Sen. John Cornyn said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has approved his request to provide assistance to state law enforcement in tracking down Democratic state lawmakers who fled the state to prevent the Texas House of Representatives from having a quorum.
The lawmakers left the state in opposition to a proposal that would redraw the state's congressional maps, a move which Democrats argue would give Republicans an advantage in several U.S. House seats currently held by Democrats.
Many of the Democrats fled to Illinois, where state officials have said they would not arrest the lawmakers.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered lawmakers to be detained by law enforcement earlier this week, but Texas law enforcement officers cannot go to another state to make an arrest.
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Generally, the FBI conducts arrests for federal crimes, while general state and local crimes are enforced by local law enforcement.
However, Cornyn argued that the Democratic lawmakers "may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses."
“Governor Abbott and Texas state law enforcement officers are doing what they can within the confines of the law, but federal help may be necessary. These legislators have committed potential criminal acts in their rush to avoid their constitutional responsibilities and must be fully investigated and held accountable. I urge you to work with Texas public officials to provide them the support they need,” he said earlier this week.
On Thursday, Cornyn said FBI Director Kash Patel "approved" his request to use FBI resources. After Scripps News reached out to the FBI to get more information about what involvement it will have, the agency said it declines to comment.
“I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas. We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities," Cornyn said on Thursday.
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Texas Democrats have vowed not to give in.
"The threat of arrest, to the other threats that have been made with regard to us losing our positions and losing our jobs, I think shows how desperate Texas Republicans are to try to pull off this coup for President [Donald] Trump," Texas Democratic State Rep. Ann Johnson said in an interview with Scripps News on Tuesday. "He has demanded of them that they go find five congressional seats because he is desperately afraid of the will of the voters coming up next November 2026."
New congressional seats are generally drawn every decade, one year after the decennial census. The last U.S. census was held in 2020, and most states did their redistricting in 2021. On Thursday, President Donald Trump asked the Commerce Department to conduct another U.S. census, this time excluding individuals in the U.S. illegally. He believes this would result in fewer Democratic-held seats.
