Top Texas Republican Urges Trump’s FBI to Capture Runaway Democrats: They ‘May be Guilty of Bribery’

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Texas’s senior senator up for reelection in 2026, wrote a letter on Tuesday urging FBI Director Kash Patel to aid in the tracking down and arrest of some 50 state lawmakers who fled the state to try and delay a state House vote on a new congressional map.

Cornyn’s request comes a day after the Texas House of Representatives voted to compel the lawmakers to return to the body in order to vote on the highly controversial redistricting effort to try and net the national Republican Party 5 more seats in Congress. The House officially empowered Texas state troopers and the House’s sergeant-at-arms to track down the members and arrest them, but they would not face any kind of charges under the order.

House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) announced he would sign the arrest warrants after the vote on Monday, which are only valid inside Texas’s border – making them purely symbolic as the lawmakers have all fled the state. Democrats are trying to delay the vote by not allowing the GOP-controlled body to have a quorum — a minimum number of members present in order to conduct official business.

“I write to encourage the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) to take any appropriate steps to aid in Texas state law enforcement efforts to locate or arrest potential lawbreakers who have fled the state. As a maneuver to avoid legislative responsibilities, on August 3, 2025, many members in the Texas House of Representatives absconded from the state,” Cornyn wrote to Patel, apparently trying to extend the reach of the Texas arrest warrants.

“Their stated goal was to prevent the legislature from properly meeting, in violation of their oath of office. By leaving the State of Texas, these legislators intend to prevent the existence of a quorum in the Texas House of Representatives. Without a quorum, no legislative activity can proceed,” Cornyn added, later writing:

Since these state legislators are currently outside of Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety may need support to arrest the fleeing lawmakers. Out-of-state actors have made public comments about protecting the Texas legislators who are currently hiding out of state from any accountability for their actions.

I request the FBI’s assistance, as federal resources are necessary to locate the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law. The FBI has tools to aid state law enforcement when parties cross state lines, including to avoid testifying or fleeing a scene of a crime. Specifically, I am concerned that legislators who solicited or accepted funds to aid in their efforts to avoid their legislative duties may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses.

Cornyn’s letter goes a step further in accusing the Democrats of additional crimes than did the Texas House or Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who “ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans.”

“This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol,” Abbott said in a Monday statement.

Cornyn is facing a primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is running to the right of Cornyn and has led him in polls.

Read the full letter here.