The Supreme Court of Texas has announced a briefing schedule in Gov. Greg Abbott’s bid to remove the House Democrat Caucus chairman, Gene Wu of Houston, from the legislature. It combined that with the case brought by Attorney General Ken Paxton against Wu and a dozen other quorum-busting lawmakers.
The Court requires briefing papers to be filed from Wednesday, August 20, through Thursday, Sept. 14.
The cases are 25-0674 and 25-0687.
Last week, Abbott called Wu the “ringleader of the derelict Democrats” and cited both abandonment of office and possible bribery as grounds for removal. Abbott says Wu and his fellow Democrats have engaged in a “willful refusal to return,” depriving the House of the quorum needed to conduct legislative business.
Separately, Paxton had filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court seeking a declaration that the seats of 13 Democrat House members are vacant, including Wu. The other members include: Ron Reynolds, Vikki Goodwin, Gina Hinojosa, James Talarico, Lulu Flores, Mihaela Plesa, Suleman Lalani, Chris Turner, Ana-Maria Ramos, Jessica Gonzalez, John Bucy, and Christina Morales.
