A panel of three federal judges has blocked Texas from using its newly drawn congressional map in the 2026 elections, dismissing President Donald Trump's ongoing push to secure more Republican seats across the Country.
Texas began an unusual mid-decade redistricting process this summer after Trump pressed Republican lawmakers to redraw maps ahead of the high-stakes 2026 midterms. The resulting map dismantled five Democratic districts, prompting lawsuits from the minority voters and advocacy groups who argued it intentionally discriminated against Black and Hispanic Texans.
While partisan gerrymandering cannot be blocked under a 2019 Supreme Court decision, racial gerrymandering remains illegal, a distinction central to the nine-day hearing in El Paso.
Plaintiffs pointed to a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice urging Texas to redraw its existing map due to concerns about racial vote dilution. Governor Greg Abbott cited that same letter when announcing the redistricting effort, as did House Speaker Dustin Burrows during the legislative process.
In closing Arguments, MALDEF attorney Nina Perales said that the DOJ letter provided "unequivocal evidence" that state leaders were aware their map harmed minority voters.
Testimony revealed political coordination behind the scenes. GOP operative Adam Kincaid admitted he was hired by the Republican National Committee to draft the map and communicated with the White House through disappearing messages on Signal.
He also said he received no instructions to maintain minority districts, unlike in 2021.
In its opinion, the court wrote that "substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map," concluding the state cannot use it in the upcoming election.
The ruling marks a significant setback for Trump's national redistricting campaign, which has already spread to Missouri and North Carolina. It has prompted California to counter with its own mid-cycle map rewrite.
Texas is expected to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
