Obama joins the fight as Democrats plan payback for Trump's Texas scheme to rig midterms

Political Landscape & Gerrymandering - Texas Republicans passed new congressional maps aiming to increase their seats in Congress before the 2026 midterms, despite Democratic efforts to block the gerrymandering [1] - California lawmakers are planning a congressional map designed to potentially flip up to five Republican seats to Democrats, with voters having the final say [1] - Texas Democrats believe the new maps are the most racist gerrymandered maps since the 1960s, alleging AI technology is used to suppress votes of communities of color [10][11] Legal & Constitutional Challenges - Texas Democrats anticipate taking the redistricting battle to the courts, confident that the maps will be found unconstitutional under the Voting Rights Act [6] - The Texas State Representative emphasized the importance of fighting for the republic and keeping it, referencing the founders' vision [17] Political Actions & Reactions - President Obama endorsed California's approach to redistricting, contrasting it with Texas' partisan-driven gerrymandering [1] - Texas Democrats left the state for two weeks to deny a quorum in an effort to block the gerrymandering [1] - Republicans blocked a Democratic amendment that would have linked the new maps' enactment to the release of the Epstein files [14]