, according to the Texas Tribune.

However, yesterday Paxton filed another lawsuit aimed at blocking that funding. The argument made by Paxton was simply that political fundraising can’t be used for private jets and luxury hotels during what amounts to an out-of-state vacation for these legislators. A judge agreed and issued a temporary restraining order. So for now, that stream of funding is cut off.

O’Rourke and his political group, Powered by People, were sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Friday afternoon. Paxton argued that the group was deceptively fundraising for and illegally helping support Texas Democrats as they fanned out to Illinois, Massachusetts and New York to deny the House the headcount needed to pass legislation.

Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey granted Paxton’s request for a temporary injunction, barring O’Rourke and Powered by People from fundraising for the Democrats or spending money to cover their expenses. The order came less than four hours after Paxton’s office filed the petition…

In her ruling, Fahey agreed with Paxton’s contention that Powered by People engaged in false, misleading or deceptive fundraising practices, and by distributing funds to Texas Democrats, writing in the ruling that the group either “directly violates or causes Texas Democratic Legislators” to violate state law and House procedures.

Beto O’Rourke filed a counter-suit yesterday and responded to the lawsuit against him on X:

They want to make examples out of those who fight so that others won’t.

Paxton is trying to shut down Powered by People, one of the largest voter registration organizations in the country, because our volunteers fight for voting rights and free elections… the kind of work that…

— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 8, 2025

Paxton is trying to shut down Powered by People, one of the largest voter registration organizations in the country, because our volunteers fight for voting rights and free elections… the kind of work that threatens the hold that Paxton, Trump and Abbott have on power in Texas. 

In addition to helping register hundreds of thousands of voters, our members have volunteered in other important ways, including picking up thousands of shifts at Texas food banks. During Abbott’s electricity grid failure in 2021, we made more than a million calls to connect seniors to warming centers and safety. We also purchased nearly a million dollars in supplies for Texans abandoned by their elected officials who were too busy fleeing to Cancun or letting their gas pipeline donors steal billions in illegal profits while hundreds of Texans were dying. 

Now Paxton’s filed a restraining order to try to take us out of the fight. He wants to silence me and stop me from leading this organization. He wants to stop us from fighting Trump’s attempt to steal the five congressional seats he needs to hang on to power. 

But I’m not going anywhere. 

I plan on speaking at our rally to stop the power grab in Fort Worth tomorrow afternoon.

 AG Paxton’s response was more succinct:

Cry more, lib.

You lost in court because you’re breaking the law and deceiving Texans. We absolutely will make an example out of law breakers. https://t.co/zDc15Q4ghe

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 8, 2025

This is going to create a lot more pressure on those lawmakers. Up until now the cost of this stunt has been carried by someone else. Now the ongoing cost will have to be carried by the lawmakers themselves. If they plan to remain out of state another 10 days until the special session ends, the fines and hotel expenses could be considerable. 

Republicans plan to attempt to reach a quorum in the House again on Monday. We’ll have to wait and see if this TRO changes any minds or if Dems can find a rich benefactor willing to personally put up the money for this.