Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a public statement criticizing Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives who left the state to prevent a quorum and block legislative proceedings. In the statement, Paxton condemned the lawmakers’ decision to leave Texas, characterizing their actions as a failure to fulfill their duties as elected officials.
“Instead of showing up to work and doing the jobs they were elected to do, House Democrat members have fled the state in a cowardly desertion of their responsibilities as elected officials,” Paxton stated. “These jet-setting runaways abandoned Texas, abdicated their duties in the House, and sacrificed their constituents for a publicity stunt.”
The lawmakers left Texas to prevent the Republican-controlled House from passing legislation, a tactic known as breaking quorum. Without a quorum, the House is unable to conduct business, including voting on legislation legally.
Attorney General Paxton indicated that he is prepared to take legal action against the absent lawmakers. “I am prepared to do everything in my power to hold them accountable because these liberal lawmakers are not above the law,” he said. “It’s imperative that they be swiftly arrested, punished, and face the full force of the law for turning their backs on the people of Texas.”
Paxton referenced a 2021 ruling by the Texas Supreme Court that allowed the House to compel the attendance of its members. According to the statement, that ruling “helped create the current legal framework, which allows for rogue lawmakers to be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol.”
In the same statement, Paxton reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing enforcement: “Attorney General Paxton will continue to use every legal tool at his disposal to enforce the law and stop the radical lawmakers from ignoring their duty to the people of Texas and breaking quorum.”
The statement follows ongoing tensions between Republican leadership and Democratic lawmakers over controversial legislation and comes as part of broader political battles within the state government. The Attorney General’s comments emphasize the legal authority of the legislature to enforce attendance among its members and suggest potential consequences for those who choose to obstruct legislative proceedings through absence.
To read the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in the 2021 case, click here.
