Illinois court rejects Texas request to enforce arrest warrants against House Democrats
Judge Scott Larson ruled that the Texas speaker and attorney general had “failed to present a legal basis for the court” to take up the issue. Full Story
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Eleanor Klibanoff is the law and politics reporter, based in Austin, where she covers the the Texas Legislature, the Office of the Attorney General, state and federal courts and politics writ large. She also co-hosts the weekly politics podcast, TribCast. Eleanor previously spent three years as the Tribune’s women’s health reporter, covering abortion, maternal health and LGBTQ issues. Before coming to Texas, Eleanor worked for the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, where she reported, hosted and produced the Peabody-nominated podcast, “Dig.” Eleanor was born in Philadelphia and raised in Atlanta, and attended The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
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![Democratic Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds speaks during a press conference with members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus at IBEW Local 701 in Warrenville, Ill., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. More than 30 Democratic Texas lawmakers fled the state the day before to block a quorum and delay a redistricting plan backed by former President Donald Trump. They regrouped in Illinois to prevent the Legislature from advancing a mid-decade congressional map that could shift several seats to Republican control.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court won’t rule for weeks on GOP requests to expel Democrats who left the state
The governor and attorney general have asked the court to find that Democratic lawmakers abandoned their seats when they left Texas to delay a new congressional map. Full Story
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![Supreme Court of Texas justices sit at the bench for a Q & A after hearing oral arguments for two civil cases at the University of Houston Law Center in Houston on Oct. 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
In redistricting clash, Texas GOP flexes power to shut down Democrats' last tool of resistance
Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse. Full Story
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![Streetlights and building lighting illuminate the Texas State Capitol through early morning fog on the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Judge blocks Beto O’Rourke from financially supporting Texas Democrats who left the state
The order came at the request of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who O’Rourke accused in a separate lawsuit of going on a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned.” Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke speaks during a Fight the Trump Takeover rally outside the South Steps of the Capitol on Thursday, July 24, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton asks Texas Supreme Court to expel 13 House Democrats over redistricting standoff
Gov. Greg Abbott previously asked the court to expel Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader. Paxton disputed the governor’s authority to make the request. Full Story
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![Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu, D-Houston, speaks during a press conference alongside dozens of fellow Texas lawmakers and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Carol Stream, Ill., on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. Members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus announced they fled the state to block a quorum and halt a Trump-backed redistricting effort. The lawmakers regrouped in Illinois to prevent the Texas Legislature from advancing a mid-decade congressional map.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Paxton, Burrows ask Illinois court to enforce Texas arrest warrants against Democrats who left the state
The attorney general is calling on the “full faith and credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says states should typically honor each other’s judicial proceedings. Full Story
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![Flanked by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, state Rep. and caucus chair Gene Wu speaks at a press conference at the DuPage County Democratic Party headquarters in Carol Stream, Ill., on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott’s bid to expel the House Democratic leader goes to a court filled with his appointees
The Texas Supreme Court said in 2021 the Constitution allows members to thwart legislation by leaving the state. Abbott wants them to reconsider. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott look on as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas Jimmy Blacklock swears in state senators during the opening of the Texas Senate in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott asks Texas Supreme Court to expel House Democratic leader who left state
Legal experts say it’s “inconsistent with the Texas Constitution” to argue that leaving the state to halt legislative action qualifies as abandoning an office. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 2308, the Ibogaine Treatment Research law, at the Capitol in Austin on June 11, 2025.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House issues arrest warrants for Democrats who left state to block congressional redistricting
The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts. Full Story
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![during the Texas House session on August 4, 2025 where only 90 members registered failing to reach a quorum with the departure of dozens of Democrats out of state.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Dems say a bomb threat made at their hotel and other redistricting updates
Texas Democrats left the state to stop a Republican-led effort to change the state’s congressional boundaries, setting off a national conversation. Full Story
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![Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., center, stands with other Democratic members of Congress and Texas House Democrats during a press conference at IBEW Local 701 in Warrenville, Ill., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune