Texas AG seeks to expel 13 Dems over redistricting protest walkout
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the state’s top court to expel 13 Democrats who left the state to block a Republican-led redistricting plan.
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Texas House of Representatives members Gina Hinojosa and Ann Johnson, two of the state lawmakers who have left the Texas House to block a vote to redraw the voting districts, speak at a news conference in Sacramento, California, Friday, August 8, 2025 (AP)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday that he has petitioned the state’s top court to expel 13 Democratic members of the Texas House who left the state in protest of a proposed Republican-led redistricting plan.
“The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant,” Paxton said in a statement. “These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold. Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on.”
The Democratic lawmakers reportedly departed for states, including Illinois and New York, on August 3, effectively denying the chamber a quorum and bringing legislative proceedings to a standstill.
The move has set off a wave of political and legal actions. Earlier this week, Governor Greg Abbott filed an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court seeking the removal of Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu.
Meanwhile, US Senator John Cornyn said Thursday that FBI Director Kash Patel approved his request for federal agents to assist Texas authorities in locating the lawmakers, whose absence has blocked the passage of the controversial redistricting measure.
