Former President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he supported a proposal by California Democrats to redraw congressional lines in response to a Republican-led push in Texas to gain additional US House seats but expressed unease with the broader effects of political gerrymandering.

The Republican-controlled Texas legislature is expected to pass a new congressional map creating five new winnable seats for the GOP.

Texas Republicans are near passing a new congressional map, sparking a response from California and igniting a new battle between Republicans and Democrats.

Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier on Wednesday interrupted a Zoom call promoting Democratic redistricting fights to say she was being threatened with a felony before abruptly leaving the bathroom where she had been speaking.

Other Democratic lawmakers have joined a colleague in staying at the Texas Capitol rather than accept around-the-clock police escorts meant to prevent them from blocking a vote on a Republican plan for redrawing congressional districts.

Texas House Democrats on Wednesday plan to offer an amendment that would block a Republican redistricting effort until the complete release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Why it matters: The Democratic effort,

Hurricane Erin may not be forecast to make landfall, but the sprawling Category 2 storm is still going to impact much of the East Coast as it tracks north this week. On Tuesday, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency to prepare for the life-threatening rip currents and storm surge expected to affect the coastal region.

Texas Republicans mandated that Democratic lawmakers not be allowed to leave the state house without a permission slip and a police escort.