Texas Supreme Court rejects Abbott effort to remove Democrats from office

The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court rejected Gov. Greg Abbott’s attempt to remove Democratic lawmakers — including House Democratic leader Gene Wu — who left the state in August to deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass a new congressional map.

Chief Justice James Blacklock, an Abbott appointee, wrote that the court did not need to step into the dispute because “a quorum was restored in two weeks’ time, without judicial intervention.” The justices declined to say whether breaking quorum could be grounds for removal in some future case.

Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton had asked the court to expel several of the Democrats who left, Wu among them. Wu celebrated the ruling with a nod to the campaign’s rallying cry.

When Greg Abbott threatened to arrest and expel us … we told him he should ‘come and take it.’ After all his bluster, he couldn’t come and take a damn thing. — Rep. Gene Wu