HOUSTON - US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the FBI "may have to" help arrest and bring back more than 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers who are staying out of the state to deny a quorum needed for the state Republicans to enact a new redistricting plan into law.

Earlier on Tuesday, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas called on the FBI to help locate and arrest these absent Democrats. Asked by reporters on this issue, Trump said, "They may have to."

Also on Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his petition to the state Supreme Court seeking the removal from office of Gene Wu, one of the top Democrats in the state House of Representatives.

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"Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans, and there must be consequences," Abbott said in a statement. Firing back, Wu accused Abbott of using "the law as a weapon to silence his people".

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, also a veteran Republican, asked the state's highest court to hold on ruling on Abbott's petition until Friday, the date Texas state House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he will try to establish a quorum for the third time.

The current congressional map in Texas was drawn in 2021, with Republicans having 25 seats out of Texas's 38. Pushed by the White House, Texas Republicans proposed new congressional lines last week to divide up existing districts in Austin, Houston and Dallas in a bid to garner five more seats.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump reiterated his support for the redistricting plan, claiming that Republicans are "entitled to five more seats" in the 2026 midterm elections in Texas, the largest red state in the country.

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At a news conference on Tuesday, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin reiterated his vow to "fight fire with fire," accusing Texas Republicans of trying to "cheat" in their redistricting plan.

Martin said Monday that if Texas Republicans pass the redistricting map into law, Democratic governors will "put every single option they can on the table to respond in kind."

The Texas House of Representatives, which currently has 88 Republicans, requires 100 members in the room as the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct legislative business.

On Monday, the state House voted 85-6 to arrest the absent Democrats and Burrows signed civil warrants shortly afterwards. However, the Democrats chose the three blue states of Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, where Texas can't exert state authority without local cooperation.

Despite the Democrats' resistance, with a sweeping majority, Texas Republicans may easily resume business and pass the legislation once Democratic lawmakers return, or are compelled to return, local analysts say.

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In the summer of 2021, Texas Democrats used a similar walkout strategy to resist redistricting, thrusting the issue of gerrymandering and voter suppression into the national spotlight. However, the bill was passed after a delay of nearly 40 days when several Democratic lawmakers returned to the state capitol, allowing for a vote.

The Texas legislature is currently in a 30-day special session that is slated to end on Aug. 19, but the governor can keep calling the Texas legislature back for a special session.