AUSTIN, Texas (East Texas News) – Friday has been set as the deadline for Texas House member Gene Wu, the chair of the chamber’s Democratic caucus, to answer the petition filed by Governor Greg Abbott, who is asking the Texas Supreme Court to remove Wu from office.
This move comes as more than 50 Democrats in the Texas House continue to stall the quorum in response to efforts to redraw the congressional district maps.
In a 35-page filing submitted Tuesday night, Governor Abbott writes that allowing quorum disruptions now could mean lawmakers “could do it in every ordinary or special session, potentially driving the state to ruin in an attempt to get their way.”
Abbott goes on to write that “the harm these members have inflicted could continue indefinitely. They could return after a quorum break for a few days and then flee again if a vote on legislation that fails to satisfy them is brought to a vote.”
The governor concludes his introduction to the petition by asking the court to “make clear that a lawmaker who does not wish to fulfill their duties will be stripped of them.”
Following the filing, the Texas Supreme Court issued a notice to Wu to respond to Governor Abbott’s case by Friday at 5 p.m.
“This is total madness,” Representative Gene Wu said in response to Abbott’s court filing. “This isn’t my seat, and certainly not the governor’s seat. This seat belongs to Texans. And I have sworn to defend them and protect them at all costs. We are facing a governor who conspires with a president fallen from grace to weaponize an unconstitutional and illegal racial manipulation of electoral districts and to destroy our communities. I have a duty to respond to that. I am obligated to do everything possible to stop it using all legal means available.”
The speaker of the Texas House, Dustin Burrows, has also set a deadline, asking the absent members to convene in the chamber no later than Friday. If they do not, Attorney General Ken Paxton says in a press release that he will file additional submissions with the Texas Supreme Court to declare those members have vacated their seats.
