TEXAS (TNND) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has agreed to help a Texas senator track down dozens of Democratic state lawmakers who left the state to avoid voting on a redistricting plan.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn called it a "shameful attempt to thwart the legislative process" when announcing the news.

"I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats," Sen. Cornyn said. "I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas. "We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities."

Over 50 House Democrats fled the state on Sunday and traveled to several cities, including Chicago, New York and Boston, to deny quorum and block a Republican-backed congressional redistricting that could add five GOP seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.

It marks the second time since 2021 that Texas House Democrats have broken quorum.

On Friday, a recently proposed map that would redefine congressional leadership in Texas was passed on a 12-6 vote with no amendments. Republican representatives said this was based on political performance, but many Democratic representatives say this will only hurt the state and the nation.

"To stand up for the voting rights of people in Texas, and also to step up for Americans who want to be able to vote to be able to lower costs and hold corrupt politicians accountable," Congressman Greg Casar told KEYE.

Attorney General Ken Paxton called the Texas House Democrats "cowards" and declared any representative who left the state should be " found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately."

Congressional maps are redrawn every 10 years after the census to distribute power equally based on population. In states where one party’s elected officials control the process, it is common for them to draw maps highly favorable to their own party and minimize chances of the opposition being able to flip seats.

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Editor's note: KEYE contributed to this article.