HOUSTON – U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, got approval for the FBI to help Texas law enforcement locate state legislators who have fled the state to prevent a quorum and stall the legislative process. Cornyn’s request, outlined in a letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel, suggests the lawmakers may have committed potential criminal acts, including bribery.
Cornyn Gets Approval from FBI Director
What they’re saying:
“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. “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 Calls for FBI Help in Quorum Dispute
Can Texas Democrats face legal ramifications?
Governor Abbott has ordered the arrests of dozens of Texas Democrats who left the state in an effort to block the vote in the Texas House on redrawing congressional districts. Senior Legal Analyst Chris Tritico looks at the legal ramifications for those lawmakers who left the state.
Big picture view:
In his letter, dated August 5, 2025, Cornyn stated that many members of the Texas House of Representatives “absconded from the state” on August 3, 2025. Their goal, he said, was to “prevent the legislature from properly meeting, in violation of their oath of office.”
Cornyn highlighted the need for federal assistance because the lawmakers have crossed state lines, with some reportedly traveling to New York and Illinois. The senator raised concerns that legislators “who solicited or accepted funds to aid in their efforts to avoid their legislative duties may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses.”
UNITED STATES – JULY 15: Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, leaves the Senate Republicans’ lunch in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The letter emphasized that federal resources are necessary to “locate the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law.” Cornyn pointed out that the FBI has tools to assist state law enforcement when individuals flee across state lines to avoid testifying or to escape a crime scene.
The senator concluded by urging the FBI to “work with Texas public officials to provide them the support they need,” noting that Gov. Greg Abbott and state law enforcement are doing what they can within legal confines. The Texas Legislature is currently in a special session, and the absence of a quorum is preventing key votes on important issues, such as a recent flood in Kerrville.
AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 5: Many seats remain empty during the session in the House Chamber at the Capitol in Austin, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. A quorum was not present after most Democrat state representatives left Texas to break quorum and block a vote
Arrest warrants and efforts to remove Democratic members of the Texas House.
Tuesday night, Gov. Greg Abbott filed a lawsuit asking the Texas Supreme Court to remove Texas Democrat Caucus Chair Gene Wu from office.
Abbott filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court of Texas for Wu’s removal, citing his Sunday promise to attempt to do so for Democrats who left the state to prevent redistricting efforts.
Abbott said Sunday that if the Democrat lawmakers were not back in office by the time the House reconvened Monday at 3 p.m., efforts to remove them would begin. Wu’s removal is the first official attempt to be made.
The lawsuit claims that Wu’s actions as the state House’s party leader, along with other Democrats who broke quorum, are an abandonment of their office. According to the governor, this justifies their permanent removal from their positions.
In a statement, Wu said denying a quorum in the House was not an abandonment of office, but an upholding of his oath to the office, which he said did not belong to him or Abbott and instead belonged to the voters in his district.
“To Governor Abbott: You have failed the people of Texas, and you are using the courts to punish those who refused to fail with you,” Wu said. “My purpose has been clear from the start: to serve my constituents and fight for what’s right, no matter the cost. You will find that my commitment to the people of Texas is unbreakable.”
Threats to arrest Texas Democrats
The backstory:
Texas Republican leaders have threatened to have the quorum breakers arrested, even requesting aid from agencies outside the state in the effort.
Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to begin the effort starting Monday, saying the Democrats were “holding hostage critical legislation.”
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, seeing the difficulty in Texas DPS carrying out arrests outside the state, called on the FBI Tuesday to assist in the effort with a letter to Director Kash Patel. Cornyn expressed concern that the lawmakers had committed crimes in their “rush to avoid their constitutional responsibilities,” saying they need to be fully investigated.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows urged the “no shows” to return and said he would sign arrest warrants for those who do not. According to the Texas Tribune, these warrants would be largely symbolic as they would only apply within state lines.
AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 06: A newly proposed U.S. Congressional District map is seen as the Senate Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting meets to hear invited testimony on Congressional plan C2308 at the Texas State Capitol on August 6, 202
Texas redistricting effort
Dig deeper:
The newly proposed map increases the number of congressional districts that would have voted for Trump by at least 10 percentage points by five.
Republicans currently control 25 of the state’s 38 Congressional districts.
The new map makes some big changes in North Texas. It moves Democrat Rep. Marc Veasey’s district from Tarrant to Dallas County, Democrat Rep. Julie Johnson’s district moves from Dallas and Collin County to more conservative sections of East Texas, and Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Dallas seat becomes one of just two majority Black districts in the entire state.
The Democrats claim the redrawn maps will violate the federal Voting Rights Act, but that may be difficult for them to prove.
In Central Texas, Democrats Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett would find their districts vastly different from the current map.
The district currently held by Casar would no longer include Travis County, while the district held by Doggett would no longer include a portion of Williamson County.
In Houston, the new map reshapes four currently Democrat-held districts. The biggest change to the districts would be in the seat currently held by Rep. Al Green. The new map would shift the district from covering southern Harris County and instead move it to the eastern part of the county.
The Source: Information in this article is from Senator John Cornyn and previous news coverage.
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