Texas Gov. Greg Abbott filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to remove one of the state's House Democratic leaders, Rep. Gene Wu, calling him "the ringleader" of the dozens of Democratic lawmakers who left the state in an effort to block a redistricting vote.
Abbott filed the emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court to have Wu, who represents Houston and serves as Democratic caucus chair, removed from office. On Sunday, the governor had threatened to seek Democratic lawmakers' removal from office if they did not attend a Monday afternoon House session.
"They have not returned and have not met the quorum requirements. Representative Wu and the other Texas House Democrats have shown a willful refusal to return, and their absence for an indefinite period of time deprives the House of the quor