Texas Escalates Quorum Fight: Paxton Seeks Illinois Court’s Help to Force Absent Democrats’ Return

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and House Speaker Dustin Burrows have dramatically escalated their efforts to restore legislative quorum, formally asking an Illinois court to enforce arrest warrants against Democratic lawmakers who fled the state. The Democrats absconded to Illinois and other states to prevent the passage of a controversial GOP-backed congressional map, aiming to deny the Texas House the minimum number of members required for legislative action.

This unprecedented move marks a significant intensification of the ongoing political standoff. While civil arrest warrants issued by Burrows are typically enforceable only within Texas borders, Paxton’s filing invokes the ‘full faith and credit’ clause of the U.S. Constitution, which mandates states to honor each other’s judicial proceedings. This legal strategy is a departure from previous quorum breaks in 2003 and 2021, where out-of-state enforcement was not pursued.

The lawsuit has been strategically filed in a western Illinois county that strongly supported Donald Trump in 2024, a venue potentially more sympathetic to Paxton’s argument than the Chicago suburb where the Democrats are currently residing. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has publicly pledged to protect the Texas legislators within his state, setting the stage for a potential interstate legal battle.

Further complicating the situation, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced the FBI’s involvement in tracking the absent Democrats, and Governor Greg Abbott has separately petitioned the Texas Supreme Court to expel Houston Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, from office—a long-shot legal challenge to centuries of precedent. The combined actions underscore the high stakes as Texas Republicans push to pass the new map ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

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