President Donald Trump said the FBI "may have to" get involved to end a walkout by Texas Democrats over redistricting.
During an unrelated event, Trump was asked whether the FBI should "get involved" in the quorum break. He answered that "they may have to" and "it almost looks like [Democrats have] abandoned the state."
"I know they want them back. Not only the attorney general, the governor wants them back," Trump said. "So a lot of people have demanded they come back. 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."
Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called for the FBI to help "locate and arrest" Texas Democrats who left the state on Sunday afternoon.
The Democrats absconded to blue states like California, Illinois and New York. Their absence means the House was unable to meet Monday or Tuesday to debate new congressional maps in Texas that would hand Republicans five additional seat. Trump asked Texas Republicans to redraw the maps ahead of the midterm election.
While the House has issued arrest warrants for their absence, and Gov. Greg Abbott has directed state troopers to arrest them on sight, their jurisdiction applies only in Texas.
In a letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel, Cornyn called this a "time-sensitive manner" since lawmakers are only scheduled to be meeting for another two weeks.
"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," he said. "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."
Cornyn then echoed one of the more serious threats Abbott lobbed at the lawmakers, accusing them of taking bribes by accepting monetary support to flee the state or pay fines associated with their absence.
"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," he said.
Asked about Cornyn's statements, Abbott's spokesman called the absent Democrats "delinquent."
"The Governor fully supports using all necessary tools to discover potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum, conduct business, and cast votes," Andrew Mahaleris told The Texas Newsroom.
Abbott has said paying for the fines using campaign funds could amount to bribery. On Monday, he asked the Texas Rangers to investigate this as well as "potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum, conduct business, and cast votes."
Legal experts told The Texas Newsroom that getting bribery charges to stick is especially difficult because the prosecutor has to prove there was intent to commit a crime.
Also Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton indicated he intends to seek the removal of these Democrats from their elected office.
The FBI did not respond to a request for comment.
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