The FBI has agreed to assist Texas state authorities in locating the Democratic lawmakers who left the state to block a controversial Republican-led redistricting vote, according to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. It remains unclear whether federal agents will take any enforcement action.
As of Thursday afternoon, the bureau had not commented on the arrangement.
In a statement Thursday, Cornyn said FBI Director Kash Patel approved his request to help with “locating runaway Texas House Democrats,” adding, “We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities.”
Democratic leaders swiftly denounced the announcement as an abuse of federal power. Former Rep. Colin Allred, now running for Senate in Texas, said the move was “about silencing dissent and weaponizing law enforcement.”
“This isn’t about ‘locating’ anyone — they’re not hiding,” Allred said on X. “Cornyn is deputizing the FBI and [Texas Attorney General Ken] Paxton is trying to expel lawmakers because they’re both too weak and corrupt to stand up to Washington. Enough is enough — Texans deserve better.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said the FBI “has no business — or legal authority — to track down Texas House Democrats.” He said the effort was intended to help President Donald Trump “steal five congressional seats,” describing it as “a threat to the rule of law and our democracy.” On Tuesday, Trump, who urged the Texas GOP to carry out a mid-decade redistricting effort, accused Democratic lawmakers of having “abandoned the state” and said that the FBI “may have to” get involved.
Many Texas Democrats fled to Illinois on Sunday in an attempt to deny the Texas House a quorum needed to pass the new map.
So far, no federal or criminal charges have been filed. The Texas House speaker has issued civil warrants, which are not enforceable beyond state lines, and the lawmakers face a $500 fine for each day they are absent.
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“Just because Senator Cornyn is worried about losing his seat doesn’t give him or Donald Trump the right to weaponize the FBI against elected officials,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill, wrote on X. “This is how constitutional crises begin — and I’m digging in on legislation to stop it.”
The political fight between Cornyn and Paxton, who are both running for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2026, may be driving much of the legal brinkmanship. Paxton has vowed to seek court rulings declaring some Democratic seats vacant, while Cornyn’s campaign has used Paxton’s public comments that prosecuting the lawmakers would be a “challenge” as akin to “surrender.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, meanwhile, called Cornyn’s announcement “a lot of grandstanding,” telling reporters at the Illinois State Fair, “There is no federal law that prohibits those Texas House Democrats from being here.”
The redistricting battle has increasingly spilled beyond Texas. Republican-led states like Missouri and Indiana are reportedly considering similar early redistricting pushes. Some Democratic officials have threatened to respond in kind in blue states.
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