More than 50 Texas House Democratic lawmakers left the state ahead of a scheduled 3 p.m. vote in the Texas House Monday.
AUSTIN, Texas — Sen. John Cornyn is asking the FBI to help find Texas House Democratic lawmakers who left the state and officially denied quorum in the Texas House of Representatives to delay a vote on Republicans’ efforts to approve new congressional maps.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also said in a statement that he plans to seek judicial orders declaring the absent lawmakers’ seats vacant if they don’t return to Texas by Friday.
More than 50 Texas House Democratic lawmakers left the state ahead of a scheduled 3 p.m. vote in the Texas House Monday. The Texas House Democratic Caucus previously said some members went to Illinois while others went to New York and Massachusetts.
Cornyn, who’s running for re-election and seeking to fend off a challenge from Paxton, in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, asked for federal resources to help state law enforcement find the absent lawmakers.
“Since these state legislators are currently outside of Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety may need support to arrest the fleeing lawmakers. Out-of-state actors have made public comments about protecting the Texas legislators who are currently hiding out of state from any accountability for their actions. I request the FBI’s assistance, as federal resources are necessary to locate the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law,” Cornyn wrote in the letter. “The FBI has tools to aid state law enforcement when parties cross state lines, including to avoid testifying or fleeing a scene of a crime. Specifically, I am concerned 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.”
After the Texas House reconvened again Tuesday with 94 members present and, for the second time this week, no quorum, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said the Texas Department of Public Safety is working to compel the absent lawmakers’ attendance.
“It is evident to the chair that DPS will need some time to work, and we will try again to make quorum on Friday,” Burrows said. “If quorum is then made, we will proceed with the very important business of this state.”
The House will convene again in a pro forma session at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
After the Texas House reconvened, Paxton said in a statement that he intends to seek judicial orders declaring the absent lawmakers’ seats vacant if the lawmakers don’t return to the state capitol by Friday.
The Texas House first reconvened at 3 p.m.. Monday for a roll call for the first time since the Democrats left the state. After the roll call, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced a quorum wasn’t present.
“To be absolutely clear, leaving the state does not stop this House from doing its work. It only delays it,” Burrows said.
State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, moved Monday to put a call on a House to compel the absent lawmakers back to the Texas Capitol using civil warrants if necessary, which was approved in a 85-6 vote. Burrows said he would sign civil arrest warrants. The warrants are only enforceable within state lines, though. A similar process happened after Democrats left the state in 2021 in an unsuccessful effort to prevent the Republican-controlled legislature from changing Texas’s election laws.
Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu, D-Houston, said in a statement Sunday that the lawmakers’ decision to leave the state “is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity.”
“Governor Abbott has turned the victims of a historic tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump. He is using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal. Apathy is complicity, and we will not be complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal,” Wu continued in the statement.
Gov. Greg Abbott Monday also ordered the arrest of the Democratic lawmakers who left the state.
“Speaker Dustin Burrows just issued a call of the Texas House and issued warrants to compel members to return to the chamber. To ensure compliance, I ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans. This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol,” Abbott said.