Gov. Greg Abbott previously asked the court to expel Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader. Paxton disputed the governor’s authority to make the request.

The political standoff at the Texas Capitol intensified Friday as Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit seeking to remove 13 Democratic state representatives from office over their continued absence from the House floor.

The lawsuit from Paxton is one of several ways Texas officials have pressured Democrats to return to the state for a vote on a congressional redistricting expected to add five Republican seats in the U.