Several Republicans are opening the door to getting the FBI involved in forcing Texas Democrats to return to the state amid a protest over a congressional map the GOP wants to pass, which would potentially net them five additional seats in the 2026 midterms.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel this week, urging the agency to help Republicans bring back Democrats to the Lone Star State. President Trump left open the possibility on Tuesday, saying “they may have to.”
The statements from Trump and Cornyn mark a remarkable escalation in an already heated redistricting battle that started in Texas and has since fanned out across the country. But the comments invoking the FBI’s assistance are raising questions around whether that’s even possible.
Here are five things to know about possible FBI involvement in the Texas redistricting battle:
Why are Republicans calling for FBI involvement?
Some Republicans are calling for the FBI’s involvement after Texas Democrats left the state beginning on Sunday to block Republicans from passing a new map that would offer the Texas GOP five additional pickup opportunities in the House.
Democrats broke quorum, meaning the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct legislative business, in an effort to stall passage of the maps in the state’s lower chamber. They left for states including New York and Illinois, which Republicans point out were also gerrymandered by Democrats.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) have called for the lawmakers who fled to be arrested, and Abbott has already started the process of trying to remove at least one Democrat from office.
But Democrats can technically stay out of the state as long as they want, which is why some Republicans have floated the use of federal law enforcement to compel them to return to Texas.
What has the FBI said so far?
So far, the FBI is staying mum on the issue.
The FBI declined to comment when contacted by The Hill regarding the push to get them involved in bringing back Democrats to Texas. Attorney General Pam Bondi has also not said anything publicly about the issue.
One looming question is how much pressure Trump will put on the Justice Department and FBI to act as the standoff continues.
Does the FBI have the power to bring Democrats back to Texas?
Some experts who spoke to The Hill appeared skeptical that the FBI could intervene in the matter, noting that the agency is concerned with violations of federal law while the Texas standoff is primarily an issue concerning individual states.
“I don’t see why the FBI would be involved in this at all. I mean this is Texas politics and the FBI has no business trying to enforce Texas state law,” said Richard Painter, who served as associate counsel to the president in the White House counsel’s office during former President George W. Bush’s second term.
“The only federal law that I think is being violated in Texas and in Illinois and several other states is voting rights,” said Painter, who’s now a law professor at the University of Minnesota. “I think gerrymandering violates voting rights, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s not willing to do anything about it.”
Painter’s comments allude to a Supreme Court ruling in 2019 that determined gerrymandering is a political matter, not a legal one, and thus doesn’t fall under the purview of federal courts.
He said that if he were detained by the FBI in that situation and they said he needed to return to the Lone Star State, “I’d be filing for a writ of habeas corpus tomorrow, and I think I’d win.”
Another expert poured cold water on the idea as well.
“There’s no offense against the United States. There is no reasonable basis that arresting Texas legislators will prevent the commission of a federal crime,” wrote Anthony Michael Kreis, an associate professor at Georgia State University College of Law, in a post on the social platform X, linking to an article by The New York Times regarding Cornyn’s call to get the FBI involved.
“This is simply @JohnCornyn asking for the unconstitutional, lawless, and arbitrary federal power,” he added.
Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor and professor at the University of Michigan Law School, said she wasn’t sure when asked about whether the FBI can compel Democrats to return to the state and if Trump can require officials to do so.
“Seems like an inappropriate use of federal law enforcement powers to address a political issue, and I don’t see what the federal offense would be,” she told The Hill in an email.
How are Democrats responding?
Democrats have heavily criticized Republicans’ efforts to push the FBI to get involved in detaining Texas lawmakers.
“Impeached Ken Paxton and twice impeached Donald Trump are threatening to send the FBI after Texas House Democrats. It’s an illegal, authoritarian move that will not stand,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), one of the original lawmakers who fled the state in 2003 to foil Texas Republicans during their attempt at mid-decade redistricting, posted on social media.
Speaking to late-night host Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said “they’ve not broken any federal law” when asked about whether the FBI could get involved. “And frankly, in the state of Illinois, we’re not going to let them get taken away. We’re going to protect those Texas House Democrats.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) wrote on X that doing so would be “indefensible.”
What other means is the GOP using to pressure Democrats?
Republicans aren’t facing many good options in terms of forcing Democrats to come back to the state. Abbott on Wednesday filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Democratic Leader Gene Wu from his seat in the Texas state House. And Paxton has also called for the ouster of the Democrats who fled. But so far the GOP’s options appear limited.
There’s no question that Democrats will come back eventually — they will have to at some point after being away from their families and constituents for so long, and they also must address other hot-button issues in the state like flood relief.
The real question is how long Democrats will stay away, which will be determined by lawmakers’ stamina and resources.
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