The chair of the Texas House Democratic caucus remained defiant Thursday in the face of one US senator’s bid to enlist the FBI’s help in returning him and his state House colleagues to the state.

Leading Illinois Democrats and the head of the national Democratic party joined Texas House Democrats this week in a call for a political redistricting fight to expand to a national battle on Tuesday.

It's unclear what role federal agents can play in the matter, and there were no reports of FBI activity in the area housing Texas Democrats as of Thursday morning.