Republicans in the House passed a resolution directing law enforcement to arrest, if necessary, over 50 Democratic lawmakers who refused to attend Monday’s legislative session in protest of a GOP-led redistricting effort, according to The Texas Tribune.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to assist in the effort to return the rogue lawmakers to the state Capitol. No civil or criminal charges will be attached to the arrest warrants.
Democrats fled the state on Sunday to deny the state legislature the quorum needed to conduct business, effectively stalling Republicans from passing a new map of congressional districts drawn to give the GOP favorable odds at picking up at least five more U.S. House seats in the Lone Star State.
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The governor also said that the rogue Democrats may be exposed to felony bribery charges after they requested donations to pay for their plan to flee the state. He added that the Democrats, in crippling the state’s ability to conduct legislative business, have left the government unable to pass legislation to help the victims of severe flooding in central Texas earlier this year.
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“We’re not here to play political games. We’re here to demand, to demand an end to this corrupt process,” said state Rep. Gene Wu, who chairs the Democratic caucus in the state House. “We asked them to stop hiding things from the public. We asked them to stop doing things behind closed doors. We asked them to stop attacking Texas communities. They refused because their loyalty and fealty to Donald Trump overrides all other interests.”
