Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said Thursday that FBI director Kash Patel granted his application for the federal government to help locate the Democrats from the Texas House of Representatives who fled the State in protest of the redistribution efforts of Republican districts.
On Tuesday, Cornyn’s letter was sent requesting federal help to locate and investigate state legislators.
“I thank President Trump and director Patel for supporting and acting quickly in my call for the federal government to hold these alleged legislators for fleeing Texas. We cannot allow these dishonest legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities,” Cornyn said in a press release.
The FBI declined to comment on the matter.
Cornyn also joined the radio program “The Mark Davis” on Thursday morning and expressed his gratitude for Patel’s prompt response.
“Just to get to the bottom, I asked Kash to investigate him and he responded quickly, I am grateful to him,” said the senator.
Senator John Cornyn leaves a lunch of the Senate at the United States Capitol, June 3, 2025.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll called Getty Images
The minority leader of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat, criticized Cornyn and the FBI after Cornyn said the office granted his request.
“Shouldn’t the FBI be tracking terrorists, drug traffickers and predators of children? The Trump administration continues to put together the police to attack political adversaries. These extremists do not care about a curse for public safety. We will not be intimidated,” Jeffries wrote in X.
Cornyn described the “irresponsible” Democrats to break the quorum, and make the legislature unable to assume any legislation, including some respond to the floods that recently devastated the region.
“There are a number of things in the call that Governor Abbott has listed, including the redistribution of districts, but all those are being lost. And I think that is irresponsible, and I think we just need to get to the bottom,” said Cornyn. “They came to return home at some point … they will not succeed. They will not be able to escape their responsibility. It is a trick.”
The Texas House of Representatives failed on Tuesday to advance in the promulgation of the new Map of the Republican Party Congress, which could generate the Republicans between three and five seats in the middle of the period of the period next year. These additional seats could be the difference that has control of the United States Chamber, a camera where Republicans have a small majority.
The representative of the president of the House of Representatives, Dustin Burrows, Republican, said the legislature would try again on Friday to establish a quorum.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, ordered the Texas Public Security Department to find and arrest those Democrats, an order that Abbott said it will remain in force until they are “counted and brought back” to Austin.
President Donald Trump earlier this week told the correspondent of the Chief of the White House of ABC News, Mary Bruce, the FBI “may have to get involved.”
“You can’t simply sit. You have to come back. You have to fight. That’s the elections,” said the president at that time.
