Abbott gave Texas House Democrats a deadline of 3 p.m. local time on Monday to return to the statehouse for the special session or risk losing their jobs. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suggested Democrats who left should be arrested and forcibly brought back, though he later admitted that would be a "challenge."

"The lives of Texans come second to the desires of President Trump and his loyalists," the Houston Chronicle's editorial board wrote Monday.

The Texas governor's court threat could take months to resolve — despite a fast-approaching redistricting deadline.