Texas Sen. John Cornyn on Thursday said the FBI has agreed to help track dozens of Texas Democrats who fled to Illinois and New York as they try to stop Texas Republicans from enacting new congressional maps that would give the GOP five more seats.
The request sets the stage for an escalation of a war between the Trump administration and Illinois Democrats, with Gov. JB Pritzker at the helm. But it’s unclear what role federal agents can play in the matter, and there were no reports of FBI activity in the area housing Texas Democrats as of Thursday morning. The FBI declined to comment on the matter.
The Democratic governor on Thursday called the FBI assist “grandstanding” and said federal agents won’t be arresting anyone in Illinois, “because there is no U.S. federal law that prohibits th