The revolt by the state House Democrats, many of whom went to Illinois or New York on Sunday, and Abbott giving them less than 24 hours to come home ratcheted up a widening fight over congressional maps that began in Texas but has drawn in Democratic governors.

Dozens of Texas House Democrats fled the state to block a vote on a new Trump-backed congressional map that could help the GOP pick up five more House seats. Gov. Greg Abbott is now threatening to arrest or expel them from their seats if they don’t return to the state by this afternoon.

Texas Democratic lawmakers said they left the state in an effort to temporarily block Republicans from redrawing its congressional maps — a redistricting initiative pushed by President Donald Trump to help retain GOP control of the US House of Representatives in the midterms.

President Donald Trump has criticized radio host Charlamagne Tha God, saying that the broadcaster "knows nothing about me or what I have done."

The radio host told Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump that “traditional conservatives are going to take the Republican Party back" in an interview.

President Trump on Sunday defended his decision to fire Erika McEntarfer, the now former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mr. Trump accused her, without providing evidence, of rigging the July jobs report.

President Donald Trump said he will announce a new Federal Reserve governor and a new jobs data statistician in the coming days, two appointments that may shape his economic agenda amid anxiety over the trajectory of global growth.