The legislators broke quorum be leaving the state and could be subject to felony bribery charges.
Senator John Cornyn of Texas announced that the FBI agreed to assist with the arrest of dozens of members of the Texas House of Representatives who left the state to break the legislative quorum.
“Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats,” Senator Cornyn stated. “We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities.”
The Texas legislators fled the state to prevent the state from passing a new district map requested by President Donald Trump to reorganize voting blocks and give the majority party up to five extra federal House seats in the 2026 election.
Breaking quorum, by itself, is also not an arrestable offense, but the legislators are subject to felony charges for bribery if they accept funds raised to avoid the $500 per day fines for abandoning the special session.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the legislators have “forfeited their seats,“ and Attorney General Paxton has moved to expel them. The Texas House has revoked direct deposit pay to the legislators’ bank accounts, on top of the daily $500 fine for being absent, until they return to the state capital.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Director Patel to be led by the Lord as he heads the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- For Senator Cornyn as he seeks to ensure his state’s legislature functions in accordance with the state’s constitution.
- For Governor Abbott, AG Paxton, and the legislature leadership as they respond to the legislators’ absence.
Sources: Reuters, Politico , CBS News
