Texas House Speaker Cuts Pay, Budgets for Absent Democrats

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced that around 50 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to block a redistricting vote would no longer receive their paychecks and per diem payments electronically, requiring them to pick up their paychecks in person at the Capitol. Burrows also ordered a 30% cut to the absent Democrats' office budgets and mandated their physical presence for reimbursements and other House services. These actions come after the Texas House failed multiple times to reach a quorum due to the Democrats' absence, which Republicans attribute to stalling tactics against a redistricting bill supported by President Donald Trump. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed lawsuits seeking to cut off funding to the absentee Democrats and to declare some of their House seats vacant due to their refusal to return. Democrats, led by Minority Leader Gene Wu, dismissed the financial penalties as minor compared to the cost of inaction on the redistricting issue. Meanwhile, efforts to compel the Democrats' return include coordination with other states, such as Illinois, where some Democrats have fled, though Illinois officials have resisted cooperating.