Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott said that he is open to using “every tool” to go after the 50+ Democratic state representatives who fled the state to block a vote on a new GOP-backed congressional map.
In an interview with NBC News that aired on Friday morning, Abbott said that state officials are preparing to arrest the Democrats who ran off to Illinois earlier this week. The governor would not say if the FBI should get involved, but added, “All I can say is we’re going to use every tool that we can to make sure that these runaway Democrats are going to be held accountable.”
Abbott told NBC News that it doesn’t matter how long Texas Democrats shirk their responsibilities in the legislature, saying that he will push the congressional map through, even if it takes years. The new map would likely boost the GOP’s hold on the Texas delegation by five seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“Democrats act like they’re not going to come back as long as this is an issue. That means they’re not going to come back until like 2027 or 2028, because I’m going to call special session after special session after special session with the same agenda items on there,” he said.
Abbott defended the push for the new congressional map in his state, saying that “both the law and facts have changed since we drew the lines back in 2021.”
“A lot of people who voted Republican, who voted for Donald Trump, were trapped into Democrat districts,” the governor said. “And so when you look at the facts, when you look at the law, there is every reason to go ahead and draw the lines so that we can assure that every voter is going to have the opportunity to vote for their candidate of choice.”
The new map would give Republicans nearly 80% of the state’s congressional districts. The move from Texas Republicans has resulted in some Democratic leaders threatening to take seats away from Republicans through redistricting in other states. California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said earlier this week that his state would “punch back” if Texas approves its new congressional map.
Texas can’t approve the Republican-favored map, however, until enough Democrats show up to reach a quorum.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said on Thursday that the FBI agreed to assist Texas in tracking down the AWOL Democrats after he sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, The Daily Wire reported. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment when The Daily Wire reached out to the bureau.
President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the FBI “may have to” get involved in finding the Texas Democrats. Republicans pushing for the FBI to get involved sparked outrage among Democratic leaders in Washington.
“Shouldn’t the FBI be tracking down terrorists, drug traffickers and child predators? The Trump administration continues to weaponize law enforcement to target political adversaries,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said.
“This is authoritarianism. Plain and simple,” added Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “Texas Democrats are standing up for Democracy, and Republicans want to send in the federal government to round them up? That is not American.”
Texas Republicans are also going after a group bankrolling Texas Democrats as they block the vote. On Wednesday, Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Powered by People, a Left-wing political organization led by Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke. Paxton said the group might have violated laws on bribery, campaign finance, and abuse of office.