Abbott threatens to try to expel Democrats who fled Texas, escalating tensions

CHICAGO - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is threatening to try to remove Democratic lawmakers from office for fleeing the state and claiming they could be charged with crimes, escalating tensions overnight in a showdown over redrawing congressional lines ahead of the midterm elections.

Most of the Democrats in the Texas state House exited the state Sunday - many of whom arrived here in Chicago in the evening - to prevent Republicans from overhauling the state’s map to give themselves five more safe GOP seats. Abbott’s response underscores the Republicans’ commitment to passing their plan and the challenges Democrats face in stopping him.

“This truancy ends now. The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM [Central time] on Monday,” Abbott said in a letter to Democrats released late Sunday.

Democrats said Abbott’s warnings were bluster and said they were committed to staying away for two weeks, when the 30-day special session is expected to end. Republicans hold the upper hand because Abbott could call more special sessions, and Democrats have not said whether they have the wherewithal to repeatedly leave the state for months.

Abbott, who also launched a $750,000 digital ad campaign Sunday against Democrats, cited a 2021 opinion from state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in his letter to contend that courts could determine that Democrats had abandoned their duties and given up their jobs. That would allow Abbott to call special elections to replace them, he said.

“Democrats hatched a deliberate plan not to show up for work, for the specific purpose of abdicating the duties of their office and thwarting the chamber’s business,” Abbott wrote in his letter.

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D) argued Abbott couldn’t push lawmakers out of their jobs.

“That would not be lawful, but it is not surprising,” she said. “It is in keeping with a governor who is trying to silence the will of the voters.”

Abbott could not remove lawmakers on his own and would need the courts to go along with his plan, according to University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller. While Abbott and other Republicans could argue that the Democrats had abandoned their duties, those lawmakers would have a chance to make the case that they were representing their constituents by denying the majority the quorum it needs to operate, he added.

“This is not a unilateral action of the governor,” Muller said. “Even if you go to a court, you’re going to have to make a showing that I think it’s going be tough to make.”

Samuel Issacharoff, a professor at New York University School of Law who has observed Texas redistricting battles for more than 30 years, said the governor’s authority to order legislators to be arrested or to remove them from office, “is at best, unclear.” Should Abbott seek to make good on his threats, Issacharoff said, it “would force a confrontation in the Texas courts or a political confrontation.”

The escalating dispute kicked off last month when Abbott called a special session at the urging of President Donald Trump to redraw the state’s map just four years after lawmakers adopted it. Ordinarily, states adopt maps once a decade, after the census details population shifts around the country.

How states draw districts helps determine which party has an advantage, and now Texas Republicans want five more seats to bolster the 25 they have. Republicans hope a new map could protect their narrow 219-212 House majority next year in the midterm elections, which typically are tough for the president’s party.

By leaving, Texas Democrats have thwarted the plan for now. At least two-thirds of the members of the Texas House - 100 of 150 - must be present for lawmakers to take action. That means 51 of the 62 Democrats can block the Republicans from advancing their plans, and 57 have left the state, Democrats said. Most are in Chicago, but some are in Boston and Albany, New York, they said.

Each absent Democrat faces a $500 daily fine - an amount that in two weeks would nearly match the annual $7,200 salary that Texas lawmakers are paid. Abbott said that Democrats risked violating bribery statutes if they solicited funds to help pay their fines. Rep. Gene Wu, the chairman of the Democratic caucus in the Texas House, said Democrats were using legal ways to defray their costs while they are away but did not provide details of what they are doing.

Abbott said he could try to extradite Democrats from other states. Wu said he did not believe Texas officials and federal authorities have the power to force Democrats back to Texas but worries they could try.

State Rep. John Bucy III (D) said Abbott and other Republicans are trying to scare Democrats to lure them back to Texas, but it won’t work.

“We’re not backing down from this fight,” Bucy said. “We’ll continue to do everything in our power to stand up for constituents, stand up for Texans and protect our democracy.”

Democrats who control other states are threatening to retaliate by drawing new maps of their own if Texas Republicans carry out their plan. On Monday, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee called on Democratic state lawmakers to prepare for carving up their states.

“All options must be on the table - including Democratic state legislatures using their power to fight back and pursue redistricting mid-cycle in order to protect our democracy,” the group’s president, Heather Williams, said in a statement.

Democrats in California have said they could hold a special election in November to ask voters to adopt a ballot measure that would give Democrats more favorable districts next year.

Republicans in Ohio plan to redraw their map soon, and other states could join the fray, as well.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), who is hosting some of the Texas Democrats, said at a Sunday news conference that he’s considering all options in his state. But he did not offer any concrete steps he would take to establish new maps before the 2026 elections.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said Monday that she was exploring options to redraw New York’s congressional map as soon as possible. “I’m tired with fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back. With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process,” Hochul said at a news conference with six Texas Democrats who fled to her state.

“We are at war,” Hochul said. “And that’s why the gloves are off, and I say bring it on.”

When asked whether New York’s independent redistricting commission should be disbanded or changed in some way, Hochul said “yes.”