President Trump on Tuesday said the FBI may have to get involved to bring back the Texas Democrats who left the state to stop Republicans from advancing their new congressional map.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) sent a letter earlier Tuesday to FBI Director Kash Patel, urging his agency to intervene and take “any appropriate steps” to help law enforcement find or arrest the lawmakers who left the state.
“Well, they may have to. They may have to,” Trump said when asked whether the FBI should get involved.
He added, “No, I know they want them back, not only the attorney general, the governor wants them back. If you look, I mean, the governor of Texas is demanding they come back. So, a lot of people are demanding they come back.”
The Democrats’ move to flee has denied the state House a quorum and prevented it from being able to conduct business in the special legislative session that Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called. Abbott ordered their arrests Monday after the state House was unable to conduct business, arguing they violated their oath of office.
“You can’t just sit it out, you have to go back. You have to fight it out. That’s what elections are all about,” Trump said.
He also said it’s a bad look that the Texas Democrats left for other states like Illinois and New York.
“Well, I think they’ve abandoned the state, nobody’s seen anything like it. Even though they’ve done it twice before,” Trump said. “And, in a certain way, it almost looks like they’ve abandoned the state, it looks very bad.”
Trump was referencing the fact that this isn’t the first time Texas Democrats have turned to this strategy. They fled the state in 2003 to stop a redistricting plan and in 2021 to stop a voting bill.
Trump earlier on Tuesday said Republicans are “entitled” to pick up five additional House seats in Texas.
The president had put pressure on Texas to redraw lines and boost GOP numbers, leading to Abbott calling a quorum break in the middle of a 30-day special session.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
