The ruling is a major win for the Trump administration and Texas Republicans, who engineered the map to give the GOP control of 30 of the state’s 38 congressional districts.
TIMELINE: Officials detail hours before Texas A&M student’s fatal fall from Austin high-rise apartmentSuspect exchanges gunfire with Houston police during traffic stop on Antoine DriveEx-NASCAR driver revs up neurodivergent driving training in HoustonRead full article: ‘Texas Killing Fields’ suspect under parole review Data shows that households in Conroe and Pearland spent around 5% of their annual incomes on property taxesRead full article: Conroe, Pearland rank among US cities with highest property tax burden, study reveals WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 04: FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw branding is seen outside the Kennedy Center ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw on December 04, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Texas can use its new, GOP friendly congressional map while a legal challenge plays out, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, temporarily pausing a lower court ruling that had blocked the map from going into effectWith the Dec. 8 candidate filing deadline fast approaching, the high court’s decision likely means Texas’ new map will be used for the 2026 midterm elections.Justice Samuel Alito ruled that it was “indisputable” that Texas’ motivation for redistricting was “pure and simple” partisan advantage, which the court has previously ruled is permissible. A federal judge had previously ruled that the state likely engaged in racial gerrymandering, a claim Alito rejected. The three liberal justices dissented. The ruling is a major win for Republicans in Texas and nationally. President Donald Trump had pushed Texas to redraw its map over the summer, hoping to secure five additional GOP seats to shore up the party’s narrow majority in the U.S. House through the midterms.Texas from using the new map for 2026, saying there was evidence state lawmakers had racially gerrymandered in redrawing the lines. Galveston District Judge Jeffrey Brown, a Trump appointee, authored the opinion ordering Texas to return to its 2021 map, while 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jerry Smith vociferously dissented. The state asked the Supreme Court to overturn Brown’s ruling entirely, but that could take weeks or months to proceed through the court system, especially if the justices decide they want to hear arguments in Washington, D.C. With Thursday’s ruling, the justices have temporarily paused Brown’s ruling while that longer legal process can play out.in August, is engineered to give Republicans control of 30 of the state’s 38 congressional districts, up from the 25 they currently hold under the 2021 map. Numerous Republican candidates have stepped forward to run in the newly favorable districts, while several Democratic incumbents were pushed into nearby districts already occupied by another Democrat, forcing them to contemplate primaries or retire.. But in restoring the new map, the Supreme Court likely ensured that Republicans running for redrawn districts will get to campaign under the new lines in 2026. Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the ruling, saying it was a win for Texas and every conservative who is tired of watching the left try to upend the political system with bogus lawsuits.” Texas Democrats, meanwhile, condemned the outcome, with House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu of Houston saying the high court had “failed” Texans. “This is what the end of the Voting Rights Act looks like: courts that won’t protect minority communities even when the evidence is staring them in the face,” Wu said.'I hear BOOM!': Witness recounts police chase that ends in crash, shooting in HoustonFire rips through Meyerland apartment complex, displacing about 50 residentsWanted teacher at Aldine ISD taught for 2 years before arrest on child sex assault chargesTexas A&M student’s death leaves mother seeking answersRising energy costs hit Houston’s older neighborhoods the hardestCity leaders report rise in accidental child gun deathsGas prices plunging just like the temperatureTexas A&M student dies hours after attending tailgate for football game
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