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 aggressive play in Texas that aims to cement GOP control of Washington for the rest of his second term.

By taking up new congressional maps pushed by President Trump first, Republicans hope to discourage Democrats from walking out of a special session before they vote on flood relief.

President Donald Trump spoke about the loss of life as a result of the flooding while surrounded by state and city leaders in Kerrville on Friday.

The decision was likely in part due to the agency's delayed response to the flooding disaster in Central Texas. Senior FEMA leader Ken Pagurek told colleagues this was the last straw after months of frustration over President Donald Trump's repeated efforts to eliminate the agency,

The head of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue branch, which runs a network of teams stationed across the country that can swiftly respond to natural disasters, resigned on Monday.