Greg Abbott threatens to remove Dem lawmakers from office if they don’t show up for redistricting vote

Abbott’s pressure follows a walkout by Democrats seeking to deny the Texas House a quorum, the minimum number of legislators required to conduct business. By leaving the state, Democrats effectively froze all legislative activity during a special session set to expire later this month. Their primary objective was to halt a GOP-drawn congressional map that could secure five additional US House seats for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.

“This truancy ends now,” Abbott wrote in a letter sent to each absent lawmaker. He cited a 2021 opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which said courts could determine whether lawmakers forfeited their offices by fleeing the state to obstruct legislative duties. If a court rules that the seats are vacant, Abbott would be authorized to appoint replacements.

Abbott also raised the possibility of felony charges against lawmakers who are fundraising to pay the $500 daily fines incurred for missing the special session. He alleged that soliciting donations to avoid penalties could constitute bribery and warned that donors might also face legal exposure.

The governor called the lawmakers "potential out-of-state felons.” Meanwhile, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker pledged support to the Texas Democrats, stating during a Sunday press conference, “We’re going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them.”

At the center of the dispute is a mid-cycle redistricting plan after President Donald Trump said that the redistricting of the lines in Texas could pick up the GOP a few extra seats in the 2026 midterms. The Texas House redistricting committee advanced the proposal on Saturday along party lines, setting up a full House vote for Monday. According to the Texas Legislative Council, the new map would have given Trump 30 of the state’s congressional districts in 2024, three more than under the current boundaries. Five districts would have flipped from Democratic to Republican advantage.

The DOJ sent a letter weeks ago to Texas officials, arguing that the districts had to be restructured, citing racial gerrymandering. Democrats have argued it is power grab for the GOP.

“This is nothing more than a Trump-ordered assault on democracy,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder, who pledged legal action if the map is adopted. “Democrats must fight this Trump power grab through any means necessary, and blue states across the country should use this as a signal flare to start carving up their own states and make these authoritarian wannabe Republican lawmakers regret ever opening up this redistricting discussion in the first place.”

The controversy has reverberated beyond Texas. Democratic governors like California’s Gavin Newsom have hinted at retaliatory redistricting in their states. US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries acknowledged that similar plans are under consideration in states such as California, New York, and New Jersey.