Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Thursday he is investigating whether a Democratic PAC heavily funded by billionaire megadonor George Soros is unlawfully bribing Texas Democrats who fled the state to break quorum in response to the GOP’s redistricting efforts.
The announcement comes one day after Paxton opened a similar investigation into former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s Powered by People PAC. The attorney general launched the investigations after reports surfaced indicating Democratic groups were covering the lawmakers’ costs while they’re out of state.
The Texas Majority PAC is actively fundraising for the benefit of the lawmakers in coordination with other groups, including Powered by People. The Texas Majority PAC was founded by O’Rourke’s former staffers, according to Paxton’s office.
“If Texas lawmakers are bowing to the Soros Slush Fund rather than the will of the voters, Texans deserve to know. Getting financial payouts under the table to abandon your legislative duties is bribery,” Paxton said in a statement.
“Texas Majority PAC’s actions seem to indicate that it may be using its Soros-funded resources to break the law and fund the illegal abandonment of public office. If that’s the case, as determined by this investigation, there will be a heavy price to pay,” he added.
If the runaway legislators accept the political contributions, that may amount to bribery because it potentially influences them to forgo returning to the Texas legislature’s special session. In Texas, bribery is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.
Absent since Sunday, lawmakers have been ordered to return to the Texas Capitol by Friday. Otherwise, they may be arrested.
Paxton moved on Thursday to enforce the arrest warrants issued by the Republican-controlled Texas House earlier this week.
“Speaker Burrows immediately issued warrants for the arrest of runaway Democrats who fled Texas, abandoned their constituents, and abdicated their legislative duties,” Paxton said.
“We are pursuing every legal remedy at our disposal to hold these rogue legislators accountable. Texas deserves representatives who do their jobs instead of running away at the behest of their billionaire handlers. If there’s one thing Texans can’t stand more than losers, it’s cowards.”
ABSENT TEXAS DEMOCRATS SLAM FBI OVER REDISTRICTING MANHUNT: ‘NO AUTHORITY’
The FBI is prepared to aid Texas law enforcement in the effort, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) announced Thursday. FBI Director Kash Patel granted his request for federal law enforcement to help locate and arrest the lawmakers missing from the Texas House.
The stunt is a form of protest for Democrats, who oppose Republican efforts to redraw the state’s congressional map in order to gain more House seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
