By Steve Neavling
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the FBI might need to intervene to bring back Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to block Republicans from pushing through a new congressional map.
“Well, they may have to. They may have to,” Trump said when asked if the FBI should get involved, The Hill reports. “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.”
Trump’s remarks followed a letter from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to FBI Director Kash Patel earlier Tuesday, urging the agency to take “any appropriate steps” to locate or arrest the lawmakers.
Roughly 50 Democratic legislators left Texas, denying the House a quorum and blocking business during a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott. On Monday, Abbott ordered their arrests, claiming 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 criticized the lawmakers for traveling to Illinois and New York, saying it “looks very bad.”
“I think they’ve abandoned the state, nobody’s seen anything like it. Even though they’ve done it twice before,” he said. “And, in a certain way, it almost looks like they’ve abandoned the state.”
Texas Democrats have previously fled the state to block Republican redistricting plans in 2003 and again in 2021 to stop a voting bill.
Trump, who has pushed for more GOP-friendly congressional maps, said Tuesday that Republicans are “entitled” to pick up five additional House seats in Texas. The dispute prompted Abbott to call a 30-day special session and a quorum break.
