Gene Wu defiant against Greg Abbott’s attempt to remove him from Texas House seat

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott filed an emergency petition Tuesday with the state Supreme Court to remove Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston), chair of the Texas Democratic Caucus, after he and dozens of other Democrats defiantly left the state to block a Republican redistricting vote.

Driving the news: The Democrats traveled to Boston, Chicago and New York City over the weekend to prevent Republicans from securing the quorum needed to pass congressional maps that would add five GOP-friendly seats before the 2026 midterms. Abbott’s suit names Wu as the “ringleader” of the walkout, alleging his actions amount to abandoning his position. The governor further claims Wu and the other Democrats “appear to have solicited and received certain benefits in exchange for skipping a vote, further supporting their removal from office and allegations of bribery.”

Meanwhile, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office asked the Texas Supreme Court to delay its decision, arguing that “only his office or the offices of a district or county attorney could bring the type of case that Abbott filed.” But he also announced he would petition to remove absent Democrats, warning, “If you don’t show up to work, you get fired.”

What Wu is saying: Wu dismissed Abbott’s threats in a CNN interview Monday, saying, “Frankly, Democrats say, ‘Come and take it’” and calling the governor’s efforts “all bluster.” In a statement, he characterized his absence as fulfilling his constitutional oath rather than abandoning his duties. “This office does not belong to Greg Abbott, and it does not belong to me. It belongs to the people of House District 137, who elected me. I took an oath to the Constitution, not a politician’s agenda, and I will not be the one to break that oath,” Wu said.

Wu, the chamber’s lone Chinese American member, previously opposed legislation restricting Chinese property ownership, saying it sent “a loud and clear message that Asians don’t belong in this country.” Abbott eventually signed the bill into law. Now, Wu frames his resistance in moral terms. “When a governor conspires with a disgraced president to ram through a racist gerrymandered map, my constitutional duty is to not be a willing participant,” he said. “When that governor holds disaster relief for 137 dead Texans and their families hostage, my moral duty is to sound the alarm — by any means necessary.”

What’s next: Legal experts question Abbott’s authority to remove elected lawmakers. Ross Miller, president of the Democratic Lawyers Association of Texas, told CNN there is no legal precedent for such action, while Rice University professor Mark Jones told CBS Texas that lawmakers can only be removed through a two-thirds legislative vote.

Should the removal efforts succeed, special elections would be required to fill the vacant seats. Appeals could also stretch well beyond the special session’s Aug. 19 deadline.