(MENAFN) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday that he has formally requested the state’s highest court to remove 13 Democratic members from the Texas House.

“The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant,” Paxton declared. “These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold. Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on.”

The Democratic lawmakers reportedly left Texas on August 3, traveling to states including Illinois and New York, in protest against a proposed redistricting plan. Their absence denied the House a quorum, effectively stalling legislative action.

This political crisis has sparked a series of aggressive legal moves. On Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott filed an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court seeking to oust Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu from office.

Further escalating tensions, Texas Senator John Cornyn revealed Thursday that FBI Director Kash Patel approved a request for federal agents to assist state authorities in locating the absent Democratic legislators who have blocked the Republican-led redistricting effort.

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