Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he'll begin trying to remove Democratic lawmakers from office Monday if they do not return after dozens of them left the state in an attempt to block the adoption of redrawn U.S. House maps sought by President Donald Trump.

Abbott suggested, without evidence, that some Democratic legislators who left for Illinois, New York and perhaps elsewhere had “forfeited their seats” and might have committed felonies. The lawmakers said Abbott was using “smoke and mirrors” to make threats that go beyond his legal authority.

The revolt by Democrats in the state House and Abbott's threat ratcheted up a widening fight over congressional maps that began in Texas but expanded to include Democratic governors who floated the possibility of rushing to redraw their own

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