The decision is a major blow for Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who had pushed Texas’ GOP leaders to draw new lines to help protect the party’s narrow U.S. House majority.
tate Rep. Matt Morgan, R-Richmond, surveys a map of proposed new congressional districts in Texas, as Democratic lawmakers, who left the state to deny Republicans the opportunity to redraw the state’s 38 congressional districts, began returning to the Texas Capitol in Austin on Aug.
20, 2025.Texas cannot use its new congressional map for the 2026 election and will instead need to stick with the lines passed in 2021, a three-judge panel ruled Tuesday. “The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” U.S. Judge Jeffrey Brown, a Trump appointee, wrote in the ruling. “To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.” Brown ordered that the 2026 congressional election “shall proceed under the map that the Texas Legislature enacted in 2021.” The case will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but time is short: Candidates only have until Dec. 8 to file for the upcoming election. The decision is a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and nationally, who pushed through this unusual mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump. They were hoping the new map would yield control of 30 of the state’s 38 congressional districts — up from the 25 they currently hold — and help protect the narrow GOP majority in the U.S. House. The map cleared the GOP-controlled Legislature in August and was quickly signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. Several advocacy groups sued over the new district lines, saying lawmakers intentionally diluted the voting power of Black and Hispanic Texans and drew racially gerrymandered maps. Over the course of a nine-day hearing in El Paso earlier this month, they aimed to convince the judges that it was in voters’ best interest to shelve the new map until a full trial could be held. It was not immediately clear if the state still has a legal path to restoring the new map in time for 2026. Unlike most federal lawsuits, which are heard by a single district judge and then appealed to a circuit court, voting rights lawsuits are initially heard by two district judges and one circuit judge, and their ruling can only be appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision comes 10 days into the monthlong period when candidates can sign up for the March primary. The filing deadline is Dec. 8. This is just the opening gambit in what promises to be a yearslong legal battle over Texas’ congressional map. A lawsuit over the state’s 2021 redistricting — including its state legislative and education board seats — went to trial earlier this summer and remains pending before the same three-judge panel. The judges have indicated they may want to see how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on aBut for Trump, and many of his Republican supporters in Texas, the short-term goal of having this map for the 2026 election was as important as the long game. “I’m convinced that if Texas does not take this action, there is an extreme risk that Republican majority will be lost,” Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford,. “If it does, the next two years after the midterm, there will be nothing but inquisitions and impeachments and humiliation for our country.”Trump admin considers moving FEMA to Texas and tapping state’s top emergency official, report says According to Politico, federal officials could relocate the agency here and tap Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd to lead it.Recipients need only bring their SNAP card and matching photo ID to the meal distribution event, which will take place Tuesday evening.Since 1986, the SA Current has served as the free, independent voice of San Antonio, and we want to keep it that way. Becoming an SA Current Supporter for as little as $5 a month allows us to continue offering readers access to our coverage of local news, food, nightlife, events, and culture with no paywalls.This San Antonio-area hilltop hacienda for sale has a waterfall, an elevator and balconies with Hill Country views
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional gerrymander in 2026 midtermsThe decision is a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and nationally, who pushed through this unusual mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump.
Read more »
Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional map for 2026 electionsA federal court ordered Texas to use House district lines adopted in 2021 for next year's congressional elections.
Read more »
Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional map in 2026 electionsA federal court has blocked Texas from using its new congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections.
Read more »
Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional gerrymander in 2026 midtermsTexas cannot use its new congressional map for the 2026 election and will instead need to stick with the lines passed in 2021, a three-judge panel ruled Tuesday
Read more »
Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional map for 2026 electionA federal court ruled Texas must use its old map for the 2026 election, finding the new one to be an unlawful racial gerrymander.
Read more »
Federal judges block Texas from using its new US House map in the 2026 midtermsTexas's GOP House map for 2026 is blocked by federal judges citing racial gerrymandering concerns.
Read more »