Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker brushed off the possibility of the FBI coming into his state and arresting Texas Democrats who left the state and headed to Illinois and other Democratic-led states in a last-ditch effort to block Republicans’ redistricting efforts in Texas.
“They’re grandstanding,” the governor said when asked about President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the FBI “may have to” get involved to bring the Texas Democrats back to their home state.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
The confrontation between Democratic and Republican state representatives in Texas highlights the national stakes of partisan redistricting battles ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Redistricting occurs once every 10 years following the census to adjust boundaries based on population changes.
But when Texas Republicans began trying to redraw the congressional map mid-decade in a way that would give their party more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic legislators left the state to prevent formation of a quorum required to pass the plan.
Under Texas law, the state House needs 100 representatives accounted for to conduct official business, but has only 88 Republicans, requiring Democrats’ presence to revise the voting map.
Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas asked the FBI to help “locate and arrest” the Democrats who fled the Lone Star State. Trump also signaled his support for the request.
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What To Know
Asked what he thought of Trump’s remarks and the possibility of FBI involvement in the matter, Pritzker added, “There literally is no federal law applicable to this situation, none.”
Speaking on the News Not Noise podcast with Jessica Yellin, Pritzker added: “They can say that they’re sending FBI. FBI agents might show up just to, I don’t know, again, to put a show on. But the fact is that, you know, our local law enforcement protect everybody in Illinois.”
“Our state troopers protect everybody in Illinois and anybody who’s here in Illinois,” the Democratic governor said. “And so, whether it’s federal agents coming to Illinois or state rangers from Texas, if you haven’t broken federal law, you’re basically unwelcome and there’s no way that our state legislators here, the Texas state legislators, can be arrested.”
Pritzker’s comments on Wednesday came amid an escalating legal battle between Republican officials in Texas and Democrats who left the state.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday sought rare emergency relief from the state’s Supreme Court to remove Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu and other absent legislators.
Wu hit back at Abbott, saying the governor’s move was “just purely insanity” and portrayed the ongoing legal and political pressure as “unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.”
More than 50 Texas Democrats have scattered to Illinois and other blue states like California and New York as part of their effort to block Republicans in their state from gerrymandering the congressional map to gain more U.S. House seats.
Pritzker applauded their efforts during an appearance on CBS’ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, telling the host on Tuesday: “Donald Trump is trying to steal five seats from the people—frankly, of the country, not just the people of Texas—to disenfranchise people.”
“We’re talking about violating the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution,” he added.
What People Are Saying
Pritzker also told Colbert on Tuesday: “The great heroes of the Texas House Democratic Caucus decided the only thing they could do in order to stop it was, leave Texas. And where did they decide to come to? The safe haven of the state of Illinois, where we are going to protect them and take care of them.”
The governor added: “I’m very proud of them.”
Trump, referring to the 2024 presidential election, told CNBC on Tuesday: “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.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at a Monday news conference: “If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they’re leaving us no choice; we must do the same.”
What Happens Next
Texas’ redistricting efforts have kicked off a nationwide battle between blue and red states across the country, with the governors of New York and California pledging to redraw their own congressional maps to offset Republican efforts in Texas.
In all, at least nine states have considered redrawing their maps, according to officials in those states and media reports: Texas, California, New York, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin and Maryland.
