Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that he intends to seek court orders to formally remove Democratic state lawmakers who fled to Illinois in an effort to obstruct the Republican-led redistricting process. Paxton argued the lawmakers have effectively “vacated” their offices by abandoning their legislative duties.
“The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don’t show up to work, you get fired,” Paxton posted on X alongside a press release from his office.
The press release stated that Paxton’s office will pursue judicial relief to ensure the seats of the absent Democrats are declared vacant, should they fail to return by a deadline imposed by House Speaker Dustin Burrows. The Speaker’s office has reportedly given the lawmakers until Friday, August 8, to return to the Capitol.
“Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced that the continued refusal to perform legislative duties by Texas House Democrats who broke quorum constitutes abandonment of office,” the release said. “Any lawmaker who has not been arrested and returned or fails to appear by the Speaker’s deadline will be subject to aggressive legal action by Attorney General Paxton.”
?BREAKING: I will seek judicial orders declaring that runaway Democrats who fail to appear by the Speaker’s deadline have vacated their office.
The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don’t show up to work, you get fired. pic.twitter.com/yyPWavY38P
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 5, 2025
The Democrats fled the state to prevent the House from reaching a quorum, thereby blocking a GOP-drafted map that could add as many as five new Republican-held congressional districts. Without a quorum, the legislature is unable to vote on bills — a tactic Democrats have used before, most notably in 2021 during a fight over election reform.
“Democrats have abandoned their offices by fleeing Texas, and a failure to respond to a call of the House constitutes a dereliction of their duty as elected officials,” Paxton said. “Starting Friday, any rogue lawmakers refusing to return to the House will be held accountable for vacating their office.”
While the Texas House earlier issued arrest warrants for the missing lawmakers, those orders are only enforceable within the state’s borders. Many Democrats traveled to Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts, where Texas law enforcement has no jurisdiction. Paxton’s approach would seek to make their absence official through the courts — potentially triggering special elections to replace them.
The move is likely to escalate tensions between Republican leadership and the Democratic minority, which has been increasingly reliant on procedural stunts to slow down the GOP’s legislative agenda in a state that has trended more red under President Donald Trump’s second term.
The post Texas AG Asks Judge To Officially Remove AWOL Dems From Seats appeared first on Real News Now.
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