Texas Democrats Defy Abbott Deadline—as Republicans Threaten Arrest

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows plans to sign warrants to track down and arrest more than 50 Democrats who left the state over the weekend in order to deny Republicans the quorum needed to create a new gerrymandered congressional map at President Trump’s behest.

The Texas House voted 85–6 to issue arrest warrants for those absent when the House convened on Monday afternoon.

Texas House rules state that lawmakers who are absent from “calls of the House” without sufficient excuses “may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found, by the sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms for that purpose, and their attendance shall be secured and retained.”

In doing so, Burrows escalates the warpath that state Republicans have forged against the Democratic walkout.

On Sunday, Governor Greg Abbott—claiming powers that legal experts say he doesn’t actually possess—threatened to oust Democrats from office unless they returned to the Capitol by 3 p.m. Monday. (“Come and take it,” the Democrats replied verbatim.) State Attorney General Ken Paxton also promised to “use every tool at our disposal” to “hunt down” Democrats, who, he said, should be “found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately.”

But we’ll likely not see Texas Democrats physically forced back to the Capitol as the warrants only apply within state lines, and most truant Democrats departed for other states.

No arrests took place in 2021 when warrants were issued for 52 Texas Democrats who similarly fled to block a GOP bill to restrict voting rights, before returning after 38 days.

Back then, warrants were blocked as they underwent legal challenges, but the state’s Supreme Court eventually ruled that lawmakers could be arrested under Texas’s Constitution, which, it said, “enables ‘quorum-breaking’ by a minority faction of the legislature” but also “authorizes ‘quorum-forcing’ by the remaining members.”

First lady Melania Trump—who five years ago asked, “Who gives a fuck about Christmas?”—is hosting open auditions for the White House’s upcoming Christmas celebration.

Now we’re not saying that you should apply, get selected, and then not show up on the date of the actual performance … but if you wanted to, it would be pretty easy.

“Americans from every U.S. state and territory are invited to apply for the opportunity to assist with decorating at the White House or showcase their talents as a performer at the holiday open houses,” the White House stated in a Monday morning press release. “Starting today, applications are open for those interested in volunteering for the 2025 Christmas Season.”

The performer application process is simple. “School bands, choirs, and holiday-themed entertainers” are all eligible, and if accepted they are responsible for their own lodging, food, and any other expenses. Performance dates will take place throughout December, and you can select which dates you are available. The application deadline is September 5, and decisions will be announced by October 13.

Anyone interested in providing a lovely, MAGA-aligned Christmas performance (or not) may apply here. A link to previous performances is required.

Far-right extremist Laura Loomer says that she is now working with the federal government to identify individuals within the Department of Defense who are leaking information to the press.

Speaking with CNN in an interview published Monday, Loomer claimed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had personally turned to her for help quieting down the noise coming from his department. The self-appointed “loyalty enforcer” has had enormous success influencing the Trump administration from the outside: An analysis by The Daily Beast found that at least 16 individuals were fired from the federal government after Loomer singled them out.

And the White House has noticed her efforts: Following months of Loomer blasting federal employees and political appointees to her 1.7 million followers on X, the president praised her Sunday as a “patriot.”

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told the Beast that Hegseth “appreciates Laura Loomer’s outside advocacy.”

“Personnel is policy, and Laura has taken that motto to heart. At the Department of Defense, we will never stop working to deliver on the President’s America First agenda,” Parnell said. “Qualified individuals who love our country and support the Administration’s priorities will continue to be integral to our efforts.”

Hegseth’s tenure atop the Pentagon has been riddled with scandal. The reputed alcoholic’s foray into national politics started on a dour note, when the former Fox News star was accused of sexual assault. Nearly a dozen of his former network co-workers also claimed that Hegseth’s drinking habits were “concerning.”

Some of Hegseth’s failures include Signalgate—when Hegseth shared sensitive military plans about an imminent bombing in Yemen in a group chat that accidentally included The Atlantic’s editor in chief—and his failure to notify the president before he stalled aid to Ukraine. He also was “reamed out” by Trump over the president’s seriously expensive and lackluster military birthday parade in June, fumbled questions from lawmakers regarding Trump’s authority (or lack thereof) to deploy troops to Los Angeles to quell the city’s anti-ICE protests, and refused to tell Congress that he wanted Ukraine to win in its ongoing offensive against Russia’s invasion, among countless other seismic offenses.

The 45-year-old’s world has continued to shrink in recent months, with Hegseth reportedly only trusting his wife and a small inner circle, as paranoia over his department’s nonstop scandals has consumed him. Mounting frustration and fear has compelled Hegseth to do outrageous things, such as mandate polygraph tests for his own staff. (The polygraphs have ceased since the White House intervened.)

MAGA isn’t MAGA enough anymore for Marjorie Taylor Greene, who seems as surprised as we do at her break with the party that gave her a pulpit.

“I don’t know if the Republican Party is leaving me, or if I’m kind of not relating to the Republican Party as much anymore,” she told The Daily Mail over the weekend. “I don’t know which one it is.”

“I think the Republican Party has turned its back on America First and the workers and just regular Americans,” she added.

Greene has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump since she was elected to Congress in 2020. A megaphone for the conspiracy-addled, she’s promoted a number of antisemitic and white supremacist theories, and recently introduced a bill to ban “weather modification.”

She told The Daily Mail that her fellow Georgia Republicans are just a “good ole boys network,” and expressed frustration at perceived sexism within the party.

“I think there’s other women in our party that are really sick and tired of the way men treat Republican women,” she said. Greene specifically mentioned Elise Stefanik, whose nomination for U.N. ambassador Greene thinks was unjustly rescinded. The post ultimately went to Mike Waltz, who accidentally included Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg in his Signal chat.

“How does he get awarded after ‘Signalgate?’” Greene asked. “Isn’t that weird?”

Greene was careful not to criticize Trump specifically, and largely directed her frustration at the party. But she feels that her priorities, such as eliminating funding for the “Obama/Biden/Neocon Ukraine Russia war,” are no longer the priorities of the GOP.

“Like what happened to all those issues?” she asked. “You know that I don’t know what the hell happened with the Republican Party. I really don’t.”

Greene has recently split from Trump on major issues, including continued military aid to Israel and releasing the Epstein files.

Representative Jasmine Crockett has struck a nerve in the MAGA-verse after calling President Trump a “piece of shit” at a Sunday event by the progressive group MoveOn.

The Texas representative spoke about the need for Democrats to get “aggressive” with their reform, for example, by reining in the Supreme Court with a code of ethics.

“Listen, Donald Trump is a piece of shit, we know that. He is,” Crockett said, to applause. “But in a functioning democracy, he still would not be able to get away with this. But he’s been able to get away with this because the House Republicans are complicit. He’s been able to get away with this because Senate Republicans are complicit. But most importantly, the courts, especially the Supreme Court, is complicit.”

Crockett’s characterization of Trump has since been shared widely on X, incensing right-wing users, who have, in turn, attacked her demeanor, appearance, and outfit (Crockett was wearing—brace yourself—ripped jeans). Many, of course, also stooped to gutter racism.

Conservative commentator Kyle Becker said Crockett “has absolutely lost her mind.” The website Conservative Brief wrote that she is “unhinged” and “showing clear signs of Trump Derangement Syndrome that prevents her from wearing decent clothes.” “Very classy,” wrote an “America First” user.

Another prominent MAGA account called Crockett an “attention whore,” and apparently attempted to get X’s chatbot, Grok, to make a lewd joke about how she “may have gotten knee holes on her Black Jeans.” When Grok failed to produce the user’s clearly desired joke about fellatio, the account requested that it “be more creative and remove the woke crap.”

Pro-Trump commentator David Freeman (known on X by the alias Gunther Eagleman) called the congresswoman “Ghetto Trash.” “Tell me she is not ghetto!!” wrote another popular right-wing account.

It’s all a bit rich coming from a crowd who will defend to the last breath a president who’s done more than any individual to make political language more unhinged and coarse.

Trump, after all, is a byword for name calling and repeatedly employs four-letter words in his public remarks. At his 2024 Madison Square Garden campaign rally, for instance, he called Kamala Harris a “shit vice president.” He has a penchant for calling Crockett (and, frequently, other critics of his who are Black) “low IQ.”

This is to say nothing of the countless reports, some notorious, of Trump using vulgarities in closed-door settings.