Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a formal investigation into Texas Majority PAC (TMP), a political action committee funded in part by billionaire George Soros.
The state attorney general accuses the organization of illegal coordination, bribery, and financial malfeasance for aiding and abetting the misconduct of Texas Democrats who fled the state.
“This investigation is about protecting the integrity of our legislature,” said Paxton in a public statement. “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.”
Advertisement
TMP is under scrutiny for allegedly using donor funds to facilitate and incentivize the mass departure of House Democrats last week, which left the chamber without quorum and stalled legislative business. Paxton said his office had issued a formal Request to Examine to Texas Majority PAC, adding that the group’s ties to Soros raise serious concerns about foreign-influenced political activity.
“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,” Paxton said. “If that’s the case as determined by this investigation, there will be a heavy price to pay.”
The Attorney General’s investigation follows his prior probe into Powered by People, another O’Rourke-aligned organization, which Paxton said may also have played a role in organizing the Democrats’ coordinated exit.
“There is a pattern of radical groups, flush with out-of-state money, interfering with the legislative process here in Texas,” he said, adding, “We’re going to expose that network and hold every part of it accountable.”
The drama began on August 4, when dozens of Democratic lawmakers fled the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass legislation during a special session. Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows responded by issuing arrest warrants for the absent members under Article III, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution, and Rule 5, Section 8 of the House rules, which authorize the detention of lawmakers who leave the chamber without valid excuse.
“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.”
Burrows echoed Paxton’s resolve. “From day one, I have said that all options are on the table when it comes to making sure my colleagues who have fled the House return to fulfill their constitutional obligations,” he said. “Because they have continued to refuse their responsibilities to their constituents and return to Texas, the State has no choice but to pursue additional legal remedies.”
The Texas House has since requested that Paxton’s office enforce those warrants across state lines, including in Illinois, where several Democrats are hiding.
Paxton has also taken the fight to the Texas Supreme Court, filing action in connection with a quo warranto petition filed by Governor Greg Abbott against Democratic Representative Gene Wu. The petition argues that lawmakers who fail to return by the deadline set by Speaker Burrows have effectively vacated their offices.
“Texas is taking every available avenue to force runaway Democrats to return to Texas and hold them accountable for breaking quorum,” Paxton said. “Under the Texas Constitution and Texas law, the Office of the Attorney General has the legal authority to bring these cases against the renegade House members. I have alerted the Texas Supreme Court that I will be making additional filings on Friday if the Democrats continue to abandon their legislative duties.”
In a letter submitted to the Court, Paxton’s office wrote: “This Court’s precedent is clear that a ‘quo warranto’ proceeding ‘can only be brought by the attorney general, a county attorney, or a district attorney.’ … As a result, the Court should not dismiss the Governor’s petition until the Speaker’s Friday deadline passes and the Attorney General can be heard on these weighty issues.”
The expanding investigation into Texas Majority PAC adds a new layer to what has become a high-stakes legal and political showdown between Texas Republicans and national Democratic networks. Paxton has repeatedly accused the Democratic lawmakers of operating “at the behest of radical donors and D.C. operatives,” and is now suggesting that those funders may be liable for enabling public officials to engage in misconduct.
“We will not let Texas be held hostage by billionaires with an anti-democratic agenda,” Paxton said. “If TMP or any other PAC coordinated with elected officials to abandon their duties, that’s not activism—that’s a crime.”