Former President Barack Obama on Thursday joined a virtual meeting with Texas House Democrats who left the state to deny Republicans the ability to pass newly drawn GOP-favorable congressional maps, cheering on their efforts and stressing their work comes at a critical time in the fight against partisan gerrymandering.

Barack Obama is praising the Democratic state lawmakers in Texas who broke quorum and fled their state last week in protest of their Republican colleagues’ aggressive redistricting effort that’s designed to award the GOP five additional seats in the U.

Former President Barack Obama has said he is "so proud" of Texas House Democrats who have fled the Lone Star State to break quorum, preventing the passage of a redistricting bill that would likely give the Republicans another five seats in the national House of Representatives.