The Daily Populous Friday August 8th, 2025 night edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by DevinGraysonShirk

The FBI declined to comment on the matter.

Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said on Thursday that FBI Director Kash Patel has granted his request for the federal government to assist with locating Texas House Democrats who fled the state in protest of GOP-led redistricting efforts.

Cornyn's letter requesting federal help with locating and investigating the state legislators was sent on Tuesday.

"I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas. We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities," Cornyn said in a news release.

Cornyn also joined "The Mark Davis" radio show on Thursday morning and expressed his gratitude for Patel's prompt response.

"Just to get to the bottom of it, I asked Kash to look into it and he responded promptly, I'm grateful to him," the senator said.

Sen. John Cornyn leaves a senate luncheon in the U.S. Capitol, June 3, 2025. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, slammed Cornyn and the FBI after Cornyn said the bureau granted his request.

"John Cornyn is a dead senator walking, and this is another example of a desperate ploy to try to save his own skin even if it means engaging the FBI in what would be an abuse of power by the Trump administration," Jeffries said during an interview on ABC News Live on Thursday afternoon.

"The FBI should be spending its time chasing down violent criminals, terrorists, drug traffickers and child predators, not targeting political adversaries in a democracy here in America," Jeffries added.

Late Thursday, Cornyn responded on X, "The FBI investigate lawbreakers of all types, and they are very good at it. What are you afraid they will find?"

Cornyn has called the Texas Democrats "irresponsible" for breaking quorum -- and rendering the legislature unable to take up any legislation, including some in responds to the floods that devastated the region recently.

"There are a number of things on the call that Gov. Abbott has listed, including redistricting, but they're missing all of those. And I think that's irresponsible, and I think we just need to get to the bottom of it," said Cornyn. "They got to come back home sometime ... it's not going to be successful. They're not going to be able to ultimately escape their responsibility. It's a stunt."

In a phone interview Thursday with ABC News, state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said he and his cohort of Democrats are unafraid of being apprehended by the FBI.

Wu said that the FBI need not search, since they already know where all the traveling Democrats are located, and called Cornyn’s gambit to coordinate with the agency “pathetic.”

“We were working with Governor Pritzker and his security team," he said, referring to the Illinois Democratic governor, JB Pritzker. "The FBI knows exactly where we are."

The Texas House of Representatives failed again on Tuesday to move forward on enacting the GOP's new congressional map, which could net Republicans between three and five seats in next year's midterm elections. Those added seats could be the difference maker over who has control of the U.S. House -- a chamber where Republicans have a small majority.

House Speaker Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Republican, said the legislature would try again on Friday to establish a quorum.

In the meantime, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to find and arrest those Democrats, an order Abbott said will remain in effect until they are "accounted for and brought back" to Austin.

President Donald Trump earlier this week told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce the FBI "may have to get involved."

"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," the president said at the time.

8fenristhewolf8 on August 7th, 2025 at 15:47 UTC »

Republicans were bailing on Oregon legislation votes for years. We voted in new laws to address the situation. Fed didn't do shit and they shouldn't.

DevinGraysonShirk on August 7th, 2025 at 15:36 UTC »

This is an extraordinary situation. JB Pritzker says that he will not allow anyone to arrest the Texas Democrats.

AudibleNod on August 7th, 2025 at 15:33 UTC »

Even if you think the Texas Dems are shirking their responsibility by not assembling for a quorum, how is this the responsibility of the US federal government to hunt them down? It's a purely legislative action. Where is DOGE (I ask rhetorically)?