Texas GOP Ropes Public Safety Office Into Hunting Democrats

Anyone can submit tips to help the Texas GOP catch state Democratic lawmakers.

The Republican Party has turned to the Department of Public Safety to help them rein in liberal state representatives who fled Texas to avoid a vote intended to redistrict the Lone Star State.

Texas House Speaker Duston Burrows revealed Monday that Republicans had tasked DPS to create a tip line—(866) 786-5972, incidentally the same number as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Fusion Center—hoping that average citizens would help them hunt the wayward lawmakers.

“Many have submitted tips about the whereabouts of absent members,” Burrows said Monday. “For example, over the weekend, we received word of a rally in Fort Worth where a couple of absent members were allegedly making an appearance. We took this as actionable intelligence, and DPS was dispatched immediately.

“Although in this instance, members did not end up being physically present at the event, we will keep following every credible lead until these members return,” he added.

Texas Republicans have dutifully responded to Donald Trump’s demand that the party create five new right-wing seats ahead of the midterm elections. State conservatives unveiled their new House maps last week, proposing to practically eviscerate historically Democratic districts.

State Democrats absconded the state in order to avoid the vote. The party began fundraising late last month to offset the $500-a-day fines they’ll incur as a result. (Texas House rules prevent lawmakers from using their campaign funds to cover the fines, which were imposed in 2023 after an unsuccessful attempt to stop a Republican-led overhaul of the state’s election laws.)

Burrows promised that the absent Democrats would be the ones footing the DPS’s bill as the agency works to capture them.

“We are keeping receipts for every gallon of gas, every mile traveled, and every hour of overtime associated with the pursuit of these missing members,” Burrows said. “Under Rule 5, Section 3 of the House Rules, those breaking quorum will be held financially responsible for the cost they’ve created, not the taxpayers.”

Over the last several days, the Texas House has sued 33 Democrats in Illinois and six in California, with more on the way.