Texas Republicans are ramping up their efforts to crack down on the Democratic legislators who fled the state to stall a redistricting vote.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Tuesday sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel requesting support in locating the Democratic legislators, who he said are “potentially acting in violation of the law.”

“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 said.

“Governor Abbott and Texas state law enforcement officers are doing what they can within the confines of the law, but federal help may be necessary,” he added. “These legislators have committed potential criminal acts in their rush to avoid their constitutional responsibilities and must be fully investigated and held accountable.”

About 50 state Democrats fled Texas over the weekend as they seek to deny the Legislature a quorum and run out the clock on a special session in which Republicans are seeking to draw more favorable maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

President Trump said Tuesday the GOP is “entitled” to five more House seats in Texas.

“We should have many more seats in California. It’s all gerrymandered,” he told CNBC. “And we have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats.”

The Texas House on Monday approved civil warrants for the missing lawmakers after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered their arrest.

Abbott has threatened to strip the Democrats of their seats, saying they’ve abdicated their duty. And he’s warned they will be in violation of federal election laws if they accept donations for the $500 daily fines they’re incurring for breaking quorum.

“This is a five-alarm fire for our democracy. Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in American history, and he has no plan for winning the upcoming midterm elections,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) told CNN. “So, he essentially is demanding that his cronies rig those elections for him in this corrupt scheme.”

The Democrats fled to blue states, including New York and Illinois, where the governors have held press conferences promising to protect them.

The move by Texas has sparked an arms race, with Democratic governors and lawmakers in California, New York and New Jersey promising to retaliate by redrawing their own maps to make them more friendly to Democrats.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is the latest to join the frenzy, although the state’s maps are already among the most gerrymandered in the country.

“In Illinois, we don’t sit on the sidelines,” said Stratton, who is running for Senate next year. “In Illinois, we don’t take kindly to threats, and in Illinois, we fight back. If Trump and Texas Republicans won’t play by the rules, we will look at every option available to stop their extreme power grab, and nothing will be off the table.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) plans to introduce a bill barring mid-decade redistricting. On Tuesday, Kiley called out Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), saying they need to be working to end the outbreak of tit-for-tat redistricting across the U.S.

“It’s not a good thing for either Democrats or Republicans. It’s certainly not a good thing for the country,” Kiley said. “So I think that the Speaker and Leader Jeffries need to show some leadership here to bring this chaos to an end, and I think that the bill that I have offered gives them the opportunity to do just that.”