Republican-Controlled Texas Supreme Court Issues Stunning Decision In Case Involving Absent Democrats - Gov. Greg Abbott Can't Believe It
Case To Remove Dems Who Fled State Begins At TX Supreme Court
Texas House Democrats made national headlines this summer when they fled the state to stall a vote on a new congressional map that would help Republicans pick up 5 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott petitioned the Texas Supreme Court to remove their caucus leader from office.
Now, that high-stakes case is before the Texas Supreme Court and could set a precedent for any lawmaker in the future who attempts to flee the state to avoid voting on a measure.
Abbott touted the court’s decision as a victory, posting on social media that the briefing schedule brings the “ring leader of the derelict Democrats … closer to consequences.”
The Court has combined Abbott’s lawsuit against Houston Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, with a similar case brought by Attorney General Ken Paxton, who seeks to oust Wu along with 12 other Democratic members.
Although Abbott and Paxton initially disagreed over which office had the legal authority to file such suits, Paxton said that he now looks forward to working alongside Abbott to “hold these cowards accountable.”
On Aug. 3, dozens of House Democrats left Texas to halt the Legislature and block passage of the GOP’s proposed congressional map. The redistricting push came under pressure from President Donald Trump, who has called for adding five Republican seats to bolster the party’s slim House majority ahead of the 2026 midterms.
As the minority party, their only viable tactic to derail the map is to break quorum—refusing to attend sessions so the chamber lacks the numbers needed to move legislation forward.
Wu’s attorneys contend that by leaving the state, he is acting in accordance with the will of his constituents, aiming to block the passage of legislation they oppose, the outlet noted.
Wu “has not died and has not been expelled from the House by the constitutionally prescribed means: a 2/3 vote of the House,” his lawyers said in a brief. “His presence in another state is not a voluntary resignation — as his opposition to this petition makes evident.”
The Texas Supreme Court is composed entirely of Republicans, with two-thirds of its members initially appointed by Governor Abbott. Among them are two justices — including the chief justice — who previously served as Abbott’s general counsel.
“They have their own independent authority, of course, but it does put them in a tough political position,” Andrew Cates, an Austin-based attorney and expert on Texas ethics law, told The Texas Tribune in an earlier interview. “They don’t want to be in the position of potentially biting the hand that initially fed them.”
This also comes as the U.S. Supreme Court recently got involved after Texas eventually passed the new map to give Republicans 5 U.S. House seats.
Texas’ newly redrawn Republican-friendly congressional map is back in place, at least for now, after Justice Samuel Alito temporarily restored the map while the full U.S. Supreme Court considers whether a lower court was correct in striking it down.
The map is expected to net Republicans up to five additional seats in the 2026 midterm elections if it remains in place, Politico reported.
Alito’s order allows Texas officials to continue preparing for primary elections under the GOP-backed map. The move came shortly after the state asked the justices for an emergency ruling to revive the redistricting plan championed by President Donald Trump.
Texas filed the appeal late Friday and asked the court to pause a lower court ruling that found the map was likely based on unconstitutional racial considerations.
The petition formally asked the high court to intervene in a case that could help decide control of the House in the next midterm cycle.
A longer-term ruling restoring the map would make it far harder for Democrats to regain a majority.
A billionaire father returned home early and found his paralyzed twins on the floor—laughing. What their caregiver did next challenged everything he believed
A billionaire father had built a strict medical routine to protect his paralyzed twins—until the day he came home early and found them lying on the floor with their caregiver, unaware that a simple movement would challenge everything he had ever been told.
Graham Holloway hadn’t planned to return until sunset. For nearly two years, his life had followed the same cold, unchanging pattern. He left home before his sons were fully awake, spent long hours in a glass tower in downtown Raleigh, and returned at night to a strangely quiet mansion. His staff ensured everything was perfect. His schedule was set down to the minute. Every room looked flawless.
And yet, nothing in that house felt alive.
On Thursday, a meeting with investors ended earlier than expected. A contract delay pushed discussions to the following week. Graham could have stayed in the city, reviewing numbers, but a deeper exhaustion than usual made him stop pretending. He dismissed his driver at the entrance of his estate in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and chose to walk in alone through a side door.
It reminded him of how his late wife used to surprise him—hearing the door open, laughing somewhere in the hallway, telling him dinner would be ready soon. Sometimes their twins would rush to him before he could even set down his briefcase.
Those memories had become dangerous.
Entering the quiet house, Graham loosened his tie, expecting the usual silence.
But then he heard something so unexpected that he froze.
Children laughing.
Not from a TV. Not from a tablet. Real laughter—clear, light, alive.
For a moment, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him.
Then he followed the sound.
What he saw took his breath away.
The laughter led him down the east hallway to the rehabilitation room he had set up after the accident. He pushed the door open so abruptly his shoulder hit the frame.
Both wheelchairs were empty.
His heart began pounding painfully.
On the padded floor lay his sons, Declan and Wesley Mercer, eight years old. Wesley still had a faint mark above his eyebrow—a reminder of the fall that had changed everything.
They were on their backs, knees bent, bare feet pressing against foam pads and small wooden blocks.
Standing beside them was Naomi Bell, the caregiver he had hired three months earlier.
She wasn’t panicked or rushed.
She was calm.
One hand supported Declan’s hips, while the other rested gently on Wesley’s knee. Her movements were slow, steady—almost like music.
In a soft voice, she hummed a quiet tune about rivers, light, and progress inch by inch.
The boys were not afraid.
They were smiling.
Graham couldn’t move.
For two years, every specialist had told him the same thing: no improvement, no recovery, no hope beyond maintenance. He had built his entire world around that certainty—structured routines, controlled environments, zero risks.
And now… his sons were on the floor.
“Stop.” His voice came out sharper than he intended.
Naomi looked up, calm but alert. “Mr. Holloway, I can explain—”
“They’re not supposed to be out of their chairs,” he cut in, stepping closer, his pulse racing. “What are you doing?”
Declan turned his head first. “Dad?”
Wesley grinned. “We’re playing.”
Playing.
The word hit him harder than anything else.
Naomi slowly removed her hands, making sure the boys were stable before standing. “They’re safe,” she said gently. “I would never put them in danger.”
Graham’s eyes scanned their bodies, expecting panic, pain—anything. But there was none. Just flushed cheeks… and that laughter still lingering in the air.
“They moved,” Naomi continued carefully. “Not much—but enough.”
“That’s not possible,” Graham said immediately. “We’ve had the best doctors—”
“And they taught you to protect them,” she said softly. “But not to test them.”
Silence filled the room.
Naomi crouched again, this time slower, more deliberate. “Wesley, can you show your dad what you just did?”
Wesley hesitated, then nodded. With visible effort, he pressed his heel into the foam and shifted—just slightly—but enough.
Graham’s breath caught.
It was small. Almost nothing.
But it wasn’t nothing.
Declan followed, a tiny movement of his leg, his face tightening with concentration—then breaking into a proud smile.
“See?” he whispered.
Something inside Graham cracked.
All this time… had he been holding them back?
Naomi stood again. “They don’t need less care,” she said. “They need a different kind.”
Graham looked at his sons—really looked at them—not as fragile patients, but as children.
Children who were trying.
For the first time in years, he didn’t know what the right answer was.
