(The Center Square) – After Texas House Democrats left the state on Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered them to return to Austin or said he would take action to have them removed from office. He also said several of them may have committed felonies.

Several House Democrats posted videos of themselves Sunday appearing to board private planes for Chicago, saying doing so was in defiance of redistricting efforts. They also solicited donations on social media to support their “fight.”

The legislature is currently convened by Abbott for a special session to address 18 issues, including flood relief for Hill Country victims and redistricting. A House committee advanced a redistricting bill on Saturday, which Democrats argue is illegal. The full House is scheduled to vote on it on Monday, The Center Square reported.

On Sunday, Democrats said they were taking an “extreme measure” by causing a quorum break “to stop these bills from happening” and declared, “this special session is over,” The Center Square reported.

In response, Abbott issued a one-page statement, saying, “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.’”

A quorum of two-thirds of the legislature is needed in each chamber, 100 in the Texas House, to conduct business, according to the state constitution and legislative rules. The House is comprised of 150 members, including 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats. Under House rules, members can request approved absences from the speaker. Unapproved absences can result in fines, censure, arrest and removal from office.

In 2021, after House Democrats absconded, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that those who left could be arrested, The Center Square reported.

On Sunday, House 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,” Abbott said, which is a violation of the Texas Constitution. Their actions amount “to an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office,” he said.

When the governor calls a special session, the Texas Constitution “provides that the ‘Legislature shall meet.’ TEX. CONST. art. III, § 5 (emphasis added),” Abbott explained. “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.”

He ordered the “derelict Democrat House members” to return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3 p.m. on Monday. Otherwise, he will take action to remove them from office.

“I will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House,” he said, citing an opinion issued in 2021 after House Democrats absconded to prevent a vote on election reform. At the time, the attorney general was asked to consider “whether Texas law allows for a determination that a legislator has vacated office if they intentionally break quorum.”

The opinion concludes, “If a legislator is believed to have forfeited his or her office by abandonment, the attorney general or the county or district attorney of the proper county may initiate a suit in district court. If the court determines that the public officer has forfeited the office, the court ‘shall enter judgment removing the person from the office.’

“Texas courts recognize that a vacancy may occur by abandonment of office. 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.”

Abbott argues the opinion “empowers me to swiftly fill vacancies under Article III, Section 13 of the Texas Constitution.”

He also said House Democrats “may also have committed felonies” by “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,” he said, citing Texas penal code. “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,” he said.

House Speaker Dustin Burrows said the House will convene at 3 p.m. on Monday. “If a quorum is not present then, to borrow the recent talking points from some of my Democrat colleagues, all options will be on the table,” referring to imposing fines and potentially taking action to have them arrested.

(The Center Square) – Texas House Democrats left Austin for Chicago on Sunday  in an attempt to prevent the state House from voting Monday on a redistricting bill.

“As of today, this special session is over,” Democrats said in a statement.

The redistricting bill advanced out of committee on Saturday along party lines and was scheduled for a floor vote on Monday.

In order for the House to convene to conduct business, it must have a quorum – two-thirds of its members, 100, must be present. Even though Republicans hold a majority, they don’t have enough members to meet quorum on their own. The Texas House is comprised of 88 Republicans and 64 Democrats.

House Democrats argue the redistricting bill is illegal and have vowed to fight it.

“The choice was clear,” Texas House Democrats said. “Stand by while [Gov. Greg] Abbott silences millions of Black and Latino voters or use every tool available to stop this assault on our democracy. This corrupt special session is over.”

Within months of entering his second term, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice sent a letter to Abbott raising concerns about the 2021 redistricting plan, requesting him to redistrict. Abbott cited the DOJ’s concerns in his call to add redistricting to the special session, which began July 21. The new redistricting plan likely would net at least five new Republican seats by moving Democrat incumbents to other districts and creating seven new districts (7, 9, 20, 30, 32, 34, 35), The Center Square reported.

Democrats also repeated their claim that they care more about the Hill Country flood victims than Republicans do and emergency funding should be prioritized.

“For two weeks, while the families in the Texas Hill Country mourned the loss of over 130 Texans in catastrophic floods, Democrats fought to make their relief the legislature’s top priority,” they said. “Instead, Governor Abbott and Republican leadership used the tragedy as political cover. After thousands of Texans testified against this corrupt bargain in hearings across the state, their pleas were ignored. Governor Abbott has turned the victims of a tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump. We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander.

“As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”

By leaving the state, legislative business is halted, including passing any relief measures for flood victims.

Several lawmakers who fled the state went to Chicago for a second time – after a House delegation went to Chicago and Sacramento a week ago to meet with Democratic governors to devise a strategy to block the Republican redistricting effort, The Center Square reported. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to meet them at the airport.

Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu, who previously met with Prizker and again went to Chicago, said more information would be provided after they land. State Rep. Christina Morales, who also joined Wu on the first Chicago trip, posted a video of her entering the airport saying, “It’s time to take this fight on the road.”

Other Democrats posted videos of themselves at the airport. State Rep. James Talarico said, “My Democratic colleagues and I just left the state of Texas to break quorum and stop Trump’s redistricting power grab. Trump is trying to rig the midterm elections right before our eyes. But first he’ll have to come through us. It’s time to fight back.” State Rep. Chris Turner posted an image of himself in front of an airplane saying it was a “good day to fight for our democracy” and asked for donations.

Also on Sunday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, issued a statement, saying, “The Texas House will be convening at 3:00pm tomorrow. If a quorum is not present then, to borrow the recent talking points from some of my Democrat colleagues, all options will be on the table.”

He’s referring to potentially arresting state lawmakers who break quorum, disrupt legislative business in violation of House rules. Four years ago, the Texas Supreme Court ruled state lawmakers could be arrested, The Center Square reported.

House Democrats repeated a maneuver they used in July 2021 when they absconded for Washington, D.C., to prevent voting on election reform, The Center Square reported. That year, Abbott had called a special session to address 11 legislative items. Because Democrats absconded, legislative business halted. In August 2021, he called a second special session. When Democrats returned, the legislature eventually passed the reforms.

Unless House Democrats return for business to continue, Abbott is expected to call a second special session to begin around August 20, 30 days after the first session began on July 21.

(The Center Square) – Consumers across the country are bracing for higher prices on everything from coffee to cars as President Donald Trump’s full suite of “Liberation Day” tariffs go into effect next week. 

Some public companies had previously delayed price hikes, but that could change as more tariffs become effective.

Prices for clothes and shoes could jump. In the short term, consumers could pay 39% more for shoes and 37% more for clothes, with shoes and apparel prices expected to gain 18% and 17% higher in the long term, respectively, according to the latest figures from the Yale Budget Lab. That group projected that the tariffs would increase average household costs by about $2,400 annually.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobby, reported that manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers are paying higher prices for goods and services. At the same time, “they are slowly beginning to raise the prices they charge their customers,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president, chief policy officer, and head of strategic advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Countries with the highest tariffs include Syria (41%), Laos (40%), Myanmar (40%), Switzerland (39%), Serbia (35%) and Iraq (35%). Some countries could face higher rates, including Brazil, depending on final rates, most of which Trump set unilaterally. 

Trump cut deals with about two-thirds of the United States’ major trading partners. Those nations mostly came in under 19%. Most got 15%. So far, the United Kingdom has the lowest rate at 10%. Trump extended the deadline for several other key trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and China. 

The White House said Thursday that Trump would continue to be open to deals that benefit America. 

Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro said the trade group hopes to see more deals to lower tariffs in the coming week.

“Constant shifts in tariff policy make it increasingly difficult for U.S. companies – especially startups and small businesses – to plan, invest, and compete globally,” he said. “CTA continues to urge the administration and Congress to pursue a predictable, forward-looking trade agenda rooted in fairness, and collaboration with, trusted partners. American innovation thrives when markets are open, trade rules are clear, and businesses are free to focus on creating jobs and bringing groundbreaking technologies to market.”

He added: “We expect the administration will use the next seven days before the tariffs go into effect on August 7 to negotiate further deals with trading partners, including with our northern friend and neighbor Canada, to lower tariffs, provide greater certainty, and eliminate barriers to trade.”

Businesses could still get relief through the courts. On Thursday, a panel of 11 appellate court judges scrutinized Trump’s tariff authority, asking attorneys on both sides of the case tough questions about the president’s authority to restructure global trade without help from Congress. The court didn’t rule on the tariffs on Thursday but is expected to do so in the coming weeks.

Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families, and pay down the national debt.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods paid by the person or company that imports the goods. The importer can absorb the cost of the tariffs or try to pass the cost on to consumers through higher prices.