Cornyn Says FBI Will Help Arrest AWOL Texas Democrats
The battle over absent Texas Democrats escalated this week after Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) announced that FBI Director Kash Patel had agreed to assist in locating and detaining the lawmakers who fled the state to block legislative business.
More than 50 Democrats left Texas on Sunday—many traveling to Chicago—in an attempt to break quorum and halt a special session focused on redistricting. Their departure effectively froze the legislature and shielded them from potential arrest by Texas law enforcement.
Cornyn said he personally urged Patel to intervene at the federal level. “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,” Cornyn declared. “We cannot allow these rogue legislators to abandon their constitutional responsibilities. I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting swift action to hold them accountable.”
At the White House, President Trump backed Cornyn’s request, telling reporters the FBI may indeed need to get involved. “They want them back. The Governor of Texas is demanding they come back. A lot of people are demanding they come back. You can’t just sit it out. You have to go back and fight it. That’s what elections are about,” Trump said.
But not all Republicans agreed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn in a primary next year, dismissed the plan, calling the issue purely a state matter. “I don’t know what the FBI would have to do with this—nothing,” Paxton said on a podcast.
Cornyn pushed back, arguing that federal involvement was justified if lawmakers accepted funds to aid their exodus. “The FBI has tools to help state law enforcement when parties cross state lines, including when avoiding testimony or fleeing the scene of a crime. Legislators who solicited or accepted money to avoid their duties may be guilty of bribery or corruption,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) signed civil arrest warrants for the absent members. By Tuesday, only eight Democrats had returned, and Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the rest back to Austin by Monday or face arrest and possible removal from office. Abbott also instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety to detain them upon reentry and tasked the Texas Rangers with investigating potential bribery charges. Additionally, he filed an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court seeking the removal of House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu (D-Houston).
In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker flatly rejected Cornyn’s plan, saying FBI agents would be “unwelcome” in his state if they attempted to apprehend the lawmakers. “There’s literally no federal law applicable to this situation—none,” Pritzker said in an interview with News Not Noise. “Our law enforcement protects everyone in Illinois, including Texas legislators who are here. If you haven’t broken federal law, you cannot be arrested here. This is political grandstanding, plain and simple.”
The standoff has now expanded beyond Texas, raising questions of federal authority, state sovereignty, and political overreach as both parties brace for the next stage of the showdown.