A tweet from Sen. Mayes Middleton accusing Houston lawmaker Gene Wu of “being back in China” has drawn criticism amid a Democratic walkout to stop GOP redistricting plans.
RELATED: Gov. Greg Abbott asks Texas Supreme Court to expel House Democratic leader who left state
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Middleton posted on social media Monday, “Is Gene Wu back in China?” after Wu, a Houston Democrat and chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, joined other lawmakers in leaving the state to block a Republican-led redistricting vote.
Is Gene Wu back in China?
— Mayes Middleton (@mayes_middleton) August 4, 2025
The post quickly drew backlash from Democratic colleagues with State Sen. Molly Cook responding directly, writing that the tweet “makes it hard to believe y’all when you say you’re not undertaking racist gerrymandering.”
This tweet makes it hard for me to believe y’all when you say you’re not undertaking racist gerrymandering.
— Senator Molly Cook (@MollyforTexas) August 4, 2025
I don’t know how you can darken the door of a church and say stuff like this. pic.twitter.com/I9yPV67Uoe
Gov. Greg Abbott filed an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday to remove Wu from office, accusing him and other Democrats of abandoning their duties by fleeing the state to block a vote. The filing also alleges Wu may have accepted benefits in exchange for skipping the session, raising concerns of potential bribery.
“I made clear in a formal statement on Sunday, August 3, that if the Texas House Democrats were not in attendance when the House reconvened at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, then action would be taken to seek their removal," said Governor Abbott. “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 quorum needed to meet and conduct business on behalf of Texans. Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans, and there must be consequences.”
Wu released a statement in response.
“This office does not belong to Greg Abbott, and it does not belong to me. It belongs to the people of House District 137, who elected me. I took an oath to the constitution, not a politician’s agenda, and I will not be the one to break that oath. Let me be unequivocal about my actions and my duty. When a governor conspires with a disgraced president to ram through a racist gerrymandered map, my constitutional duty is to not be a willing participant. When that governor holds disaster relief for 137 dead Texans and their families hostage, my moral duty is to sound the alarm — by any means necessary. “Denying the governor a quorum was not an abandonment of my office; it was a fulfillment of my oath. Unable to defend his corrupt agenda on its merits, Greg Abbott now desperately seeks to silence my dissent by removing a duly-elected official from office.”History will judge this moment. It will show a Governor who used the law as a weapon to silence his people, and it will show those of us who stood for a higher principle.“To Governor Abbott: You have failed the people of Texas, and you are using the courts to punish those who refused to fail with you. My purpose has been clear from the start: to serve my constituents and fight for what’s right, no matter the cost. You will find that my commitment to the people of Texas is unbreakable.”