Gov. Abbott orders Texas Rangers to investigate absent Democrats for potential bribery violations

Update (4:29 PM): Texas Governor Greg Abbott is now ordering the Texas Rangers to investigate those State House Democrats who left the state amid the redistricting fight for potential bribery violations.

“Today, I ordered the Texas Rangers to immediately investigate fleeing Texas House Democrats for potential bribery and any other potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum, conduct business, and cast votes,” said Governor Abbott. “That investigation should extend to anyone who aided or abetted such potential crimes."

Several dozen state representatives left the state in an effort to break the State House's quorum and delay the ongoing debates on redistricting Texas' congressional districts. Democrats say the proposed map would favor Republicans.

Abbott's office said Monday afternoon that "reports indicate that many absentee Texas House Democrats have solicited or received funds to evade conducting legislative business and casting votes."

Abbott says that any lawmaker who solicits, accepts, or agrees to accepting such funds may have violated bribery laws under the Texas Penal Code.

"The Texas Rangers were instructed to quickly complete the investigation and to prepare the paperwork to be sent to the appropriate prosecutors," Abbott's office explained.

Update (2:36 PM): Texas Governor Greg Abbott is ordering the Texas Department Of Public Safety to arrest the Democrats who did not show up to the capitol as the House reconvened this afternoon.

“Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans,” said Governor Abbott. “By fleeing the state, Texas House Democrats are holding hostage critical legislation to aid flood victims and advance property tax relief. There are consequences for dereliction of duty.

Abbott's office adds that Speaker Dustin Burrows just issued warrants to compel the Democrats to return. The House is set to reconvene again tomorrow afternoon.

"To ensure compliance, I ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans," Abbott explained. "This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol.”

AUSTIN, Texas (KVIA) -- Texas Governor Greg Abbott says House Democrats need to be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 p.m. Central Time (2 p.m. Mountain Time) today, or else he will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House.

Abbott says that any lawmaker who does not comply faces loss of their seat and felony violations. The Democrats left the legislature as part of a "quorum break," in an effort to stop the House from voting to redistrict Texas. The legislature has been making an effort the last few weeks to redistrict Texas' congressional districts. Democrats claim that the proposed map will favor Republicans.

Democratic lawmakers who traveled to Illinois are currently scheduled to have a news conference at 6:00 PM Central Time in Illinois.

Abbott's office released the following statement last night. Read it in full below:

"Real Texans do not run from a fight. But that’s exactly what most of the Texas House Democrats just did. Rather than doing their job and voting on urgent legislation affecting the lives of all Texans, they have fled Texas to deprive the House of the quorum necessary to meet and conduct business.

These absences are not merely unintended and unavoidable interruptions in public service, like a sudden illness or a family emergency. Instead, these absences were premeditated for an illegitimate purpose—what one representative called 'breaking quorum.' Another previously signaled that Democrats 'would have to go by an extreme measure' of a quorum break 'to stop these bills from happening.' In other words, Democrats hatched a deliberate plan not to show up for work, for the specific purpose of abdicating the duties of their office and thwarting the chamber’s business.

That amounts to an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office. When the Governor calls a Special Session, our Constitution provides that the 'Legislature shall meet.' TEX. CONST. art. III, § 5 (emphasis added). It’s not optional. It’s a duty. The absconded Democrat House members were elected to meet and vote on legislation—not to prevent votes that may not go their way. Every session, legislators on both sides of the aisle find themselves on the losing side of a legislative vote. And every session, most of those legislators find a way to disagree agreeably and behave like adults, rather than going AWOL.

This truancy ends now. The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025. For any member who fails to do so, I will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House. In that Opinion, the Attorney General considered 'whether Texas law allows for a determination that a legislator has vacated office' if they intentionally break quorum. The Attorney General concluded that 'whether a specific legislator abandoned his or her office such that a vacancy occurred will be a fact question for a court.' He further concluded that 'through a quo warranto action, a district court may determine that a legislator has forfeited his or her office due to abandonment and can remove the legislator from office, thereby creating a vacancy.' That empowers me to swiftly fill vacancies under Article III, Section 13 of the Texas Constitution.

In addition to abandoning their offices, these legislators may also have committed felonies. Many absentee Democrats are soliciting funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules. Any Democrat who 'solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept' such funds to assist in the violation of legislative duties or for purposes of skipping a vote may have violated bribery laws. See TEX. PENAL CODE § 36.02. The same could be true for any other person who 'offers, confers, or agrees to confer' such funds to fleeing Democrat House members. I will use my full extradition authority to demand the return to Texas of any potential out-of-state felons."