Texas Republicans are amping up calls to apprehend Democrats who fled the state in an effort to block new political maps that favor the GOP, with President Trump suggesting federal law enforcement could get involved.
Sen. John Cornyn (R), Texas' senior senator, made the request for the FBI to intervene on Tuesday, sending a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel urging the agency to take "any appropriate steps" to help local law enforcement bring back the Democrats.
Trump, asked if the FBI should get involved, told reporters "they may have to."
"I know they want them back, not only the attorney general, the governor wants them back," he said, adding "a lot of people are demanding they come back."
The group of more than 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers has scattered to several blue states to prevent their Republican colleagues from passing what they see as a heavily gerrymandered congressional map during a special legislative session. The map is designed to give Republicans five additional House seats in the midterm elections, aimed at helping ensure the GOP maintains its slim majority in the lower chamber.
Trump on Tuesday told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that Republicans are "entitled" to the five seats.
"We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas," the president said. "I got the highest vote in the history of Texas."
Since some Texas Democrats left for other states including Illinois and New York, Cornyn said the Texas Department of Public Safety may need help in tracking them down and arresting them. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered their arrests on Monday after the state House was unable to conduct business, arguing they violated their oath of office.
"In a representative democracy, we resolve our differences by debating and voting, not by running away," Cornyn said. "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."
Cornyn is running for reelection and has been courting Trump's endorsement as he faces a bitter primary fight against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).
Paxton, who is running a right-flank challenge to Cornyn, said Tuesday he will ask the courts to declare the Democrats' seats vacant beginning on Friday.
"The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don't show up to work, you get fired," Paxton said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Abbott on Tuesday sued to remove Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu from his seat amid the redistricting showdown.
"What is at stake here? Nothing less than the future of Texas," Abbott's emergency petition to the Texas Supreme Court reads. "If a small fraction of recalcitrant lawmakers choose to run out the clock today, they can do so for any, and every, Regular or Special Session, potentially bankrupting the State in an attempt to get their way."
The Hill's Caroline Vakil breaks down what comes next for Texas lawmakers.
▪ The Hill: Does Abbott have the power to vacate Texas House seats?
▪ The Texas Tribune: Powered by People, a Democratic political group started by former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), has emerged as a top funder covering the costs of the lawmakers' out-of-state decampment.
JUMPING INTO THE FRAY: California and New York are signaling they will move forward with plans to redraw their own congressional lines as Democrats look to counter the Texas GOP.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Monday that Democrats are moving forward with a plan to put mid-decade redistricting before voters, which could be "triggered" by what happens in Texas.
And New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), appearing alongside Texas Democrats who fled to her state over the proposed maps on Monday, embraced exploring "every option" to redraw congressional lines.
However, both states face challenges with their plans and are unlikely to have new maps before next year's midterm elections.
"What Texas has done now is that: If you drive the car all the way off the cliff, there's no road," Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University who founded the database All About Redistricting, told The Hill's Julia Mueller. "And I don't know if they realize exactly how far they may have pushed some other actors around the country."
▪ The Hill: Former President Obama on Tuesday blasted the Texas GOP's attempts to redraw their congressional map as "a power grab" that threatens democracy.
▪ The Hill: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said what Texas Republicans are doing is "wrong."
'NOT A GOOD THING FOR THE COUNTRY': GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley (Calif.) on Tuesday called out Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) over their responses to redistricting efforts across the country, saying the chaos needs to end.
"Ultimately I think that the Speaker needs to step up and show some leadership here because even our own members in states that might in some theoretical way, mathematical way stand to benefit from new maps, they don't like what's going on either," Kiley told MSNBC's Chris Jansing. "They don't like the prospect of having their district broken up or having communities they've represented, been voted in by, taken out of their district."
Kiley, who represents a competitive House district, said he will introduce legislation on Monday that would block states from redrawing their congressional districts prior to the 2030 census.
"It's not a good thing for either Democrats or Republicans," he said. "It's certainly not a good thing for the country."
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