AUSTIN (KXAN) — Earlier this week, dozens of Texas House Democrats left the state in an attempt to block the passage of a congressional redistricting map that would revamp district lines and add five Republican seats in the U.S. House.
Now, federal resources are being deployed to help track down those quorum breakers, following a request from Sen. John Cornyn (R) to the FBI earlier this week, requesting the agency “take any appropriate steps to aid in Texas state law enforcement efforts to locate or arrest potential lawbreakers who have fled the state.”
Cornyn announced Thursday morning that FBI Director Kash Patel approved that request.
Breaking quorum is not a new tactic for Texas lawmakers to try to prevent legislation from moving forward. Deploying federal resources to try to find quorum breakers isn’t a new response to the political tactic, either.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the arrests of the absent lawmakers on Monday, and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows issued civil arrest warrants for them, though they’re largely symbolic due to enforcement restrictions outside of state boundaries.
That’s where federal sources — like the FBI — could come into play, though it’s not clear what the agency’s exact role is in the search for the absconded Democrats. The FBI’s website states that the agency does not “supervise or take over” investigations of state and local law enforcement agencies, but the agency can help local law enforcement find fugitives.
2003’s quorum break and federal involvement in finding missing lawmakers
In a similar quorum break in Texas in 2003, Democrats in both chambers broke quorum over another controversial mid-decade redistricting plan.
The Federal Aviation Administration was involved in tracking down their locations, according to a 2003 article from The Washington Post.
The FAA’s help came after a request from the office of then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) for information about an airplane he suspected was carrying Texas Democrats from the state legislature, according to The Washington Post’s article.
The FAA ultimately issued a special lookout for the plane, which was owned by state representative James E. “Pete” Laney, in May of that year. Laney and other Texas House Democrats were attempting to avoid an order of arrest and forced attendance at a House meeting in Austin, where a quorum was needed to pass a redistricting plan that favored the election of more Republicans, according to the article.
The Washington Post reported that an aide to DeLay and a Texas state police officer called the FAA, which prompted 13 FAA officials to join the effort to locate the plane.
It should be noted that private aircraft owners and operators can now request that the FAA withhold their aircraft registration information from public view, following the passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63).