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The Hill
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Texas Democrats face $500 daily fines: What to know
Texas Democrats who fled their state on Sunday face $500 daily fines as they try to stall GOP efforts to redraw the Lone Star State's congressional maps, along with Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) call for their arrest. Democrats are denying the Republican-led state House of the numbers it needs to function and pausing progress on the redistricting proposal — but the move comes with big risks for the participating lawmakers. The threats ratcheted up Monday afternoon when Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety, after the state House issued warrants, to return to 'locate, arrest and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans … until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol.' At the same time, each quorum-breaking Democrat faces a daily fine of $500 while they're holding up the state legislature, on top of the costs of living away from their homes in the Lone Star State. Now that more than 50 lawmakers have fled the state, the risky standoff could become increasingly expensive. Here's what to know: Fines came after last quorum break This isn't the first time Democrats have broken quorum to stall legislative business, a strategic move for the minority party in the state House. They walked out over a separate redistricting battle back in 2003, then again in 2021 as Republicans tried to pass new voting restrictions. Both times, Democrats were successful in slowing things down, though the bills ultimately passed. Less than two years after Democrats' 2021 quorum break stalled things for more than five weeks, the Texas House approved new punishments for lawmakers who break quorum. Members absent from sessions of the House without leave 'for the purpose of impeding the action of the house,' according to the rules passed in 2023, face fines, reprimand, censure and potential expulsion, and are also obliged to pay their share if a sergeant-at-arms has to be dispatched to bring back lawmakers. Donors could help offset costs Democrats have shared few specific details about how they'll offset the costs incurred through their protest. The Texas Tribune reported last week that some donors appeared prepared to help out if a walkout occurred, as some in the party considered how to work around rules that prevent lawmakers from using their campaign funds to pay the fines. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), speaking to reporters alongside some of the Texas Democrats who fled to his state, stressed on Sunday that the state lawmakers 'have the right to raise money' but deferred on whether he would personally support them financially. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), at a similar presser in Albany, said she expected there will be 'exorbitant legal expenses' for the lawmakers and encouraged others 'to step up and invest in these brave soldiers for our democracy.' Separately from the fines, the costs of spending time out of state will also rack up. In 2021, before the rule change to add fines, a group aligned with former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) reportedly gave $600,000 to help fund lodging, meals and transportation during Texas Democrats' stay in Washington, D.C. for the last quorum break. Costs could vary depending on timeline State legislators in Texas make just $600 per month as their base salary, plus a per diem for each day the state legislature is in session, set at $221 per day as of 2023. With fines of $500 per day, just a couple weeks of a quorum break could quickly exceed the lawmakers' base salaries. Quorum was broken for four days in 2003, and nearly six weeks in 2021. The state lawmakers who have fled are likely trying to run out the clock on the ongoing 30-day special session, which kicked off July 21. But Abbott has the authority to call an unlimited number of additional special sessions, including back-to-back blocks. Democrats could theoretically try to stay out of the state until November, when the filing period for 2026 primary candidates opens in Texas, to stall the maps from taking effect before the midterms. But staying away from their offices also puts a pause on other business, keeping the chambers from passing legislation on other issues. It's unclear how long Democrats may be willing to stay away, whether or not they can afford to financially. 'We're here. We're committed to this. We're all away from our families … This is not a decision that we take lightly,' Texas state Rep. Gene Wu (D) said on Monday, when asked about how long he could see the effort going. Abbott threatens bribery charges over fines, orders arrests to compel return The state Democrats taking part in the quorum break risk losing their seats in the House, as Abbott has threatened to remove missing lawmakers from membership who were not in attendance when the state House reconvened on Monday afternoon. Abbott also argued that any state lawmaker who accepts support to cover the fines may have violated state bribery law. He said the same could be true of someone who 'offers, confers or agrees to confer' such funds to the fleeing members. 'In addition to abandoning their offices, these legislators may also have committed felonies. Many absentee Democrats are soliciting funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules,' Abbott said in a statement. Bribery charges could come with additional fines. And on Monday afternoon, Abbott ordered the arrest of what his office called 'delinquent' Texas House Democrats to ensure compliance with state House Speaker Dustin Burrows' warrants for members to return to the chamber. The governor said on X that there's 'more coming later today and tomorrow.' Abbott's move came shortly after the Texas House Democratic Caucus responded to the governor's threats with the message 'come and take it.'
The Hill
04-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Abbott threatens to remove Texas Democrats over walkout
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) threatened to remove Texas House Democrats from the legislature after they left the state on Sunday in a bid to stop Republicans from proceeding with a redistricting effort that would give the GOP five more opportunities to gain seats in the 2026 midterms. 'This truancy ends now. The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025. For any member who fails to do so, I will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House,' Abbott wrote in a statement issued Sunday. The Texas Democrats said they were denying Republicans a quorum, or the minimum number of lawmakers needed present in order to conduct legislative business, following a similar tactic they employed the last time the GOP pursued midcycle redistricting effort in 2003. Most of them traveled to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, all of which are Democratic-led states, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is supporting their effort. Abbott also said in his statement that any Democrat who receives funds 'to evade the fines they will incur under House rules' may be in violation of felony bribery charges. He made the same threat against those who offer or give funds to Democrats. Abbott pledged to use his 'full extradition authority to demand the return to Texas of any potential out-of-state felons.' 'Real Texans do not run from a fight. But that's exactly what most of the Texas House Democrats just did,' Abbott wrote in his statement. 'Rather than doing their job and voting on urgent legislation affecting the lives of all Texans, they have fled Texas to deprive the House of the quorum necessary to meet and conduct business.' Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a similar threat to 'Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards,' saying they 'should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately.' 'We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law,' Paxton added, in a post on the social platform X.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Democrat leader announces run for Oklahoma governor
House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, announces herself as a candidate for Oklahoma governor in the 2026 election on Tuesday outside the state Capitol. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Democrat House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson announced she'll run for governor in 2026 during a campaign event outside the state Capitol Tuesday. Munson, 39, of Oklahoma City, was first elected to the Oklahoma House in 2015 as the first Asian-American woman in the state Legislature. She said she will continue to serve in her role as House Minority Leader until her term ends in 2026. 'I'm going to spend the next year-and-a-half traveling our beautiful state, listening to people and asking them what's important to them,' she said. 'I want to know what they love about Oklahoma and what they think we can do better, because that is what this campaign is about, the people of our great state, and that is what I will carry with me as your next governor.' She filed paperwork with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission on Monday. Munson is the only Democrat to announce a bid for governor during the 2026 election cycle thus far, but already faces opposition from a crowded Republican field that includes Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former House Speaker Charles McCall, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, and Leisa Mitchell Haynes of Choctaw. Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, cannot run again due to term limits. She said she was the first Democrat to flip her seat from Republican, and plans to use the same strategy of listening to Oklahomans regardless of their political affiliation in her campaign for governor. 'I know I'm not what you would call a typical candidate for governor. I work for a living, I pay my student loans, I rent my house, and I know what it is like to live within a budget,' she said. 'I feel the pressure of rising costs of our daily necessities. I don't come from a wealthy family. I'm not beholden to any political party. I'm not an extremist. I have a proven track record of working across the aisle to get things done and won't pander to Washington D.C. politicians who only want to continue deepening our political divide. And as your next governor, I will fight for the things that will help everyday Oklahomans.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine's trans madness is the latest sign gender ideology is losing its cult-like grip
An incident in the state of Maine is perhaps the clearest sign to date that the cult of gender ideology is at last losing its grip on the United States. A Republican member of the state's House of Representatives, Laurel Libby, was recently censured by her colleagues after she posted on social media an image of a biologically male transgender high school athlete who had won a girls' state championship. Censure is a formal statement of disapproval, whose effect is to remove voting rights in the legislature. Libby was essentially stripped of the ability to fulfil her democratic duties as the result of a narrow vote on party lines by other legislators. Ryan Fecteau, Maine's Democrat House Speaker, has claimed that the censure was about protecting a young person rather than about transgender athletes. 'This is about whether a young person should be ridiculed by a national audience, as a result of the blatant disregard and political expediency of an elected official,' Fecteau said in a statement. 'The representative can bring her censure to an end by apologising, which this student and their family absolutely deserve.' I don't believe him. Libby's post did not attack the athlete in question. She was using the image to illustrate the fundamental unfairness of allowing biological males to participate in women's sport. The athlete won a competition while participating as a woman, but appeared to have come fifth while previously competing as a man. There is obviously huge public interest in this debate and the competition in question was a major state championship. As someone who has long been targeted by gender activists for writing about the issue, the tactics used by these bullies are all too familiar. Whenever anyone speaks 'out of turn' (that is, fails to follow the 'trans women are women' party line to the letter), they are ostracised or harangued in an attempt to force them to capitulate. Just look at what happened to tennis legend Martina Navratilova when she spoke out against biological men competing in female-only competitive sports. Her criticism was both gentle and polite, yet still she was hounded online. For pointing out that allowing biological men, however they identify, to compete in women's sport was 'cheating' as they have unfair physical advantages, Athlete Ally – an organisation Navratilova had co-founded – claimed she was transphobic and sacked her from its advisory board and as an ambassador. In the upside-down world of transgender ideology, biological males – despite their physical (and institutionalised) advantages over women – become the victims, allowing them to claim to be oppressed and marginalised. In an Orwellian twist, trans-identified athletes assert that they are on the back foot, when they are in fact enjoying the benefits of the stranglehold that gender ideology has on so many institutions and individuals. But that ideology's power is waning, as Libby's response to her attempted cancellation has so clearly proven. She has refused to stay silent or apologise. News of the controversy has spread rapidly, and she has earned the opportunity to argue her case. Now president Trump seems to have been alerted to the incident. At a White House event, he threatened Maine governor Janet Mills with removal of federal funding if her state fails to comply with his 'Keeping Men Out Of Women's Sports' executive order. In 2023, the Biden administration proposed rules prohibiting public schools and universities from banning trans-identified boys and men from competing in sporting events with girls and women. This dismissal of biological differences between males and females as irrelevant would have prevented states from keeping female sports exclusively female, thus denying women and girls a level playing field. The US Left is still playing games on the issue. On Monday, Senate Democrats voted unanimously to block a Republican-led bill that would have stopped federally funded schools from allowing transgender biological male athletes to participate in women's sports. I am no fan of Trump, but the Democrats' posturing on this issue has left them looking ridiculous. They may well choose to continue to ignore biological reality. But they will no longer be able to silence those of us who prefer facts and truth. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan teases Senate run
Kolby KickingWomanICT Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is seeking a higher office. After Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith announced that she will not be running for reelection in 2026, Flanagan shared on social media that she intends to throw her proverbial hat in the ring for the U.S. Senate seat. 'I love Minnesota and my intention is to run for U.S. Senate and continue to serve the people of this state. I'll make a formal announcement later this month. In the meantime, I'm talking with community and family and friends. I will have more to say soon,' Flanagan, White Earth Nation, posted on X and Instagram. She currently serves as the lieutenant governor of Minnesota alongside Gov. Tim Walz, who had an unsuccessful bid as the Democratic vice president nominee with Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. FROM THE ARCHIVES: Flanagan, Walz, current Democrat House Rep. Ilhan Omar, and others could make for a competitive and crowded field for the seat, according to a report from Politico. Currently, Lt. Gov. Flanagan is the highest-ranking Native woman elected to executive office in the United States. She has championed a number of issues since first being elected with Walz in 2018, from affordable housing to protecting women's reproductive rights to helping establish the Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office, the first of its kind in the nation. Indian Country immediately responded with excitement, including Native pundit Holly Cook Macarro, Red Lake Obijwe. 'Let's make history by electing the first Native American woman to the U.S. Senate!' she wrote on Facebook. Minnesota is home to 11 federally recognized tribes. If successful, Flanagan would join Republican Markwayne Mullin, Cherokee, in the upper chamber of the United States Congress. Additionally, along with Mullin, she would bring the total number of Native members in Congress to five. The other three congressional members are Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids, Ho‑Chunk, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, Chickasaw Nation and Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen, Choctaw. Republicans currently hold a majority in the Senate, 53 to 47, and Democrats will certainly hope to hold Minnesota when the midterm elections roll around in November 2026. Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter!
