Texas Gov. Abbott Threatens To Defund Lawmakers For Defying Him

DALLAS, TX — Heads, the governor wins. Tails, his foes lose.

You can call it poor sportsmanship. You could call it retribution. Some are calling it just short of , as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has decided to add the oomph of his office and GOP dominance in the legislature to the "Don't Mess With Texas" slogan.

Last week in North Texas, Republican Abbott engaged in a verbal dust-up with GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over who has the authority to call a special session. This week, he's decided to not enage in friendly fire, but to engage with more typical political adversaries: Democrats.

They outmaneuvered Abbott earlier this week at the session's end by staging a walkout rather than see his restrictive elections bill sail through to passage over their objections. Their absence took the chamber below the quota of members needed to pass legislation, and in so doing, thwarted the governor's plan to have his voting bill signed into law.

In its final form, S.B. 7 was cobbled together largely by Republican lawmakers, with Democrats grousing that they were left unaware of 11th-hour changes and new provisions in the bill.

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The governor's response was swift, decisive and punitive. In a tweet, he posted "No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities. Stay tuned."

Apparently Abbott is now planning to show lawmakers what happens when they defy his intention to ram something down their throats. He's going to hit them in the wallet.

The governor says he will veto the state budget section that funds the legislature and agencies associated with it. That means legislators' paychecks and those of their staff will be unfunded by the first of September. In addition, Abbott signaled he will call another special session (over and above the one expected) to ultimately push the proposal through to law.

The bill would limit hours at the polls, prohibit drive-thru voting, make it easier for partisan poll watchers who might intimidate voters as they cast their ballots) and increase the difficulty in casting a mail-in ballot.

Whether Abbott was speaking — or tweeting — in a fit of pique remains to be seen. But his message is unmistakably clear. While the governor hates having ideologies he disagrees with (like mask mandates, a woman's right to choose and gun laws) being forced upon him or those he represents, he's all to happy to do the same to others when the leverage and legislative muscle is in his favor.

Conjecture has it that Abbott is also telegraphing when the special session will take place. As Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan observed, that means the governor will likely have lawmakers reconvene in late summer.

"After Sept. 1," Phelan said simply, "our staff doesn’t get paid. No one in the building gets paid after Sept. 1. I assume we’ll be back in August.”

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