Texas Senator John Cornyn said that the FBI has agreed to assist Texas law enforcement in tracking down members of the Texas House who fled the state to prevent a vote on redistricting.
It’s a dramatic escalation as state lawmakers fight over redrawing congressional lines at Donald Trump’s request in one of the biggest states to give Republicans a greater advantage in the 2026 midterms.
“I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats,” said Sen. Cornyn.
House Democrats left the state on Sunday to break quorum and prevent a vote on maps that would give Republicans an additional five seats.
Since exiting Texas, they’ve been largely camped out in blue states like Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.
Cornyn thanked Trump and the FBI director for “swiftly acting” on his request.
The FBI declined to comment. Abbott said the bureau was “tracking” them down.
The GOP senator sent a letter to Patel on Tuesday requesting the FBI’s assistance after Governor Greg Abbott threatened to hunt down Democrats who fled.
Cornyn requested the bureau take “any appropriate steps to aid” the Texas law enforcement effort.
After Democrats left the state, Abbott demanded they return by the time the House reconvened on Monday or face being arrested and removed from office.
But Texas Democrats stood their ground and called his threats hollow. Lawmakers argued the governor did not have the authority to track them down out of state. They also said they were not violating any Texas laws.
When they failed to return to the state by his deadline on Monday, Abbott ordered the state Department of Public Safety to locate and arrest House Democrats and bring them back to the Texas Capitol.
He also took it one step further by ordering the Texas Rangers to investigate the Democrats for potential bribery and other charges as he accused them of soliciting money as they face hefty daily fines for breaking quorum in their attempt to stall GOP redistricting effort.
On Tuesday, Abbott also filed a lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court trying to get the Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu removed from office.
It is not the first time Texas House Democrats have fled the state in an effort to block a vote. They broke quorum in 2021 as Republicans moved to pass new vote-by-mail restrictions.
They also left the state in 2003 during another mid-decade fight over redistricting. Both those attempts were largely unsuccessful.
When asked about whether the FBI would get involved with returning Texas Democrats to the state, Trump said early this week the bureau “may have to.”
The Democratic Party on Thursday blasted the FBI getting involved as a waste of federal resources as Texas Democrats have made it no secret where they are.
“Faced with an inevitable election loss, John Cornyn is desperately swinging for the fences, asking Kash Patel to take a break from covering up for Donald Trump to instead pull this political stunt,” said DNC chair Ken Martin. “They both know damn well that legally, there’s nothing they can do.”
