Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove Houston Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, from office, an unprecedented escalation in Republicans’ efforts to resume business in the Legislature and advance new congressional maps.

Gov. Greg Abbott, in adding redistricting to the special session agenda, cited a letter from the Justice Department claiming that four Texas districts were unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered.

But as the conflict moved into another week, Governor Greg Abbott signaled that he would use the power of his office to keep the redistricting fight going for as long as needed. In an interview with NBC News,