The Texas House recently issued 52 arrest warrants for absent Democrat lawmakers who fled to Washington, D.C. and denied the House a quorum.
After a slew of injunctions issued by local district judges, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that arrest warrants could indeed be issued by the Texas House for its absent members, according to The Hill. The ruling blocked an order from a Travis County judge that would have stopped the state from arresting the absent Democrats.
Renae Eze, spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, said in a statement to The Hill that the court “swiftly rejected this dangerous attempt by Texas Democrats to undermine our Constitution and avoid doing the job they were elected to do.”
“We look forward to the Supreme Court upholding the rule of law and stopping another stall tactic by the Texas Democrats,” Eze said.
Furthermore, the Biden administration appears to have signaled its support for the Texas Democrats to return to Austin for the second special legislative session. On Aug. 5, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded to a question about Biden’s support for the Texas Democrats staying in Washington, D.C. for the new special session.
“Well, certainly the president believes that, one, they’ve been outspoken advocates and champions of voting rights,” Psaki said in a statement. “I can’t say I’m exactly following too closely the legislative calendar there, but certainly if it required them to be there, we would support that.”
Austin Journal reported that even while the Texas Democrats were absent from the state during the first special session, they continued to collect their per diem pay of $221.
“While these Texas Democrats collect taxpayer money as they ride on private jets to meet with the Washington elite, those who remain in the chamber await their return to begin work on providing our retired teachers the 13th check, protecting our foster kids and providing taxpayer relief,” Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) said in a July 14 Twitter post.
An analysis by ABC13 News revealed that the absent Democrat lawmakers did in fact collect their per diem during the first special session. At a rate of $221 per day, each absent lawmaker collected $6,630 during the first special session, which lasted 30 days. Totaling up the 67 Democrats, the expense grows to $444,210 and increases to $994,500 when all 150 members are counted.
Many Democrats had pledged to return their per diem, but so far there is no evidence that any representative has done so.
