AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ratcheted up President Donald Trump's congressional redistricting fight by calling Tuesday for progressive activist Beto O'Rourke to be put “behind bars” for helping Democrats who have managed to block the GOP's gerrymandering efforts with an extended walkout.
Hours earlier, Texas Republican leaders said they were prepared to end their stalemated special session that includes the proposed new maps and immediately begin another standoff with Democratic legislators. Dozens of Democrats have left the state to prevent their GOP colleagues from voting on the changes and meeting Trump's demands ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
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The developments are the latest escalations in a battle that began in Austin and now reaches into multiple courtrooms and statehouses controlled by both major parties.
Paxton, a Trump acolyte who is running for the U.S. Senate, asked a Texas judge on Tuesday to hold O'Rourke in contempt of court, arguing that the former congressman and onetime presidential candidate has continued to fundraise for absent Democrats despite an order last week that Paxton said should have stopped some of his activities.
“It’s time to lock him up,” Paxton said of O'Rourke in a fiery written statement.
O'Rourke denied any wrongdoing and called the attorney general a “corrupt, lying thug.”
At the Texas Capitol, House Speaker Dustin Burrows was more muted as he confirmed Republicans' next moves after dozens of Democrats again did not show up, preventing the necessary quorum for business to be conducted. Burrows said from the House floor that lawmakers will not attempt to reconvene again until Friday. If Democrats are still absent — and they have given no indication that they plan to return — the speaker and Gov. Greg Abbott said Republicans will end the current session, with the governor immediately calling another.
Texas flood response is caught up in the redistricting fight
Abbott called Democrats “derelict” and said in statement that he will “continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed.”
Democrats responded by declaring victory — even if temporarily.
“We said we would defeat Abbott’s first corrupt special session, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu said in a statement.
Abbott called the current session with an extensive agenda that included disaster relief for floods that killed more than 130 people. Democrats balked when Abbott added redistricting to the agenda, urging the governor not to tie the aid to an intensely partisan fight over control of Congress.
Burrows on Tuesday did not mention redistricting but chided Democrats for not showing up to debate the flood response package. Wu put the onus back on Abbott and his party.
“He can stop blocking flood relief immediately. Stop playing political games,” the Democratic leader wrote.
The partisan battle has spread
Redistricting is usually done just once per decade, not long after the decennial federal census conducted under the Constitution.
The last census was in 2020. The mid-decade scheme is part of Trump's push to shore up Republicans' narrow House majority and avoid a repeat of his first presidency, when the 2018 midterms restored Democrats to a House majority that blocked his agenda and twice impeached him.
Nationally, current maps put Democrats within three seats of retaking the House — with only several dozen competitive districts across 435 total seats.
The Texas redistricting legislation would reshape the state’s congressional districts in a design aimed at sending five more Republicans to Washington.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has pledged to redraw his state's U.S. House districts to counter any Republican gains in Texas. That would require convincing voters in the Democratic-run state to bypass an independent redistricting commission, making California Democrats' path potentially more complicated than those where legislatures determine the boundaries.
Democratic Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Kathy Hochul of New York, where some Texas Democrats are temporarily staying, also have vowed to respond with redistricting attempts.
Paxton's move on O'Rourke is part of a GOP pressure campaign
In Austin, Republicans are intensifying their pressure on absent Democrats, which already included issuing civil warrants for their arrest under legislative rules. Because they are out of state, those lawmakers are beyond the reach of Texas authorities.
O'Rourke has been raising money to support the Texas House Democratic Caucus, and Paxton has gone to court to try to stop him. At issue are Texas laws and regulations that govern whether and how political donations may be used to support lawmakers who are deliberately breaking a legislative quorum.
Paxton accused O’Rourke of thinking he is “above the law” as he filed his motion Tuesday arguing that O'Rourke is defying a court order.
In a post on X, O’Rourke said Paxton’s latest filing misrepresents facts.
“We alerted the Court that the AG’s office blatantly lied in its filing. We’re seeking maximum sanctions in response to his abuse of office,” the post said. “Taking the fight directly to this corrupt, lying thug.”
Abbott also has put pressure on Democrats, tasking state police with attempting to corral absent representatives and asking the courts to vacate some of their offices. He has argued in court filings that the absent lawmakers have abandoned their posts. The Texas Supreme Court in one case has set a schedule for written argument that extends beyond the current session.
Under Texas legislative rules, Democratic lawmakers face $500 daily fines for each legislative day they miss in a deliberate move to prevent a quorum. Further, Burrows said Tuesday that he will stick Democrats with the bill for law enforcement efforts to bring them back to Austin. He said the tab for overtime alone already exceeds six figures.
Newsom is needling Trump
Newsom, for his part, says he will not pursue new district lines in California if Texas and other GOP states stand down. But he remains at the forefront of national Democrats' response.
Minutes before the Texas House attempted to convene Tuesday, Newsom’s press office social media account posted an all-caps message mimicking the president’s social media style.
“DONALD TRUMP, THE LOWEST POLLING PRESIDENT IN RECENT HISTORY, THIS IS YOUR SECOND-TO-LAST WARNING!!! (THE NEXT ONE IS THE LAST ONE!). STAND DOWN NOW OR CALIFORNIA WILL COUNTER-STRIKE (LEGALLY!) TO DESTROY YOUR ILLEGAL CROOKED MAPS IN RED STATES,” the message read.
The post concluded the same way that Trump ends policy pronouncements unveiled on his Truth Social platform: “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”
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Barrow reported from Atlanta.