(The Center Square) – Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows gaveled in the House on Tuesday with only 94 members present. One hundred are needed to reach a quorum to conduct House business, which was not met.
All 86 Republicans were in attendance, only 8 of 62 Democrats were. As of Tuesday, 54 Democrats remain MIA.
On Monday, 56 Democrats were absent and Burrows signed civil warrants for their arrest, The Center Square reported. House Democrats have fled the state in protest to prevent a vote on Congressional redistricting, arguing the measure is illegal. Burrows argues their absence delays an eventual vote and also delays important work on flood relief for Hill Country victims among other measures.
The legislature is currently convened for a special session that began July 21 to address 18 legislative issues identified by Gov. Greg Abbott.
After not meeting a quorum on Monday, Abbott directed Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to locate, arrest and return House Democrats who hadn’t returned to the capital. DPS officers are only allowed to make arrests in Texas, which is why Democrats fled the state. House Democrats who fled to Chicago held new conferences there each day since, remaining defiant and unphased by Abbott’s threat to remove them from office for abdicating their sworn duties.
Burrows said he met with Texas DPS officials Tuesday morning “to get a full briefing on their efforts to locate and return the members who are actively trying to thwart the legislature from performing its duties.”
“DPS is actively working to compel their attendance after I signed their civil arrest warrants yesterday and will continue to do so until those members are back in this chamber,” Burrows said. However, “DPS will need some time to work, and we will try again to make quorum on Friday. If quorum is then made, we will proceed with the very important business of this state.”
Despite not having a quorum, members are still working. The Disaster Preparedness Committee is meeting Tuesday to consider five priority pieces of legislation, Burrows said. “Each will address the catastrophic flooding that has devastated homes and entire communities. That’s the kind of important work that is being done in the House and all elected members should be here representing their districts,” he said.
The call of the House remains in place, meaning members are not supposed leave without written permission. Burrows is calling the House to order Wednesday and Thursday in a pro forma session, he said,
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, requested Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel to assist with a Texas Ranger investigation into potential criminal acts committed by House Democrats and others, including bribery.
Abbott on Monday also directed the Texas Rangers to launch an investigation after multiple House Democrats have been soliciting funds on social media to support their active thwarting of legislative business. Under House rules, members may be fined $500 a day for being absent without permission. They also face civil arrest and being removed from office, The Center Square reported.
“Out-of-state actors have made public comments about protecting the Texas legislators who are currently hiding out of state from any accountability for their actions,” Cornyn said. “I request the FBI’s assistance, as federal resources are necessary to locate the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law. The FBI has tools to aid state law enforcement when parties cross state lines, including to avoid testifying or fleeing a scene of a crime.
“Specifically, I am concerned that legislators who solicited or accepted funds to aid in their efforts to avoid their legislative duties may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses,” he said. “These legislators have committed potential criminal acts in their rush to avoid their constitutional responsibilities and must be fully investigated and held accountable. I urge you to work with Texas public officials to provide them the support they need.”
The Office of Attorney General Ken Paxton has been issuing statements sayng he is in support of the arrest of House members. Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn, is currently out of the country on vacation in Europe.
In an interview with Fox News, Paxton said his office was likely unable to prosecute absconding Democrats. “Ultimately, it’s up to local District Attorneys, most of these are Democratic District Attorneys by the way, for these Democrats to prosecute. I think it’s unlikely – a small probability,” he said.
One day after making this claim, Paxton issued a statement Tuesday afternoon, saying, “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. Starting Friday, any rogue lawmakers refusing to return to the House will be held accountable for vacating 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.”
In light of his previous comments, it’s unclear what role his office would play in this, if at all.
