Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott says he wants to oust and replace Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in an attempt to prevent Republican redistricting efforts and charge them with felonies. But that might be a challenge and take some time, the state’s attorney general said Monday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the arrest of Democrats who left the state to block a redistricting vote that could favor Republicans in Congress.

About two-dozen Texas Democrats huddled around a monitor inside a hotel auditorium just west of Chicago Monday to watch as their Republican colleagues gaveled back into session and threatened “consequences” for their mass departure.