Will the FBI help the Republican Party force through a partisan redistricting plan in Texas, or not? The answer to that question is of vital importance to sustaining American democracy. Republican state legislative leaders want to redraw Texas’s congressional districts to give their party as many as five more seats in next year’s midterm elections.

Texas’ redistricting standoff rose to a new level Friday as Democrats once again denied a quorum to allow the House to consider the GOP-led plan and Republicans responded by threatening more punitive action.