Senator John Cornyn of Texas asked the F.B.I. on Tuesday to help locate and arrest dozens of Democratic state lawmakers who left Texas to block the State Legislature from voting on a Republican plan that could help the party keep control of Congress after the 2026 elections.
The potential use of federal agents to round up the Texas lawmakers, who have sought refuge in New York, Illinois and Massachusetts, would be a significant step, and could set up a clash between the governors of those Democratic states and the Trump administration.
The lawmakers left Texas on Sunday as the state House of Representatives was racing to adopt a redrawn congressional district map, which had been demanded by President Trump.
The proposed map would remake five districts now represented by Democrats to give Republican candidates a significant advantage. “We are entitled to five more seats,” Mr. Trump said in an CNBC interview on Tuesday, giving the justification that he had won the state decisively in last year’s presidential election.
In a letter to the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, Mr. Cornyn, a Republican, said that “federal resources are necessary to locate the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law.”
The agency declined to comment on whether its agents would get involved.
The senator cited an accusation by Gov. Greg Abbott that the absent Democrats and people who support them may be violating bribery laws over the funding of the walkout. Mr. Abbott directed the Texas Rangers to investigate.
Fifty-six Democratic lawmakers did not show up for a meeting of the Texas House on Monday, denying the 150-member body the 100-person quorum needed to take action on redistricting or any other matters.
In response, the speaker of the Texas House issued civil warrants on Monday for the arrest of the absent Democrats, hoping to compel their return. Mr. Abbott then directed the state police to assist the Texas House in executing those civil warrants.
Representative Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat and the party’s leader in the State House, said Mr. Cornyn was “threatening to misuse the F.B.I. in a pathetic attempt to prove his extremist credentials” to his party’s voters.
“Good luck with that,” he added.
Mr. Cornyn is engaged in a tough fight for re-election next year with Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, who has challenged him in the Senate Republican primary. Both Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Paxton, a hard-line conservative popular with the Republican base, are seeking Mr. Trump’s support.
Texas Democrats have fled the state before in protest over legislative action they opposed, crossing state lines to avoid the jurisdiction of the state police. The federal government did not get involved in those instances, notably in 2003 and 2021.
The accusation by Mr. Abbott of criminal activity this time appeared aimed at increasing the stakes for the Democratic state lawmakers, who, under the rules of the State House, are each already facing fines of $500 for every day that they are not present.
The State House was set to meet again on Tuesday afternoon. But without the necessary number of lawmakers present to conduct business, no votes on the maps would take place.
It was not clear whether the F.B.I. would get involved. A spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The F.B.I. has tools to aid state law enforcement when parties cross state lines, including to avoid testifying or fleeing a scene of a crime,” Mr. Cornyn wrote.
Mr. Cornyn is locked in a tough re-election fight against the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, in next year’s Republican primary, with both vying for Mr. Trump’s endorsement. On Monday, Mr. Paxton conceded that it would be a “challenge” to arrest the absent Democrats who had fled the jurisdiction of Texas law enforcement.
Glenn Thrush contributed reporting.
J. David Goodman is the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma.
The post F.B.I. Is Asked to Arrest Texas Democrats in Battle Over House Seats appeared first on New York Times.
