The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower-court decision that found Texas' 2026 congressional redistricting plan likely discriminates against Black and Hispanic voters. The order, signed by Justice Samuel Alito, preserves the new map until the Court weighs whether it may be used in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to allow the map to take effect, sharply criticizing Democrats and activist groups challenging the plan.
"Radical left-wing activsts are abusing the judcial system to dereail the Republican agenda and steal the U.S. House for Democrats," said Paxton. "Texas engaged in partisan redistricting solely to secure more Republican seats in Congress and thereby better represent our state and Texans."
Paxton vowed to continue defending what he called Texas' "Big Beautiful Map," which was passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Greg Abbott in August.
The emergency action arrived an hour after Texas asked the Court to intervene, warning that the lower court's ruling would create confusion with congressional primaries approaching in March. The Supreme Court's conservative majority has blocked similar redistricting rulings in recent years when they came close to election cycles, including Alabama and Louisiana.
The map at issue was redrawn this summer as part of Trump's broader effort to preserve a narrow Republican majority in the U.S. House. Texas' new plan was engineered to add 5 Republican congressional seats, making it the first state to answer Trump's push amid a broader national redistricting fight.
Missouri and North Carolina followed with maps gaining an additional Republican seat each, while California voters approved a measure to add five Democratic seats to counterbalance GOP gains.
The Supreme Court's temporary order leaves Texas' new congressional map uncertain as a major national redistricting battle continues.
