Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned Democrats who left the state to block his redistricting push that they won't be able to return for years because he will keep the issue at the top of the agenda indefinitely.
Speaking to NBC News, Abbott said he will call "special session after special session," meaning that if Democrats maintain their strategy "they're not going to come back until like 2027 or 2028."
Democrats, in the meantime, are seeking for donations to face the costs associated with having left the state. State House Democratic leader Gene Wu said the party is "getting a lot of small-dollar donations," which are going to "help keep this going."
Among the costs are hotel bills for the dozens of lawmakers and daily fines for not attending the sessions. They are also facing the threat of being arrested, with Texas Republicans saying on Thursday that the FBI has agreed to help track down Democrats and help bring them back.
Abbott addressed the topic in another passage of the interview, saying that even though he wouldn't disclose the role the FBI would have, "we're going to use every tool that we can to make sure that these runaway Democrats are going to be held accountable."
House rules determine fines can't be paid from office budgets or political contributions. However, people involved in the Democratic strategy told the Texas Tribune that they already have a strategy in place to face the roughly $1 million a month needed to finance the move.
Wu, on his end, has accused Abbott of "silencing his dissent" and vowed to continue leading opposition to the initiative. "Let me be unequivocal about my actions and my duty. When a governor conspires with a disgraced president to ram through a racist gerrymandered map, my constitutional duty is to not be a willing participant," Wu said.
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