Texas Republican Rep. Brian Babin called on the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms Tuesday to assist Texas state officials in the possible extradition of legislators who fled to Washington, D.C., to prevent a quorum at the State Capitol in Austin.
Texas state Republican lawmakers voted on Tuesday to send law enforcement to find nearly 60 Democratic legislators who fled the state to obstruct GOP-backed voting bills. At least 58 Democratic lawmakers left Austin on Monday to prevent a quorum, meaning the necessary number of members to conduct business in the chamber.
“I ask that you fully cooperate with the Texas State Police, the Texas Rangers, and the Sergeant at Arms of the Texas House and Senate in any request for extradition and remanding of Texas legislators who abdicated their responsibility by relocating to the United States Capitol while the legislature is still in session,” Babin wrote to House Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Karen Gibson.
Most of the fleeing Texas legislators flew on private planes to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress to pressure Senate Democratic lawmakers to pass their voting legislation S.1. that would override election measures proposed by Republicans at the state level.
Democratic Texas state Rep. Chris Turner told the Washington Examiner Tuesday their delegation’s message is to stay out of Texas and “kill this bill this session.”
Turner added the group plans to use the intervening time, around 25 days, before the end of the session “to implore the folks in this building behind us to pass federal voting rights legislation for voters in Texas and across the country.”
Passage of S.1, the companion bill to H.R. 1, would require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, which the fleeing Texas legislators are urging their congressional counterparts to scrap.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called for the state Legislature to have a special session that began on Thursday to pass the voting legislation, among other bills. The session expires on Aug. 7, and Abbott pledged the state’s fugitive lawmakers would be arrested when they returned. If necessary, he would call another special session.
In his letter to the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, Babin noted that “Texas and the U.S. Congress have established primary authority and precedent that authorizes a legislative body to take action to compel attendance at legislative sessions. These requests should be seen as both a courtesy and responsibility from this legislative body in which we serve to our counterparts in Austin.”
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He added, “The Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies in the Washington area work every day to assist with extraditing fugitives and criminals from other jurisdictions, and this situation deserves no less.”
