Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a strong warning to Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to avoid voting on a new congressional map, emphasizing a looming deadline and potential legal consequences. On Fox & Friends, Paxton highlighted the Friday cutoff for Democrats to return, suggesting that failure to comply could lead to contempt charges and possibly jail time. He also mentioned unprecedented steps being considered, including filing motions to remove absentee legislators from office.
The controversy stems from Texas Democrats leaving the state to prevent a quorum in the House, thereby blocking passage of a GOP-led redistricting plan. These new maps would potentially create five additional Republican-leaning congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Paxton stated that while lawmakers are still hoping for cooperation, formal legal actions would begin immediately if Democrats continued their standoff.
Governor Greg Abbott echoed Paxton’s frustrations in a podcast, predicting that Democrats would eventually return. He warned, however, that if they continued to delay the redistricting process, Republicans might expand their plan to include even more GOP-leaning seats. Abbott made it clear that the state is prepared to take aggressive measures, including civil arrest warrants and state trooper involvement, to bring the legislators back.
In response to the walkout, the Republican-controlled House issued arrest warrants for absent Democrats, and Abbott moved to remove the Democratic caucus chair. Senator John Cornyn claimed the FBI was contacted for assistance in locating the missing lawmakers, though Abbott would not confirm if federal involvement was appropriate.
Abbott defended the redistricting plan by pointing to the 2024 election results, where Donald Trump won over 56% of the Texas vote. He argued that many Republican voters were unfairly placed in Democrat-dominated districts and that redrawing boundaries would ensure fair representation.
Republicans are also pushing similar redistricting efforts in other states. Vice President JD Vance visited Indiana to support redistricting talks, and the Speaker of the Florida House has launched a new redistricting committee, signaling a broader GOP strategy nationwide.
