Texas Republicans on Wednesday took the first step toward approving new congressional maps that would give their party as many as five new seats in the House of Representatives, spurring what’s likely to be a national battle over redistricting.

The approval by the Texas House of Representatives came at the urging of President Donald Trump, who pushed for the extraordinary mid-decade revision of congressional maps to give his party a better chance at holding onto the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s election. The maps need to be approved by the state Senate and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott before they become official.

Texas state legislative Democrats delayed the vote by two weeks by fleeing the state earlier this month in protest, and were assigned round-the-clock police monitoring upon their return to ensure they attended Wednesday’s session.

The approval of the Texas maps is likely to prompt California’s Democratic-controlled state Legislature to approve of a new House map creating Democratic-leaning districts. Unlike in Texas, the California map would require approval by voters in November before it becomes official.

Democrats have also vowed to sue to challenge the new Texas map and complained that Republicans made the political power move before passing legislation responding to deadly floods that swept the state last month.

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