FBI will help find Texas Democrats in gerrymandering fight

The FBI has agreed to track down runaway Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a partisan redrawing of the congressional map.

If the runaway lawmakers don’t show up at the Texas State Capitol by Friday, Republicans will ask the state court to remove them from office.

The lawmakers fled to Illinois, Massachusetts and New York to thwart the GOP’s plan to pass a newly drawn congressional map that favors the Republican Party.

On Monday, the GOP-led Texas House voted to issue civil arrest warrants for Democrats who did not show up for legislative business. Their absence deprived the chamber of a quorum, preventing Republicans from advancing the redistricting bill.

Sen. John Cornyn asked the FBI  to join in the search for the Democrats.

“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,” Mr. Cornyn, a Republican, said Thursday.  “We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities.”

Democrats said they plan to remain on the run until the state’s special legislative session expires in about two weeks. By not showing up at the statehouse, the lawmakers at least temporarily prevent Republicans from passing a new congressional map that will take away five districts currently represented by Democrats.

Texas Republicans are changing the lines to help increase the likelihood that the GOP can maintain control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm election. The party currently holds a three-seat advantage.

The civil arrest warrants Republicans approved on Monday can only be enforced within Texas.

Mr. Cornyn’s request, agreed to by the FBI, puts federal law enforcement on the case, although the agents are not tasked with making arrests and will only provide assistance in locating the lawmakers.

The Democrats each face $500 daily fines for not showing up to work.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton are threatening to remove the Democrats from office by having state courts declare their seats vacant.

Mr. Paxton set a Friday deadline for Democratic state lawmakers to return to work in the legislature or else face removal from elected office.

Mr. Paxton, a Republican, said he’ll ask a court to declare vacant the seats of every House Democrat who fled the state.

The unprecedented move would likely require individual lawsuits to remove each lawmaker in what would be a lengthy and complicated process.

If successful, Mr. Abbott would call a special election to fill the vacancies.

Mr. Paxton also launched an investigation Thursday into the Texas Majority PAC, funded in part by liberal billionaire George Soros. Mr. Paxton said the PAC faces scrutiny for bankrolling the out-of-state exodus of the Texas Democrats. Republicans say funding the operation in exchange for Democratic opposition to the redistricting measure amounted to bribery.

Democrats said they do not plan to return to Texas despite the threats. They argue that the gerrymandering will deprive Black and Hispanic voters of adequate representation in Congress.

But Democrats have used partisan gerrymandering tactics to pick up seats in Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland and other states. Additional blue states, among them New York and Wisconsin, are making plans to redraw lines to further squeeze out the GOP in the coming years.

Mr. Abbott said Thursday that if Democrats are apprehended, they’ll be taken to the Texas Capitol and “those who received benefits for skipping a vote face removal from office and potential bribery charges.”