Posted on 08/07/2025 8:33:54 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Texas’s senior senator up for reelection in 2026, announced on Thursday that FBI Director Kash Patel agreed to his request for federal agents to help Texas law enforcement track down and return runaway Democratic lawmakers.
Cornyn wrote a letter on Tuesday urging Patel to help return some 50 state lawmakers who fled the state to try and delay a state House vote on a new congressional map. Democrats are trying to delay the vote by not allowing the GOP-controlled body to have a quorum — a minimum number of members present in order to conduct official business.
Cornyn’s request came a day after the Texas House of Representatives voted to compel the lawmakers to return to the body in order to vote on the highly controversial redistricting effort to try and net the national Republican Party 5 more seats in Congress. Cornyn’s letter accused the absent Democrats of possible criminal acts, without citing any evidence, saying “they may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses.”
The state House officially empowered Texas state troopers and the House’s sergeant-at-arms to track down the members and arrest them, but they would not face any kind of charges under the order. The Texas arrest warrants are also only valid inside Texas’s border – making them purely symbolic and the FBI’s role in enforcing them unclear.
“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,” Cornyn said in a statement. “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.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) hit back at the idea of federal agents coming into his state to detain the Democratic lawmakers who fled there. Pritzker told Jessica Yellin on her News Not Noise podcast on Wednesday, saying, “The fact is that you know our local law enforcement protect everybody in Illinois. Our state troopers protect everybody in Illinois and anybody who’s here in Illinois.” He added that “if you haven’t broken federal law” and are in his state, “there’s no way” you can be arrested by the FBI.
INBOX: Sen. @JohnCornyn says the FBI has granted his request for federal authorities to assist Texas law enforcement in locating Texas House Democrats who fled the state over the Republican redistricting plan. pic.twitter.com/Fv32rKXkBj
— Reena Jade Diamante (@reenajade) August 7, 2025
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Beyond that, it's not like the legislators are in hiding.
I think Cornyn's announcement is just to prop up his chances against Paxton.
It’s a federal matter because a state asked for their assistance as they can’t go out of state to arrest them.
Your argument is much like states saying illegal immigration is a Federal issue so the state can’t help them one bit.
How many times do the Democrats have to keep pulling these same tactic before they change the law? If you flee the state in order to avoid your responsibilities as a government representative then your vote is not needed for a quorum
They crossed state lines in the possible commission of a crime, that allows the state to ask the fad to get involved.
Actually, not unusual to ask, just depends on if the feds decide to assist.
FBI aren’t going to aid in any significant way, except possible to help track their location. They aren’t going to arrest anyone because there are no criminal charges nor even a criminal investigation. Besides, if they were fugitives, it would be US marshalls that would be arresting them.
The optics of arresting them would play into the lefts whole “fascism police state” narrative and you KNOW the democrats will have media cameras around them ready to record it all.
John Cornyn has proved himself to not be trusted. Of late, he’s trying to get as much free face time as possible because he knows the people are done with him and his support and membership of the DC deep state.
“Trump’s FBI”???
This is about shining the light of truth on all the dumprats, not just the Texas clowns.
Who remembers Rush’s newsletter issue with the flash light of truth shining on all the democrat rats?
And bringing them back how effective with that be? Are they expected to vote to approve the redistricting?
“It’s a federal matter because a state asked for their assistance as they can’t go out of state to arrest them.”
Your reasoning is flawed. States can ask whatever they want but unlike immigration violations, there is no federal offense at stake.
Interesting headline. Whether it is intentional or not it may incite some cartoonists to depict something ridiculous like this. Of course many if not most of those slaveholders were democrats. :-)
Great. That’s a matter for Texas, not the feds.
This is literally one of the primary functions of the FedGov. When lawbreakers leave the state’s jurisdiction, it’s time for the Feds to step in to preserve order and the law.
You completely missed my analogy. The federal gov’t wants states to help them even though illegal immigration is a federal issue not a state issue.
So by your logic, no state should help the feds with illegal immigration.
“They crossed state lines in the possible commission of a crime...”
You’re winging it. There’d be no extradition cases if every interstate movement triggered federal jurisdiction.
I understand your analogy, but interstate squabbles are not a federal issue without a federal statute governing the dispute. There is none here.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
Any small government constitutionalist would tell you that states cannot summon the feds to settle their internal disputes.
If I were to fail to pay my New York income tax or to honor a summons to appear before a Mississippi commission to investigate insurance fraud, do you think that the feds would seize me in my Mackinac Island summer home and drag me to justice?
No, I literally asked my lawyer daughter and you failed reading comprehension. I wrote that it can be requested. I never wrote it, triggers it. The feds don’t have to do anything, or they can choose to.
Democrats are big on decorum, respect and integrity...until they’re not.
“Requesting” is hollow if there are no federal grounds. And there aren’t.
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