Texas Democrats Flee the State, Republicans Swing and Miss: The Gene Wu Saga
When more than 50 Texas House Democrats boarded planes for New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts in early August 2025, they weren’t just skipping town — they were pulling one of the oldest plays in the Texas political playbook. By denying Republicans the two-thirds quorum required to pass legislation in the Texas House, they brought the chamber to a standstill and threw a wrench into Governor Greg Abbott‘s effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps mid-decade, at the explicit direction of President Donald Trump.
The goal was stark: Trump had instructed Texas Republicans to carve out as many as five additional congressional seats for the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms. Democrats, outnumbered and outgunned in the legislature, had no procedural path to block the maps — except to disappear.
Abbott was furious. He sought arrests, threatened heavy fines, and — most dramatically — filed an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court demanding the removal of House Minority Leader Gene Wu, D-Houston, accusing him of abandoning his office. Attorney General Ken Paxton piled on with his own lawsuit. Together, they framed the quorum break as dereliction of duty.
The courts saw it differently.
On Friday, the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court unanimously rejected Abbott’s bid, ruling that the Texas Constitution already equips the Legislature with its own tools to deal with absent members — fines, for instance, which Democrats did face upon their return. Notably, Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock, an Abbott appointee, wrote the majority opinion himself, underscoring just how legally shaky the governor’s case was.
The Democrats’ gambit ultimately failed on the policy front: they returned in mid-August, the maps passed, and Abbott signed them into law. Texas redistricting ignited a national scramble, with states across the country rushing to redraw their own maps ahead of 2026.
But the legal aftermath is a different story. By going after Wu personally, Abbott handed Democrats a rallying point, a martyr narrative, and now a clear-cut courtroom victory. Wu wasted no time rubbing it in, declaring that “the Republican-controlled Supreme Court said: no.” For a minority party starved of wins, that’s political gold.
Far from being deterred, Democrats will likely see the failed removal effort as proof that their quorum tactic — however temporary its effect — carries real democratic legitimacy. The GOP got the maps. The Democrats got the moral high ground, and a unanimous court ruling to prove it.
Sources:
- KUT Radio (Austin’s NPR Station) — “Supreme Court of Texas refuses removal of Texas House Democratic leader who broke quorum last year” https://www.kut.org/politics/2026-05-15/scotx-refuses-expulsion-tx-house-quorum-breakers
- Houston Public Media — “Supreme Court of Texas refuses removal of House Democratic leader Gene Wu over 2025 quorum break” https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2026/05/15/552027/scotx-refuses-expulsion-tx-house-quorum-breakers/
- Texas Standard — “Supreme Court of Texas refuses removal of Texas House Democratic leader who broke quorum last year” https://texasstandard.org/stories/scotx-refuses-expulsion-tx-house-quorum-breakers/
- CBS Texas — “Texas Supreme Court rejects removal of Democratic lawmakers who led quorum break over redistricting” https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-supreme-court-greg-abbott-democrats-quorum-redistricting/
- KXAN Austin — “Texas Supreme Court rejects petitions from Abbott, Paxton to oust ‘quorum breakers'” https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/texas-supreme-court-rejects-petitions-from-abbott-paxton-to-oust-quorum-breakers/
- NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth — “Texas Supreme Court rejects removing Democrats over quorum break” https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-high-court-rejects-removal-of-democratic-lawmakers-who-led-quorum-break-over-redistricting/4024553/
- Texas Tribune — “Democrat Gene Wu can keep House seat, Texas Supreme Court rules” https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/15/texas-supreme-court-gene-wu-greg-abbott-redistricting-map-quorum-break/
- Democracy Forward — “Texas Quorum / Gene Wu” (amicus brief coalition) https://democracyforward.org/work/texas-quorum-genewu
- KERAN News (NPR for North Texas) — “Gov. Abbott seeks removal of House Democratic Leader Rep. Gene Wu over quorum walkout” https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-08-05/texas-abbott-petion-gene-wu-removal-house-legislature-democrats-walkout
- The Epoch Times — “Abbott Asks State Supreme Court to Remove Texas House Democratic Leader Over Quorum Break” https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/abbott-sues-to-remove-texas-democratic-caucus-chair-over-quorum-break-5897293
Austin’s ambitious plan to build a string of parks over Interstate 35 — long envisioned as a way to reconnect a city divided by highway construction decades ago — may be getting significantly smaller.
Mayor Kirk Watson says the city is preparing to scale back its cap-and-stitch project, which originally called for six park decks spanning I-35 downtown, as rising costs and the likely loss of a $105 million federal grant have made the full vision financially out of reach. (KXAN-TV)
TxDOT is continuing repairs on I-35 after the 11th Street and 12th Street bridges were hit in downtown Austin Friday.
Efforts are moving forward to relieve the growing traffic pressure along Highway 29 between Georgetown and Liberty Hill.
Caldwell County Commissioners have unanimously voted to approve a resolution that officially stated the court’s position on data centers and urged the state government to take steps toward allowing counties to better regulate them. (Caldwell County Government)
The NTSB has released the Preliminary Report on the tragic crash of a Cessna 421C near Wimberley on April 30 that took the lives of five people. The occupants were members of an Amarillo pickleball club and were heading to New Braunfels for a tournament.
The report says the pilot was having issues with the plane’s instruments and dealing with icing before the aircraft broke apart midair, plummeted to the ground and caught fire.
Austin police briefly ordered residents to shelter in place Friday afternoon as officers and SWAT units responded to an incident in a north Austin neighborhood.
Shortly after, the shelter in place was canceled and one person was taken into custody, according to APD. The situation ended safely. (KXAN-TV)
Austin Police are investigating a homicide in north Austin after a man died Thursday from a gunshot to the chest following a “heated” argument at a hotel.
APD said the shooting happened on the night of May 8 at the Budget Inn located in the 9100 block of northbound Interstate Highway 35 Southbound.
Early Friday in Luling, police received information that an individual had threatened his wife and claimed he might carry out a mass shooting at a local business.
A Hays County judge sentenced a 49-year-old man to life in prison for the February 2025 murder of Victoria Valadez in San Marcos.
The San Antonio Police Department said that two children were found dead in a burned vehicle on the West Side early Friday morning.
A Travis County woman was sentenced to forty years in connection with the death of a baby.
Capital Area Crime Stoppers and Austin police announced the arrest of a wanted sex offender.
More than 50,000 people in South Austin received a shelter in place alert on Wednesday as a “dangerous and violent” person with outstanding warrants was at large. But the alert didn’t look like others sent by local agencies in the past, and many residents assumed it was a scam text. (KUT 90.5)
The hotel within Texas’ tallest building is set to open in August, and downtown Austin tourism is booming despite an approximately 20% downtown office vacancy rate.
WEATHER
FRIDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
Nearly a dozen wildfires are tearing through the Texas Panhandle, with flames so intense they consumed a railroad trestle bridge near Canyon, leaving BNSF Railway scrambling to rebuild and reroute train service.
Among the most destructive blazes, the Hunggate Fire grew to 17,300 acres and is now at 14,000 acres and is only 40% contained, while the Chocolate Chip Fire has burned an estimated 10,000 acres at just 30% containment — with the Randall County Sheriff’s Office confirming several outbuildings and three homes have already been destroyed.
The threat has forced the evacuation of Palo Duro Canyon State Park, which closed to all visitors as the fires advance from the west, with officials saying the park will not reopen until conditions are deemed safe.
Outrage is mounting across Texas over what critics are calling a sweetheart deal for a convicted child sex abuser — and the finger-pointing is aimed squarely at Attorney General Ken Paxton.
A press conference was held by Texas Representative Pat Curry and other officials outside the McLennan County Courthouse. The speakers voiced strong criticism regarding the plea deal offered to former Waco attorney Adam Hoffman.
Rep. Jeff Leach (R):
Meanwhile, Paxton announced on Friday the settlement resolving allegations of improper Medicaid billing for gender-transition procedures. The hospital will fire five physicians and provide free care at the new clinic for five years.
SMU Political Science Professor Matthew Wilson breaks down the heated battle between Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton in the GOP primary runoff for U.S. Senate.
With a runoff just days away and November on the horizon, the race to become Texas’s next top lawyer is heating up — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
For the first time in more than a decade, Texans will choose a new attorney general without an incumbent on the ballot, after Ken Paxton stepped aside to challenge U.S. Senator John Cornyn. On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and state Sen. Mayes Middleton are set to face off in a May 26 primary runoff, while Democrats Nathan Johnson and Joe Jaworski are fighting for their party’s nomination on the same day.
Sections of SB4 are blocked — which would have allowed local police to arrest suspected illegal border crossers. And Despite outcry in West Texas the efforts to build the border wall in Big Bend Country continues.
(Episode from May 15, 2026)
“Channeling his inner Trump”: Even though his actual fight over property taxes is with Lt. Gov. Patrick, Gov Abbott’s political operation is threatening lobbyists’ livelihoods over that issue while Abbott himself is threatening local governments over immigration enforcement. Harvey has a lot to say about both. Plus, the Republican runoff for Attorney General is red hot while the US Senate race now includes accusations of AG Paxton taking it easy on a child molester in Waco. Oh, and Democratic nominee James Talarico boxed in Sen. John Cornyn on gas prices this week. Come for the coverage of all that. Stay for Scott’s graduation in Houston. Our producer is the famous Evan Sherer and the original music for the show is by Checkmayne in Houston.
(Episode from May 15, 2026)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have been on the rise during the second Trump administration.
And while enforcement in some parts of the U.S. has been messy and public, operations here in Texas are being carried out with a quieter, systematic approach. Today we’re taking a closer look at the situation here in Austin and Central Texas.
(Episode from May 15, 2026)
SPORTS
COLLEGE BASEBALL: Carson Tinney notched his seventh career multi-homer game and plated a career-high six runs, as No. 6 Texas beat Missouri, 11-6, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday night.
Tinney’s performance helped the Longhorns (39-12, 18-10 SEC) secure their eighth SEC series victory of the year. (Texas Longhorns)
TODAY
COLLEGE SOFTBALL: Freshman Hannah Wells made her NCAA Tournament debut one to remember as she powered No. 3 Texas Softball (43-10) to a 9-1 (five innings) win over Wagner (22-27) in Texas’ NCAA Austin Regional opener on Friday afternoon at McCombs Field. Texas has won 11-consecutive NCAA Regional games. (Texas Longhorns)
MLB: The battle of the Texas teams went to the Astros last night.
Spencer Arrighetti took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, Isaac Paredes homered and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 2-0 on Friday night.
Arrighetti (5-1) struck out five and walked four before Rangers rookie Justin Foscue ended the no-hit bid with one out in the eighth with a single to left field on Arrighetti’s 102nd and final pitch of the night. (Associated Press)
GAME 2 TONIGHT
NBA PLAYOFFS: Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals was never in doubt last night.
Stephon Castle had 32 points and 11 rebounds to highlight another dominant performance from the backcourt, and Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs romped past the Minnesota Timberwolves 139-109 on Friday night to finish in the second-round series in six games. (Associated Press)
MLS: Austin FC returns to Q2 Stadium for its final home match before the FIFA World Cup break this Saturday night, when the Verde & Black play host to Sporting Kansas City. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT. (Austin FC)
A1 look into the new drop shafts along I-35. These big holes are designed to prevent flooding along the I-35 corridor in downtown, after the expansion project is complete and the main lanes of I-35 are lowered. Soon, TxDOT will use a boring machine to create tunnels for flood mitigation.
