The Texas Supreme Court ruled law enforcement can arrest the state House Democrats who fled to D.C.
The Democrats left the state because they did not want to vote on legislation making it harder to cheat while voting. They flew to D.C. on private planes and took charter buses to cry in the arms of federal Democrats.
The Texas House Republicans could not vote on legislation because the Democrats denied them a quorum.
Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan petitioned the court after a Travis County district judge blocked the two of them from arresting the Democrats:
The all-Republican high court’s order came at the request of Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan, also both Republicans, who petitioned the court on Monday to overturn a recent ruling by a Travis County district judge that blocked them from ordering the arrest of quorum-busting Democrats, who were in Washington, D.C., for about a month. The House Democrats in the suit have until Thursday at 4 p.m. to respond to the court. Democrats who are arrested would not face criminal charges and could not be jailed or fined. Law enforcement officers carrying out arrest orders by state officials could only try to bring them to the House chambers.”The Supreme Court of Texas swiftly rejected this dangerous attempt by Texas Democrats to undermine our Constitution and avoid doing the job they were elected to do,” said Renae Eze, an Abbott spokeswoman. “We look forward to the Supreme Court upholding the rule of law and stopping another stall tactic by the Texas Democrats.”
The House then voted 80-12 to allow law enforcement to arrest the Democrats right after the ruling.
On Monday, the House “adopted a procedural move known as a ‘call of the House'” so they can get the quorum they need.
The “call of the House” means they will lock the doors and prevent “members on the floor from leaving unless they have permission in writing from the speaker.”
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