The gambit has triggered a national redistricting war, as governors from both major parties threaten to initiate similar efforts in other states.

Under normal circumstances, the former president would not back a Democratic plan for mid-decade redistricting. But these are not normal circumstances.

Former President Barack Obama waded into the debate over redistricting in a zoom call with Texas House Democrats on Thursday, warning of a “systematic assault on democracy” spurred by Republican efforts to redraw congressional maps in Texas.

Former President Barack Obama accused Lone Star State Republicans of seeking to engage in gerrymandering in "a power grab that undermines our democracy"