Tarrant County judge bars Beto O’Rourke PAC from funding Texas quorum breakers
A Tarrant County judge ruled that Beto O’Rourke’s political action committee cannot financially support Texas lawmakers who left the state to halt the passage of a new congressional redistricting plan.
On Aug. 8, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in the 348th District Court requesting an injunction prohibiting O’Rourke’s Powered by People organization from helping fund Democratic representatives’ stays in places like Illinois and New York.
More than 50 state representatives left in early August to break quorum, ensuring there wouldn’t be enough present at the Texas Capitol for Republicans to approve a redistricting map that could flip five Democrat-held U.S. House seats to the GOP.
Hours after Paxton filed the lawsuit, Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey, a Republican first appointed to the bench by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2019, signed a temporary restraining order barring O’Rourke and Powered by People from using and raising money to pay for things like hotel accommodations and meals for the quorum breakers.
According to an Aug. 5 Houston Chronicle report, Chris Evans, spokesman for Powered by People, said the organization had covered transportation and lodging costs for lawmakers who had fled the state. In his request for an injunction, Paxton characterized this type of funding as “bribery.”
In her decree, Fahey said it’s illegal to use political contributions for personal expenses, like out-of-state travel. Fahey scheduled a hearing on the matter for Aug. 19.
The Texas Tribune reported that O’Rourke filed a lawsuit against Paxton, also on Aug. 8, asking a judge to “block Paxton’s investigation into the organization’s practices.”
In a statement on the temporary restraining order, O’Rourke said Paxton was trying to shut down Powered by People because its work “threatens the hold that Paxton, Trump and Abbott have on powers in Texas.”
In addition to costs associated with transportation and lodging, the Democrats who left the state face a fine of $500 for each day they are absent from the current legislative session. By Texas law, these fines cannot be paid using political donations.
On Saturday, more than 1,000 people attended a rally at Fort Worth’s Ridglea Theatre where O’Rourke blasted President Donald Trump’s “power grab” of calling for redistricting.
In an interview with CNN, Texas Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat, said breaking quorum was the only option to stop the redistricting effort. Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons called the proposed congressional district maps “racially gerrymandered.” Republicans have admitted the move was designed to secure more House seats.
As of Monday, Aug. 11, the Powered by People homepage features a “donate” button next to a message urging support for the Texas Democrats opposing redistricting.
This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM.