Abbott Asks Texas Supreme Court To Oust House Democratic Chair Gene Wu

Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Gene Wu of Houston—just hours after Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a similar threat—Aarón Torres and Philip Jankowski reported for the Dallas Morning News.

Wu is among more than 50 Democrats who left the state on Sunday in an effort to block passage of a GOP-backed redistricting map that would shift five congressional districts in Republicans’ favor. (Photo: Gene Wu for State Representative 137 Facebook)

Paxton, however, said he would not seek a court ruling on whether lawmakers can be removed until Friday afternoon, when the Texas House is next scheduled to convene.

Wu, in his first session as Democratic caucus chair, is among more than 50 Democrats who left the state on Sunday in an effort to block passage of a GOP-backed redistricting map that would shift five congressional districts in Republicans’ favor.

The Democrats are protesting a rare mid-decade redistricting push championed by President Donald Trump to bolster Republican chances of retaining control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms.

In an emailed statement, Wu said denying a quorum in the Texas House was “not an abandonment of my office; it was a fulfillment of my oath.”

He added: “Unable to defend his corrupt agenda on its merits, Greg Abbott now desperately seeks to silence my dissent by removing a duly elected official from office. History will judge this moment. It will show a governor who used the law as a weapon to silence his people, and it will show those of us who stood for a higher principle.”