Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.
And if you’re looking for a little more from COURIER, Akilah Hughes breaks the chilling wave of corporate capitulation to Trump in the most recent episode of “How is This Better?”
Since day one of Trump’s political career, people have desperately attempted to normalize his absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – and 10 years later, much of corporate media remains a victim of their own attempts to return to a sense of normalcy.
It’s time to stop sane-washing the insanity.
What Happened
On Thursday, US Sen. John Cornyn claimed that the FBI had agreed to join Texas law enforcement on a manhunt for Democratic state legislators who have stalled a vote on congressional redistricting.
But after reaching out to the FBI, Cornyn’s claim appears to be little more than political theater.
Reports surrounding FBI Director Kash Patel’s decision to send agents to apprehend Democratic members of the Texas Legislature have had only one source — and it isn’t Patel. Cornyn announced the partnership shortly after he sent a letter to Patel, urging him to “take any appropriate steps to aid in Texas state law enforcement efforts to locate or arrest potential lawbreakers.”
Patel has been silent on the matter, as has his boss, US Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose short time in the Trump administration has so far been littered with loud, often shortsighted announcements about politically motivated actions her agencies have undertaken.
What further complicates the request is that, legally, what Cornyn’s asking for doesn’t really make sense: he wants federal agents to locate and arrest elected officials who have broken no law. These are Democratic lawmakers who used an age-old, constitutionally protected tactic to stop a vote on an issue that is deeply unpopular with the voters who elected them.
Like Cornyn, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has claimed that federal agents are on the prowl, ready to arrest Democratic legislators on sight.
“It’s my understanding that the FBI is going to search for these derelict Texas House members, in whatever state they may be in, and help identify them — and maybe work with us to bring them back,” Abbott said on far-right commentator Dana Loesch’s podcast. “They’re not going to go to their cozy home; they will be arrested and taken to the Capitol.”
The threat stems from symbolic warrants for the Democratic lawmakers’ arrests issued by Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives. The warrants have no civil or criminal charges; their only purpose is to compel state law enforcement to bring legislators to the Capitol so they have enough members there to form a quorum and can hold votes.
Abbott called a special legislative meeting at the behest of President Donald Trump in order to redraw the state's congressional districts so that they’re more favorable to Republicans. But, according to the state’s constitution, a supermajority of legislators must be present at the Capitol in order for the governing body to have a quorum, and without a quorum, no votes can be held.
Democratic legislators didn’t show up and, aware that Abbott would use state law enforcement to compel their presence, left Texas. Abbott and Cornyn are now counting on federal law enforcement to honor the warrants and apprehend the legislators who have opposed them, but so far, that request seems to be too outlandish even for Patel’s FBI.
Federal officers only execute warrants signed by a judge, which these symbolic warrants are not. Having federal agents swoop in to “locate or arrest potential lawbreakers,” as Cornyn’s letter states, would be warrantless arrests, which is more of an ICE thing than an FBI thing.
Most of the Democratic lawmakers are in Illinois, waiting out the end of Abbott’s special legislative session, but the FBI Field Office in Chicago said that if agents have in fact been assigned to execute Texas’ warrants, it wasn’t theirs. Requests for more information were directed to FBI headquarters, which declined to comment.
While it’s possible that the agency is quietly cooperating with Cornyn’s request, FBI and DOJ behavior under the Trump administration so far indicates that this is not the case.
Attempts to Sanewash
FBI to help track down Texas Democrats who fled the state, Cornyn says
FBI to assist in locating ‘runaway’ Texas House Democrats amid quorum break
Far-Right Spin
FBI joins hunt in apprehending Texas Democrats who fled redistricting vote
FBI helping Texas law enforcement locate ‘rogue’ Dems who fled state redistricting session
NC Republicans turned a bill with unanimous support into anti-LGBTQ legislation
By Maddie Policastro, Cardinal & Pine / COURIER
North Carolina Republicans last week, with the help of one Democrat, overrode Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of legislation officially recognizing only two sexes in North Carolina, one of several anti-LGBTQ+ provisions in the bill.
Although every Democrat other than Rep. Nasif Majeed (Mecklenburg) voted against it, the bill unanimously passed in the House just two months ago by a vote of 113-0. So what changed?
House Bill 805, titled “Prevent Sexual Exploitation/Women and Minors,” originally intended to protect victims of “revenge porn” through stricter age and consent verification requirements on adult sites. It also outlined a clear process for removing such images.
It said nothing about the number of sexes.
Republican leaders in the Senate added the anti-LGBTQ+ and other “culture war” provisions to the existing protections in June.
The addition of hyper-partisan and unrelated elements to a popular bill follows a recent Republican pattern, forcing Democrats to either vote for things they detest or vote against the things they care about.
Read Policastro’s full article here.
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