It is Saturday, August 9th, we're keeping an eye right now on the Texas State Capitol

where ordinarily it would be gaveling into session, but these are not ordinary times.

We expect today to be mostly a formality.

It's something known as a pro forma session.

In the last several days, the legislature has gabbled in and then gabbled out because they could not achieve a quorum.

And the same thing is expected to happen today. If they say anything interesting, we'll bring it to you.

The reason that they're not going to get a quorum again today is because more than 50 Democratic lawmakers have left the state, reviewing to attend the special

session. The Democrats are trying to thwart Donald Trump's plan to blatantly rigged Texas's

congressional map, which would give Republicans an advantage in keeping control of the House of

Representatives ahead of the 26 midterm elections. And that brazen GOP plan just

keeps on getting more and more audacious. Republican officials in Texas are using increasingly

aggressive tactics to pressure the Democratic quorum breakers to come back to the state capital.

Texas's Attorney General Ken Paxton just filed a lawsuit on Friday asking the state

Supreme Court to expel 13 of those Democratic state representatives from the House, accusing them

of effectively vacating their offices. Paxton also filed a second lawsuit against the former

Congressman Beto O'Rourke and his political organization called

Powered by People, alleging that the group is engaging in unlawful fundraising activity.

The Texas Tribune reported this week that Powered by People has been helping the exiled Texas

Democrats cover the costs of their out-of-state travel and lodging, as well as potential

fines they might rack up as a

result of their absence from this special session. A district court judge granted Paxton's request

for a temporary restraining order last night, meaning powered by people, is barred for now from funding

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