AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Gov. Greg Abbott filed an emergency petition Tuesday in the Texas Supreme Court, asking it to remove Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston. The petition comes after Wu’s move to break quorum by leaving the state over mid-decade redistricting, along with fellow Democrats.
In the statement, Abbott called Wu the “ringleader of the derelict Democrats.”
“This case is not a political dispute; it is a constitutional crisis,” the lawsuit reads. “The current Special Session is set to expire in just two weeks. But Wu apparently has no intention of returning. Instead, he claims the ‘special session is over.’ Permitting him to continue occupying his office so that he can abdicate the duties of that office will only enable future legislators to grind state government to a halt.”
Fifty-four Democrats were not present in the House chamber Tuesday as many have fled to states, like Illinois and New York. Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced their intent to have the Department of Public Safety track down and arrest absent House Democrats. DPS does not have authority to make those arrests outside of Texas.
The petition is one of a few tactics Republicans are using to try and bring Democrats back to the state to pass a new congressional map, one which will benefit the GOP. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked FBI Director Kash Patel to intervene to track down and bring home Democratic lawmakers. President Donald Trump appeared to entertain the idea while taking questions, according to NBC.
“Well, I think they have abandoned the state. Nobody seen anything like it even though they’ve done it twice before. And in a certain way, it almost looks like they’ve abandoned the state looks very bad. Yeah, go ahead please,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
After singing civil arrest warrants and attempting to involve the FBI, Abbott is now following through with what was previously only a threat — removing Democrats from office. The governor likely does not have the authority alone to do so, and he is now getting the courts involved.
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