The nuclear option for Texas is not secession. The nuclear option for Texas is gerrymandering the state into five guaranteed-Republican states (or one heavily Democratic state and four heavily Republican states), unilaterally dividing, and stacking the Senate with that many more Republicans. They are authorized to do this under US law.
Texas no longer has the right to split into five states, although this is a common myth. It could have done so only between the time that the Republic of Texas accepted joining the United States and the time the state of Texas was admitted to the Union by Congress. When Texas was admitted as a state, it was then on an equal footing with all other states, superseding any laws or agreements of the previous Republic of Texas.
For way more details than anyone probably wants, see
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/slg/explanation-texas-statehood-issues.phtml.
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