As end of special legislative session nears, tensions rise over two Texas Dems reportedly in Europe

WASHINGTON — The two Texas Democrats purportedly in Portugal on vacation after breaking quorum and flying to Washington in July with the rest of the House Democratic Caucus are facing mounting criticism before the end of Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session at midnight Friday, Aug. 6.

Caucus leadership has remained tight-lipped for the most part. When asked to respond Wednesday, Rep. Rafael Anchía of Dallas said he “really [doesn’t] know much about that situation.”

Rep. Ray Lopez of San Antonio, meanwhile, said he won’t “chastise them or congratulate them on their decisions,” and that “the majority” of the Texas lawmakers are still in Washington.

“What’s even more important is none of us are back in Texas,” he said. “Our fight is here, not in Texas. If others take a different approach, I certainly understand, but I won’t comment beyond that.”

The Democrats in Washington still have not said whether they plan to return to Austin this weekend, but reiterated that their goal in Washington was twofold: to block GOP-backed voting bills in Austin, and to spur progress on federal voting legislation in Congress.

Reps. Jessica González of Dallas and Julie Johnson of Farmers Branch, the two Democrats reportedly in Portugal, have been reluctant to confirm their location — Washington, Europe or elsewhere. Tuesday evening, González told the San Antonio Express-News that “no one has shown proof” that they have left the country.

“These are rumors, period. End of story,” she said via text.

Texas Monthly confirmed the initial news, saying that the two members are with their families in Portugal for a vacation they had been planning for a year and a half, and the tickets are nonrefundable.

Republicans, both inside and outside the Texas Legislature, jumped at the opportunity to poke fun at the Democratic lawmakers.

“Please pray for these heroic Texas Democrats as they suffer away from home, in Portugal,” U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, tweeted Wednesday. “Perhaps consider sending them a care package?”

Dave Carney, a Republican political consultant who has advised both former Gov. Rick Perry and current Gov. Greg Abbott, scolded the legislators for what he saw as a lack of transparency.

“Wow vacationing TX state rep. Jessica González replied: ‘No one has shown proof. These are rumors, period. End of story.’ Calling out @JTiloveTX and @TexasMonthly as liars and rumor mongers,” he tweeted. “Its never the crime its the cover up that destroys politicians.”

Back in Austin, Texas Rep. Mayes Middleton of Wallisville filed a bill Wednesday in the legislature “to prevent legislators from quitting on Texas and their offices,” according to the press release.

“If you repeatedly don’t show up for work, you are fired from your job, [and] our offices should be no different,” Middleton said in the release. “Excessive, unexcused absences are certainly a violation of each member’s oath of office and a refusal to do the job the member is elected to do.”

Republicans may not be the only ones frustrated with González and Johnson, though. Scott Braddock, editor of the Texas politics newsletter Quorum Report, said he was fielding some complaints from Democrats.

“Hearing now from some very unhappy Democrats who think @juliejohnsonTX & @jessicafortexas should be stripped of any leadership positions in the Texas House Democratic Caucus, on either the legislative or campaign side,” he tweeted Wednesday.

The Texas Democrats in the capital city still haven’t said how long they plan to stay in Washington after the end of the current special session, just that they’re waiting and pushing for federal voting protections to pass.

“We are confident that we are going to see some movement in that direction during the upcoming days, and then we’ll be at a point where we can take a decision,” Anchía said. “The reality is that talks on voting rights were dead. They had stalled before Texas Democrats decided to break quorum and come here.”