Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is calling on FBI personnel to not take part in efforts to track down Texas Democrats who fled the state to block the state GOP’s mid-decade redistricting.
“The FBI is not a national secret police force operating at the beck and call of President Trump,” Raskin said in a statement to The Hill. “It has no legal authority to track down state legislators who are breaking no federal laws just for standing up to a Republican scheme to purge Democrats from Congress and rig our elections.”
“FBI personnel should refuse to participate in this act of political harassment and persecution,” the lawmaker added.
The Maryland Democrat’s stance was first reported by HuffPost. Raskin is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, which conducts oversight of the FBI.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) claimed Thursday that FBI Director Kash Patel approved his request to assist with efforts to force those who fled Texas to return. Democrats say the bureau lacks the authority to do so, and it’s not clear whether the agency has actually followed through on Cornyn’s claim.
The political fight stems from a group of Texas Democrats who decamped to Illinois, California and other locations to prevent the Texas House from moving forward on a new Congressional map widely seen as an effort to gerrymander the GOP into keeping a House majority in next year’s midterm elections.
Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) have supported the FBI’s proposed involvement. The president earlier this week said Republicans are “entitled” to pick up at least five House seats in the Lone Star State.
In response, Texas Republicans took the largely symbolic step of issuing civil arrest warrants that are only enforceable within state lines. Despite the threats, Democrats have vowed to keep fighting.
Midterm elections typically swing against the party in power in Washington. In response to the GOP’s redistricting effort, which has also eyed Florida and Indiana, blue states including California and New York have also looked at redrawing their maps.
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