OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:47 PM – Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into a political organization led by former Democrat presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, accusing it of aiding Texas Democrats in an effort to block newly proposed congressional maps.
The threat comes amid an ongoing political standoff in Texas over a Republican-led redistricting plan aimed at securing up to five additional GOP-held congressional seats in the 2026 midterms. Texas House Democrats left the state on Sunday, traveling to several locations, including Illinois, in an effort to deny the chamber a quorum and halt legislative proceedings.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Paxton stated that the Beto O’Rourke-led organization, Powered by People, may have violated state laws related to bribery, campaign finance, and abuse of office. Paxton cited “public reports” alleging that the group was financially supporting, or “bankrolling,” the Texas House Democrats.
Powered By People is a PAC affiliated with O’Rourke. It was launched in late 2019 and is driven by thousands of volunteers across the country. The Texas Tribune was the first to report the organization’s alleged role in financing the Democrats’ out-of-state travel.
“The guy impeached for bribery is going after the folks trying to stop the theft of five Congressional seats,” O’Rourke said in response to Paxton’s announcement. “Let’s stop these thugs before they steal our country.”
Paxton, the current Republican AG currently challenging Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the primary, has pledged to pursue the expulsion of Democrat lawmakers who fled the state over the weekend to deny the legislature a quorum and block passage of a Republican-drawn congressional map that could net the GOP up to five additional House seats in the midterms.
Additionally, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) has ordered their arrest, arguing that the lawmakers violated their oath of office by refusing to participate in the special session he convened to advance the redistricting agenda.
On Tuesday, Abbott also sought to expedite the standoff by filing an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court against Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu.
“I made clear in a formal statement on Sunday, August 3, that if the Texas House Democrats were not in attendance when the House reconvened at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, then action would be taken to seek their removal. They have not returned and have not met the quorum requirements. Representative Wu and the other Texas House Democrats have shown a willful refusal to return, and their absence for an indefinite period of time deprives the House of the quorum needed to meet and conduct business on behalf of Texans. Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans, and there must be consequences,” he said.
Additionally, Paxton weighed in with a strongly worded statement of his own, offering a personal warning that underscored the seriousness of the situation.
“Texas cannot be bought. I look forward to thoroughly reviewing all of the documents and communications obtained throughout this investigation,” Paxton said in the press release. “These jet-setting runaways have already lost public trust by abandoning our state, and Texans deserve to know if they received illegal bribes to do it.”
Paxton also noted that he had sent out a “Request to Examine,” asking the group to provide his office with records and correspondence pertaining to their role in the quorum breach.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the St. Charles Police Department in Illinois reported that officers responded to a bomb threat around 7:15 a.m. CDT on Wednesday at a hotel where the Texas Democrats were staying. Approximately 400 people were evacuated during the search. They were later permitted to return to the hotel roughly two hours after the initial evacuation.
Law enforcement cleared the premises and lifted the evacuation around mid‑morning, allowing all guests, including the Texas Democrat lawmakers, to safely return.
Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Ill.) told the press at the time that he was aware of the threat and directed the Illinois State Police to take necessary measures to ensure public safety.
The group of Texas House Democratic leaders, including Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu, Mexican American Legislative Caucus Chair Ramon Romero, and Legislative Black Caucus Chair Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, claimed in a statement that a threat was made against the members on Wednesday morning — but they assured that all were safe.
“We are safe, we are secure, and we are undeterred,” they said. “We are grateful for Governor Pritzker, local, and state law enforcement for their quick action to ensure our safety.”
However, no explosive device was found, and the Democrats did not provide any proof that any threat was personally made against them. A St. Charles police records specialist also noted that there was no information indicating the threat was specifically tied to the lawmakers themselves, according to the Houston Chronicle.
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