Greg Abbott Blasted by Major Texas Newspaper—'Corruption'
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The Dallas Morning News editorial board called out Texas Governor Greg Abbott for what it defined as a "power grab" and "corruption of the political process" over his support for the state legislature's push for GOP-backed redistricting maps and his actions against Democrats who fled the state to prevent quorum in the House.
Newsweek has reached out to Abbott's press team for comment via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
Texas Democrats have raised serious concerns over plans for redistricting in the Lone Star State that would create five new Republican-leaning seats in time for the 2026 midterms.
Under Texas' Constitution, the 150-member House cannot conduct business or pass legislation without a quorum of at least two-thirds of its members present. Democrats hold 62 seats in the Republican‑controlled chamber, and at least 51 left the state, Josh Rush Nisenson, spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus, previously said.
What To Know
Abbott has called out the dozens of Democratic state lawmakers who fled the state earlier this week to prevent the House from reaching quorum and voting on the redistricting map.
In an August 3 statement, Abbott referred to the members as "derelict" and threatened to remove them from the Legislature altogether if they didn't return by 3 p.m. the following day.
Enough Democrats have not yet returned, with seats in the state's House of Representative empty again on Friday, the third time this week that legislators have not reached quorum. There were 95 members present on Friday, five shy of quorum, according to the Associated Press.
Days after Abbott's statement, The Dallas Morning News editorial board, which represents a district that would see changes in the proposed map, wrote: "The governor's power grab is a corruption of the political process."
The GOP-led redistricting is expected to add at least five Republican seats in the 2026 midterms. The Republican Party holds a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, making every seat vital for President Donald Trump to maintain control of the chamber.
The editorial board continued, writing, "Abbott has threatened to remove lawmakers from their seats, based on a single opinion from a Texas attorney generally with the credibility of a $3 bill," adding that "such a move would disenfranchise millions of Texas voters and directly assault democracy."
The opinion article went on to note the changes the proposal would make: "Fort Worth, which has a majority nonwhite population, would lose its only nonwhite representative in Congress. One diverse Dallas County district, now represented by Democrat Julie Johnson, would be redrawn to favor Republicans."
The Houston Chronicle, Texas' largest newspaper also called out the governor in an opinion piece earlier this week, writing: "The governor has followed his orders from Washington and put a Republican power grab before communities devastated by Central Texas floods."
It continued: "With a stroke of his pen, Abbott could have moved hundreds of millions of dollars by executive fiat. He could have called a session with the sole objective of addressing the still-unfolding crisis in the Hill Country. But the lives of Texans come second to the desires of President Trump and his loyalists."
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a roundtable discussion in Kerrville, Texas, during a tour to observe flood damage on July 11.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a roundtable discussion in Kerrville, Texas, during a tour to observe flood damage on July 11.
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
What People Are Saying
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a Friday press release: "The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant. These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold. Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on. I have asked the Texas Supreme Court to declare what has been clear from the beginning: that the runaway members have officially vacated their offices in the Texas House."
Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said in Thursday statement: "I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats. I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas. We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities."
Democratic state Representative Claudia Ordaz said in an X post Friday: "It is with a troubled heart that I write this, literally from a hospital waiting room. From the very beginning, I have made it clear: I will not be in the chamber due to a personal health matter. Yet today, DPS officers showed up to a member of my family's house looking for me. On top of that, I am now being falsely accused of being in the chamber to make quorum."
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in an X post on Friday: "We have an agenda to pass priorities critical to Texans, and we will get it done. I'll call special session after special session—no matter how long it takes—until the job is finished."
Democratic state Representative Ramon Romero Jr. said in a CNN interview Friday: "We're going to continue to fight. And as Congressman Al Green said, we will continue to march on, just as those in the past have done, we will as well."
What Happens Next?
The Texas House is scheduled to meet again on Monday, with the hopes that enough Democrats will return.
The redistricted map at the center of the dispute is for next year's midterm elections, which will serve as a bellwether for the Trump administration and the Republican Party.
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