(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday filed an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court to remove from office the Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair, Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston.
Wu led more than 50 House Democrats out of state to prevent the Texas House from reaching a quorum and conducting official business.
Abbott filed a 35-page Petition for Writ of Quo Warranto “to address ongoing abuses of public office by ousting ‘the non-user’ Wu, who has abdicated his official responsibilities by avowedly repudiating them.”
The petition cites Chapter 66 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which Abbott first cited when he warned on Sunday that he would take action to remove House Democrats from office who abdicated their position, The Center Square reported.
“I made clear in a formal statement on Sunday, August 3, that if the Texas House Democrats were not in attendance when the House reconvened at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, then action would be taken to seek their removal,” Abbott said in a statement Tuesday night.
On Sunday night, Wu, along with more than two dozen House Democrats, fled Texas for Chicago and held a news conference with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. It was the second time Wu led a delegation to Chicago in an attempt to thwart Texas redistricting efforts.
A Select House Committee on Redistricting advanced a redistricting measure on Saturday that Wu and other Democrats argue is illegal.
Wu said Republican-led redistricting was disenfranchising Texans and the “tool they’re using is a racist gerrymandered map. A map that seeks to use racial lines to divide hard working communities who have spent decades building up their power and strengthening their voices. Governor Abbott is doing this in submission to Donald Trump so that Donald Trump can steal these communities’ power and voice. We will not be complicit in the destruction of our own communities.”
Pritzker held a news conference Tuesday with Texas House Democrats where Wu was absent.
On Monday and Tuesday, more than 50 Democrats had not returned to Austin; 56 Democrats were were absent from Texas’ special legislative session on Monday and 54 absent on Tuesday. House Speaker Dustin Burrows signed civil warrants for their arrest, The Center Square reported.
“They have not returned and have not met the quorum requirements. Representative Wu and the other Texas House Democrats have shown a willful refusal to return, and their absence for an indefinite period of time deprives the House of the quorum needed to meet and conduct business on behalf of Texans. Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans, and there must be consequences,” Abbott said.
The lawsuit argues, “Willful refusal to serve as a representative is abandonment of the office of representative.” It also argues that the “principal duty of a legislator is to attend and participate in legislative sessions as required by Article III, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution. The quorum provisions further underscore that attendance is not optional; it is an affirmative constitutional obligation.”
“Representative Wu has openly renounced these constitutional mandates by fleeing the State of Texas to break quorum, obstruct legislative proceedings, and paralyze the Texas House of Representatives,” the petition states.
“It is no answer for Wu to say that he plans to continue serving as a representative. His own statements and actions show a refusal to actually serve as a representative in fact,” the petition continues. “That’s because what representatives do is represent their constituents in the legislative chamber. They appear for a quorum. They meet with other legislators in hearings. They speak with their constituents. They debate bills. And, in the end, they vote their district.
Prior to flying to Chicago, Wu and others posted pictures of themselves on social media with fundraising links asking for support for their efforts to block a vote on redistricting that was scheduled for Monday.
Abbott directed the Texas Rangers to investigate potential bribery charges connected to fundraising to thwart official legislative business.
The petition states that “Wu’s actions violate Article XVI, Section 41, which requires forfeiture of his office. … There is an especially good reason why bribery may form the basis for removal from office: Our Constitution seeks to root out bribery at practically every turn. The oath-of-office provisions, for example, obligate state officers to sign a statement swearing that they have not and will not exchange things of value ‘for the giving or withholding of a vote,’” the petition states.
Abbott also asks the court to order Wu’s removal from office to “ensure that public office remains a trust exercised in good faith, as opposed to a platform for private gain and governmental sabotage. It could also begin to make it easier to establish a quorum while the Special Session is still under way.”
Wu’s office has yet to issue a public statement and has not responded to requests for comment.
