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

Two prominent Democratic governors also warned they were ready to trigger redistricting in their states if Texas' off-cycle remap proceeds.

A partisan move by Texas to redraw its congressional maps in the middle of the decade to secure five more GOP seats in the U.S. House set off a clamor to replicate the effort in statehouses controlled by both parties.

Democratic state lawmakers who left Texas to block controversial new congressional maps backed by President Donald Trump are planning a return to the state early next week, shifting tactics so they can fight the plan in court.