Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is leaning into the Texas redistricting battle as he seeks to fend off a conservative primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). On Tuesday, Cornyn publicly called for FBI Director Kash Patel to assist in tracking down Democrats who fled the state in protest.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the man he is vying to unseat in next year’s Republican primary, US Sen. John Cornyn, are both using the powers of their offices to try to pressure the Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to prevent a vote on a GOP-led redistricting plan.

The political standoff at the Texas Capitol intensified Friday as Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit seeking to remove 13 Democratic state representatives from office over their continued absence from the House floor.