Dems plot scorched-earth tactics as Trump pushes Texas takeover - CNN

House Democrats are actively preparing for political trench warfare against the GOP in next year’s midterm battle, with talks taking shape behind the scenes to mount a counterattack against President Donald Trump’s power play in Texas that aims to cement GOP control of Washington for the rest of his second term.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his political team have begun privately shaping a legally risky — and likely expensive — strategy to redraw House maps in several Democratic-controlled states, according to Democrats briefed on the effort. They are exploring their plans in California, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Washington state in hopes of flipping at least a handful of Republican seats next November. It’s a clear attempt to retaliate against the GOP’s aggressive redistricting effort to boot out as many as five Democrats in Texas — a move that will get publicly underway this week and one with the potential to give Republicans a major leg up in their fight to keep control of the House.

In an interview at Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, Jeffries made clear that his party was ready to respond in-kind to the GOP.