Filed under "federalism"
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Expect more lawsuits like that — and soon — with the state’s restrictive new voting law taking effect and with Texas about to draw new political districts in a special session on redistricting that starts later this month. Those issues combine long histories of civil and voting rights litigation and lawmaking, constitutional issues and deep partisan divides.
Blend in the mutual disdain of the federal and state governments. Add the Republican Party’s dominance in Austin and the Democratic Party’s dominance in Washington, D.C. The outcome was predetermined: Somebody was going to sue somebody.
This isn’t new. Texas has a governor and an attorney general hell-bent on opposing the feds at every turn.
The state’s steady barrage of legal challenges to the federal government abated with a Republican in the White House, but picked up considerably when Democrat Joe Biden became president.
Attorney General Ken Paxton promised as much in a tweet from his state account on the day Biden took office: “Congrats, President Biden. On Inauguration Day, I wish our country the best. I promise my fellow Texans and Americans that I will fight against the many unconstitutional and illegal actions that the new administration will take, challenge federal overreach that infringes on Texans’ rights, and serve as a major check against the administration’s lawlessness. Texas First! Law & Order always!”
Texas has sued the feds over a diverse set of issues so far this year, including health care funding, coal rules, oil pipelines, immigration policy and deportations.
Now the state is getting a taste of its own medicine.
