During the controversial mid-decade redistricting plan in Texas, several Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives went to Oklahoma to prevent the House from establishing a quorum of members, thereby preventing the House from acting on any legislation, including a proposed redistricting plan. Although not a member of the Texas legislature, DeLay became involved, by contacting several federal agencies in order to determine the location of the missing legislators. DeLay's staff contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for assistance in tracking down a plane that one of the legislators was flying to Oklahoma, an action that the FAA believed to be a result of safety concerns about the aircraft.Toobin, Jeffrey Drawing the Line, The New Yorker, February 27, 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-19. A review by the U.S. Department of Transportation found that a total of thirteen FAA employees spent more than eight hours searching for the airplane."Texas Redistricting Fight Not Over", Associated Press, October 18, 2004; retrieved 2006-07-23.
