AUSTIN, Texas (East Texas News) – Governor Greg Abbott tells Democrats in the Texas House who fled the state that if they do not return and reconvene before 3 p.m. on Monday, he will attempt to oust them from their seats.
The move comes after more than 51 Texas House Democrats abandoned the state on Sunday afternoon in an effort to delay the special session in response to a planned vote to redraw congressional districts, a vote that would grant Republicans five additional seats in the chamber.
In a press release issued last night, Governor Abbott states that the Democrats have created a “deliberate plan to not come to work, with the specific purpose of resigning from office and obstructing the chamber’s work,” and adds that the measure “equates to abandoning or forfeiting an elected state office.” He also notes that in the past, “lawmakers find ways to disagree amicably and behave like adults, rather than leaving without permission.”
Abbott now says that the members who left the state “must return to Texas and be present when the House reconvenes at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, August 4, 2025.” He will then invoke the 2021 opinion of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to remove the absent members from their elected seats by a district court judge. If successful, the governor could fill those seats within 20 days after the vacancy.
He also asserts that the same lawmakers may have violated anti-bribery laws and committed felonies by soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to accept funds to evade the $500-per-day penalty for missing the session. He concludes his press release by stating that he will exercise his full extradition authority to compel any potential offender from another state to return to Texas.
Attorney General Ken Paxton joins Governor Abbott’s claims, posting on X yesterday afternoon that “Texas House Democrats who try to flee like cowards must be found, arrested and brought back to the Capitol immediately,” adding that “we must use all tools at our disposal to pursue those who think they are above the law.”
The Texas House Democrats left the state mid-session in a move reminiscent of their 2021 July-August action, in protest of an elections bill they say would curb voting options statewide, including mail-in voting, drive-thru voting, and late-evening early voting hours. Republicans, for their part, voiced concerns about potential election fraud. The bill, Senate Bill 1, ultimately passed in early September 2021 after some Democrats returned to the Texas House and provided enough lawmakers to sustain a quorum and push the legislation through.
