Overview

• Texas legislators fell short of the 100-member quorum again, halting all business through the August 19 special session.
• Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to remove 13 absentee Democrats, accusing them of abandoning their duties and taking illegal support from Beto O’Rourke’s group.
• Gov. Greg Abbott has petitioned the state Supreme Court to vacate the seats of absent lawmakers, threatening fines, civil arrest warrants and special elections.
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled emergency legislation to hold a November referendum for a mid-decade remap aimed at neutralizing Texas’s redistricting move.
• Governors in New York, Illinois and other states are considering their own redraws, turning congressional mapmaking into a national partisan flashpoint.