FBI Locates Texas Democrats Who Fled State Amid Quorum Standoff
The political impasse in Texas is escalating as GOP U.S. Senator John Cornyn has revealed that FBI Director Kash Patel has consented to assist in locating House Democrats who have left the state to obstruct a quorum during a special session focused on congressional redistricting.
Governor Greg Abbott has condemned the walkout, accusing the Democrats of neglecting their sworn responsibilities. The absence of these lawmakers has hindered the Texas House from conducting business on legislation concerning election integrity and border security. Abbott has pledged to convene special sessions every 30 days until the necessary work is completed and has already initiated removal proceedings against at least one absent lawmaker, as reported by The Hill.
The Texas House has issued civil arrest warrants, suspended salaries and per diems, and approved budget reductions for the offices of members involved in the walkout. Additionally, the state’s Attorney General is investigating a Democratic PAC that may have contributed to funding this effort. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined the calls for their return.
“In a representative democracy, we resolve our differences through debate and voting, not by fleeing,” Cornyn stated in his letter to the FBI, according to The Hill.
“I am requesting the FBI’s assistance, as federal resources are essential to locate the out-of-state Texas legislators who may be acting in violation of the law. The FBI possesses tools to support state law enforcement when individuals cross state lines, including to evade testifying or fleeing from a crime scene.”
Legal experts caution that involving the FBI could pose challenges, considering that breaking a quorum is not a criminal offense and this issue remains a matter of state jurisdiction.
“I fail to see why the FBI would be involved in this situation at all. This is a matter of Texas politics, and the FBI should not be attempting to enforce Texas state law,” remarked Richard Painter, former associate counsel to President George W. Bush.
The deadlock has caused the legislative agenda to come to a standstill, with neither party indicating a willingness to concede.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has initiated a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Texas, seeking judicial declarations that 13 Texas House seats have been rendered vacant due to the ongoing unlawful absences of Democrat legislators who failed to meet the return deadline established by Speaker Dustin Burrows.
“The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have neglected their responsibilities, leaving their positions unoccupied,” Paxton stated in a press release. “These individuals have intentionally undermined the constitutional process and breached the oath they pledged to uphold.
“Their out-of-state insurrection cannot be ignored, and the affairs of Texas must continue. I have requested the Texas Supreme Court to affirm what has been evident from the outset: that the runaway members have officially vacated their positions in the Texas House,” he further remarked.
House Democrats continue to be absent from the state, participating in what Paxton described as politically motivated grandstanding from alternative locations. He asserted that their actions signify a “blatant abandonment of office” and a “betrayal of the voters” who elected them.
The lawsuit centers on 13 members who publicly declared their refusal to return, which Paxton contends substantiates the grounds for the legal proceedings. Texas law empowers the Attorney General to represent the state in quo warranto actions and to appear before the Texas Supreme Court in matters pertaining to the state’s interests.
The petition articulates: “The Texas Constitution, statutes, and regulations offer a wide array of mechanisms for members of a legislative minority to express their voices. However, these mechanisms do not encompass a coordinated effort by minority members to hinder the operations of the Legislature by neglecting their responsibilities, which includes rejecting the constitutional power of the other members to enforce their attendance. When legislators ignore arrest warrants, decline to fulfill their obligations, and declare their intention to obstruct the Legislature from carrying out its constitutional duties, they have, through both their statements and actions, shown a clear intention to forfeit and abandon their positions.