Ken Paxton
Yesterday, Texas Lawyer Basic (and 2026 Republican Senatorial hopeful!) Ken Paxton requested an Illinois state trial courtroom to provoke “contempt proceedings” towards the Democratic state legislators who decamped to that state “on an emergency foundation.” These lawmakers traveled to Illinois to disclaim Republicans a quorum as they search to cram by means of a gerrymandered map that may hand 5 extra Congressional seats to Republicans in 2026. Similar to Pricey Chief Trump ordered them to, with an help from the DOJ, which declared Texas’s present districts racist towards white individuals.
“Quorum breaking” has a protracted historical past in Texas as a method of protest. Article III, Part 10 of the Texas Structure requires that two-thirds of the legislature be current as a way to conduct any legislative enterprise. The Texas Home of Representatives has 150 members, so 100 should be within the room to represent a quorum.
Beneath Rule 5, Part 8 of the Texas Home guidelines, when there isn’t any quorum current, “no enterprise shall be transacted, besides to compel the attendance of absent members or to adjourn.” Which the Texas Home Republicans promptly did, issuing so referred to as “quorum warrants” to that chamber’s sergeant-at-arms to effectuate the civil arrest and return of the Democratic legislators.
These warrants – and the sergeant-at-arms’s authority – are solely efficient in Texas, which is why the legislators left the state. So Paxton ran to a courtroom in Illinois insisting that it implement the Home warrants underneath the Full Religion and Credit score Clause of the Structure, which instructions that “Full Religion and Credit score shall be given in every State to the general public Acts, Data, and judicial Proceedings of each different State.”
Paxton calls the civil quorum warrants a “public Act,” and calls for that Illinois courts implement them. Though not simply any Illinois courtroom — Paxton made darn certain to file his trollsuit in tiny Adams county, 250 miles from liberal Chicago the place the legislators are staying.
This can be as a result of the Texas legislation man is conscious that the Full Religion and Credit score clause has been used virtually solely to implement legitimate authorized judgments issued by a courtroom. An “Act” by the Texas Congress, isn’t a courtroom order or perhaps a legislation. It merely permits the sergeant-at-arms or its designee to arrest the lawmakers in Texas and produce them to the chamber. Paxton, who has been threatening docs throughout the nation for offering abortion and gender affirming care to Texas residents, could also be confused about the place his authority ends. However regardless of all his keening that “If the Quorum Order and Quorum Warrants should not given full religion and credit score and should not enforced in Illinois, Texas is threatened with speedy and irreparable hurt for which damages are an inadequate treatment,” he’s nonetheless making an attempt to show the slim reed of the sergeant-at-arms’ energy over Home Members into the sword of a judicial warrant. And that canine received’t hunt.
Within the meantime, Paxton appears to have been outflanked by his rival, Senator John Cornyn, who claims that he’s satisfied the FBI to hunt these demoncrats down wherever they might be.
@FBIDirectorKash has responded to my request to help state & native legislation enforcement find the runaway Texas Home Democrats and examine potential offenses.Thanks Director Patel to your swift response & motion!— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) August 6, 2025
Cornyn has been tweeting up a storm accusing Democrats of all the pieces from fraud to placing ketchup on their nachos. He additionally had some alternative phrases for his rival.
Welcome dwelling out of your European golf trip @KenPaxtonTX . Whilst you had been AWOL the runaway Democrat Texas Home members have absconded. Luckily @GregAbbott_TX has stepped into the breech and pursued motion within the Texas Supreme Court docket whilst you had been neglecting your…— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) August 7, 2025
All this Texas-sized clusterfuck wants is FBI Director Kash Patel, after which it’ll actually be a celebration!
Liz Dye and Andrew Torrez produce the Legislation and Chaos Substack and podcast.
