Former President Barack Obama praised Texas Democrats who left their state to block the passage of a GOP-led redistricting proposal. Former President Barack Obama is applauding Texas Democrats for leaving their state in an attempt to block the passage of a Republican-led redistricting effort.

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.

The process of changing congressional maps to try and ensure one party's victory over another — called gerrymandering — has typically been done more subtly.

Former President Barack Obama on Thursday sought to flip the script on accusations that he backs gerrymandering as he defended Democrats for launching retaliatory redistricting plans responding to Texas Republicans’ battle to redraw their state’s congressional map.