Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a sweeping investigation into Texas Majority PAC (TMP), a well-financed political action committee linked to billionaire George Soros, over allegations of illegal coordination, bribery, and financial misconduct.
The probe comes amid an escalating showdown between Texas Republicans and state Democrats who staged a dramatic walkout to block legislation earlier this month.
Paxton and legislative leaders now allege that outside money helped orchestrate and incentivize the Democrats’ exodus, raising questions about the role of national networks in influencing state-level politics.
In a fiery statement released by his office, Paxton declared that the investigation is focused on safeguarding the integrity of Texas governance.
“This investigation is about protecting the integrity of our legislature,” Paxton said. “If Texas lawmakers are bowing to the Soros Slush Fund rather than the will of the voters, Texans deserve to know. Getting financial payouts under the table to abandon your legislative duties is bribery.”
Paxton accused TMP of using donor funds to support, facilitate, and encourage the decision by dozens of Democratic lawmakers to flee Texas, denying Republicans the quorum required to pass legislation in the state House.
“Texas Majority PAC’s actions seem to indicate that it may be using its Soros-funded resources to break the law and fund the illegal abandonment of public office,” Paxton continued. “If that’s the case, there will be a heavy price to pay.”
The attorney general confirmed that his office has issued a formal Request to Examine to TMP, demanding records, financial data, and internal communications. He also linked the PAC’s activities to broader concerns about foreign-influenced political networks.
Paxton emphasized that this investigation is not occurring in a vacuum. His office has already been probing other organizations tied to national Democratic figures, including Powered by People, an O’Rourke-aligned group accused of aiding prior quorum-breaking efforts.
“There is a pattern of radical groups, flush with out-of-state money, interfering with the legislative process here in Texas,” Paxton said. “We’re going to expose that network and hold every part of it accountable.”
The suggestion that Texas Democrats are coordinating with outside donors — particularly ones linked to Soros — has become a central theme for Republicans who accuse their opponents of elevating national political agendas above their constitutional duties to their constituents.
The controversy erupted on August 4 when dozens of Democratic legislators fled the state during a special session called by Governor Greg Abbott. The move left the Texas House without quorum, effectively freezing the legislative process.
Republicans charged that the Democrats were derelict in their constitutional responsibilities. House Speaker Dustin Burrows immediately invoked his authority under Article III, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution and House Rule 5, Section 8, which permit the detention of absent members who abandon the chamber without permission. Arrest warrants were issued for the runaway lawmakers.
Paxton aligned himself closely with Burrows’ actions. “Speaker Burrows immediately issued warrants for the arrest of runaway Democrats who fled Texas, abandoned their constituents, and abdicated their legislative duties,” Paxton said.
“We are pursuing every legal remedy at our disposal to hold these rogue legislators accountable. Texas deserves representatives who do their jobs instead of running away at the behest of their billionaire handlers. If there’s one thing Texans can’t stand more than losers, it’s cowards.”
Burrows echoed Paxton’s combative tone, saying: “From day one, I have said that all options are on the table when it comes to making sure my colleagues who have fled the House return to fulfill their constitutional obligations.”
Reports indicate that several of the absent lawmakers sought refuge in Illinois, where they have continued to resist calls to return to Austin. This prompted the Texas House to request that Paxton’s office enforce the warrants across state lines, raising the stakes in the showdown.
Paxton has also pursued a legal strategy that reaches beyond simple arrest warrants. His office has taken the matter to the Texas Supreme Court, seeking to establish that legislators who fail to return by deadlines set by the Speaker effectively vacate their offices.
Central to the legal battle is a quo warranto petition filed by Governor Abbott against Democratic Representative Gene Wu. A quo warranto proceeding is a legal mechanism to challenge whether a person has the legal right to hold public office.
In connection with the case, Paxton filed motions arguing that lawmakers who abandon their duties forfeit their right to remain in office. His office told the Texas Supreme Court:
“This Court’s precedent is clear that a ‘quo warranto’ proceeding can only be brought by the attorney general, a county attorney, or a district attorney. As a result, the Court should not dismiss the Governor’s petition until the Speaker’s Friday deadline passes and the Attorney General can be heard on these weighty issues.”
Paxton vowed further filings if the absent Democrats did not return by the Speaker’s deadline.
Texas Majority PAC’s connection to George Soros has amplified the political resonance of the investigation. Soros, a billionaire philanthropist and frequent target of conservative criticism, has spent decades funding progressive causes, voter outreach, and Democratic-aligned political groups.
By casting TMP as a “Soros Slush Fund,” Paxton is signaling his belief that the PAC is not simply another political donor but part of a coordinated network undermining democratic accountability in Texas.
“We will not let Texas be held hostage by billionaires with an anti-democratic agenda,” Paxton said. “If TMP or any other PAC coordinated with elected officials to abandon their duties, that’s not activism—that’s a crime.”
The confrontation has transformed into one of the most high-stakes political and legal battles in Texas in recent years. At issue are not only the fates of individual lawmakers but also the balance of power between elected officials, political donors, and state institutions.
For Republicans, the walkout is a dereliction of duty compounded by possible illegal coordination. For Democrats, it is a strategic maneuver to resist what they describe as extreme legislation and political overreach.
The involvement of Soros-funded entities, however, gives Republicans a powerful rallying cry. By linking Democratic lawmakers to outside money, Paxton and his allies hope to portray their opponents as beholden to national interests rather than Texas voters.
Though the current clash is centered in Texas, its implications stretch far beyond the Lone Star State.
Democratic walkouts have become a tactic in state politics across the country, with minority parties using quorum-breaking as a way to delay or block legislation. Texas Republicans argue that if the tactic is paired with outside funding and coordination, it crosses from politics into criminality.
Republicans also see the case as part of a larger national struggle against what they view as billionaire-funded efforts to reshape local and state politics. By investigating TMP and connecting it to Soros, Paxton is tapping into broader conservative concerns about the influence of outside money on elections and governance.
As the investigation into TMP deepens, legal analysts predict a long battle. The attorney general’s office will need to demonstrate clear evidence of coordination, bribery, or financial misconduct to sustain charges.
TMP and allied groups are expected to push back forcefully, framing the probe as a partisan witch hunt aimed at silencing political opposition.
In the meantime, the absent Democratic lawmakers remain under legal pressure to return, with arrest warrants still active and the possibility of losing their seats looming over them.
The Texas Supreme Court is expected to play a pivotal role in determining the constitutional boundaries of quorum-breaking and donor involvement, decisions that could set precedents for future legislatures across the nation.
The Texas attorney general’s investigation into Texas Majority PAC represents more than a dispute over one legislative walkout. It is a test of the boundaries between political strategy and criminal conduct, donor influence and democratic accountability, state sovereignty and national networks.
For Paxton, the case is about exposing what he describes as a web of radical groups tied to billionaires like Soros that manipulate state politics for partisan ends. For Democrats, it is an effort to defend their right to protest policies they oppose without being criminalized for political action.
The outcome of this battle will not only decide the fate of Texas Majority PAC and the absent lawmakers but could also redefine how far donors, activists, and legislators can go in pursuing their agendas.
For now, the fight continues — in the courts, in the legislature, and in the court of public opinion — with Texas once again at the center of a national political storm.