Cornyn says FBI will help locate absent Texas Democrats, but scope of feds’ role unclear

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced that the FBI has granted his request to investigate and locate the Texas Democratic lawmakers who left the state in an attempt to stop the passage of new GOP-favored congressional maps.

A spokesperson for Cornyn declined to provide additional details about the FBI’s involvement, and the bureau declined to comment.

Cornyn, a Republican who is facing a tough primary challenge, previously sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel asking for the agency’s help in tracking down the House Democrats, who decamped to Illinois and are known to be staying at a hotel in the Chicago suburbs. Cornyn also asked Patel to investigate the legislators for alleged bribery by accepting funds to cover costs associated with their trip.

In response to the letter, Cornyn said on a local radio show that Patel “had assigned agents in both the San Antonio and Austin office,” but he did not specify what role those agents would play.

“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,” Cornyn said in a statement Thursday.

After The Texas Tribune reported that former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s political organization, Powered by People, has been a lead funder of the effort, Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into the organization, mirroring a similar probe announced by Gov. Greg Abbott. Paxton is vying to unseat Cornyn in next year’s Senate primary and has been leading the incumbent in the polls.

The Texas House issued arrest warrants for the dozens of lawmakers who fled the state to deprive the Legislature of the attendance, or quorum, it needs to function. Abbott subsequently mobilized the Texas Department of Public Safety to aid the arrest effort.

While Democrats remain outside state lines — with some also traveling to New York and Massachusetts — Texas state police have no jurisdiction to retrieve them.

The FBI’s involvement, with its federal law enforcement powers, raises the prospect for the first time of agents getting involved to apprehend the Democrats. The Texas House Democratic Caucus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump previously floated the possibility of FBI involvement, saying Tuesday the agency “may have to” get involved.

The largest contingent of Democrats is seeking refuge in Illinois, but the state’s governor, JB Pritzker, said on a podcast Wednesday that the FBI would be “unwelcome” in any operation seeking to apprehend the lawmakers. He previously vowed to “do everything we can to protect every single one of them.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries brushed off the threat, accusing the Trump administration of continuing to “weaponize law enforcement to target political adversaries.”

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