Cornyn Says FBI Joins Manhunt for Dems
Who Have State Police Protection in Illinois
Capitol Inside
August 7, 2025
U.S. Senator John Cornyn revealed on Thursday that the FBI Director Kash Patel had granted his request to have federal agents join the Texas state police on a safari aimed at nabbing Democratic lawmakers who've blocked a vote on a congressional map for four days after leaving the state to prevent a quorum.
The senior U.S. senator from Texas sought to give the impression in an appearance on the Mark Davis radio show that he's on a first-name basis with the nation's top law enforcement office. Cornyn said he'd asked Patel to "get to the bottom of it" in a reference to a walkout that Democrats from the state House here have used as a roadblock on a map that's designed to give Republicans five more seats in Congress.
"I asked Kash to look into it and he responded promptly," Cornyn said. "I'm grateful to him."
Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the leading challenger in the incumbent's re-election race in 2026,have scrambled furiously to try to cash in on the disappearing act that 54 House Democrats used to prevent a vote on a U.S. House plan that's drawn to give the GOP five more seats from the Lone Star State.
Cornyn solicited help from the FBI after Paxton threatened to try to have the Texas Supreme Court declare the missing legislator's House seats vacant if they fail to return to the chamber floor by a Friday deadline that GOP Speaker Dustin Burrows set for them. After diving into the fray, Cornyn portrayed himself as President Donald Trump's "point man in the Senate" on Wednesday in a social media post that prompted an insulting response from the state attorney general. "Is this a satire account," Paxton inquired in a post on X several hours later.
Cornyn appears to need all the help he can get in light of polls that show Paxton as a significant favorite in the GOP primary election in the fight at the top of the Texas ticket. But Cornyn's plea for FBI assistance ran the risk of upstaging Governor Greg Abbott, who promised in a Fox News interview that the Texas Department of Public Safety would track down Democrats who've been AWOL and haul them back to the House to clear the way for the Republicans to pass their map.
"Derelict House Democrats abandoned their duty and Texans when they fled the state," Abbott contended in a post on Wednesday on X. "Make no mistake: they will be found and brought back by Texas DPS."
Abbott showed he had no problem with Cornyn treading on his turf with a tweet on Thursday that welcomed the addition of G-men to the posse for redistricting. But Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said on Wednesday night that the FBI does not have the authority to chase Texas Democrats in the Prairie State. Pritzker said the House Democrats from Texas have official protection from the state police and that the FBI was not welcome to pursue them there.
"Right now, many Texas Democrats are in Illinois," Pritzker acknowledged on X. "They are fighting to protect voters and ensure that every Texan maintains the right to have their voice heard equally. I’m with them in the fight, and I hope you are too. Our democracy, our country, and our future depend on it.
"The Voting Rights Act was the culmination of a generational fight. It enshrined into law a message that every citizen, regardless of their race or zip code, deserves an equal voice in our democracy," Pritzker added. "It was intended to guarantee a free and fair democracy for us all. But 60 years later, we are still fighting for it, and that battle has only gotten harder with Donald Trump in office."
more to come ...
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