Four senior House Democrats pressed Attorney General Pamela Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel for answers about reports that federal law enforcement resources are being used for partisan political purposes in Texas.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, joined by Reps. Robert Garcia and Greg Casar, to send a letter to Bondi and Patel following allegations that the FBI agreed to help Texas Republicans locate Democratic state legislators who fled the state. The lawmakers left to block GOP-led redistricting plans ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
The members expressed concern that the Department of Justice and FBI may be diverting taxpayer-funded resources to target elected officials engaged in lawful political protest. “We demand information about the FBI’s involvement in efforts to locate members of the Texas House of Representatives who are not accused of any federal crime,” the letter stated.
According to the lawmakers, Senator John Cornyn recently claimed that the FBI is assisting the Texas Department of Public Safety in tracking down the absent Democrats. Cornyn, facing a difficult Republican primary, called for federal intervention despite what critics say is a lack of legal authority.
Historical precedent shows both parties in Texas have used quorum breaks as a political tool — including the 1870 “Rump Senate incident,” the 1979 “Killer Bees” walkout, and redistricting disputes in 2003 and 2021. In 2003, then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s staff improperly sought help from federal agencies to track lawmakers, a move later condemned by the House Ethics Committee and deemed illegal by a Texas judge.
The Democrats’ letter raises questions about whether the current situation is repeating those mistakes, and whether federal law enforcement is being pulled away from its core mission of combating terrorism, organized crime, and other federal offenses.
Civil rights advocates warn that using the FBI to track political opponents could set a dangerous precedent. The lawmakers are demanding DOJ and the FBI provide the legal basis, scope, and justification for any involvement — as well as disclose what federal systems or resources, if any, have been deployed in the dispute.
