Dustin Burrows suspends direct deposits for lawmakers who left the state, intensifying pressure to restore quorum during special session.

WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The FBI will help Texas track down Democratic state lawmakers who left the state as part of a collective effort to thwart state Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts, Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn said on Thursday.

The FBI would not confirm whether they agreed to help and the senator, Republican John Cornyn of Texas, did not specify what kind of assistance the FBI would offer. It comes a day after some Democrats were forced to evacuate a hotel where they were staying in Illinois,

After leaving Texas for Illinois to prevent a legislative vote on a Republican redistricting plan, state House Democratic leader Gene Wu needed a means to project his voice — and viewpoints — to a national audience. So he tapped his campaign account to buy a microphone for news conferences.

During a special committee meeting on Congressional redistricting on Thursday (August 7), Texas Senate Republican Phil King and Democrat Borris Miles took part in a heated debate over adopting a new redistricting map championed by U.

The Texas redistricting confrontation spawned a bomb threat in Illinois on Wednesday, along with threats of a federal dragnet to bring the absent lawmakers back. Democratic Texas State Rep. Ann Johnson and Republican Texas State Rep.