Texas will appeal a federal court ruling that blocked the state’s new congressional map, which would give Republicans an additional five seats.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown ruled Tuesday that Texas’s new map was likely unconstitutional, saying it should instead use its 2021 maps.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Tuesday that the maps were redrawn “to better reflect Texas’ conservative voting preferences — and for no other reason,” slamming the court’s “discriminatory” claims against the map as “absurd and unsupported by testimony offered during ten days of hearings.”
Abbott also called the court’s ruling “clearly erroneous.”
“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” Abbott said. “To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map,” the ruling from the panel of judges stated.
The case now heads to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, Democrats are cheering Judge Brown’s ruling.
“The Trump-Abbott maps are clearly illegal, and I’m glad these judges have blocked them. If this decision stands, I look forward to running for reelection in my current district,” said Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX).
“No matter what, we must fight to pass a federal ban on gerrymandering once and for all,” he added.
The ruling comes as Indiana, Virginia, and Florida are also fighting in redistricting battles. It’s unclear what the House maps nationwide could look like ahead of the 2026 election.
“I am working with Governor Mike Braun and other Indiana Republicans, on picking up two Republican Congressional seats,” President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday.
California voters earlier this month overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, a ballot measure designed to counter Texas’s new map with five additional Democrat seats. The Justice Department and California Republican Party are suing to block the measure.
The Supreme Court is also considering a Louisiana-based case that could shake up maps in the South in favor of Republicans, as there is a possibility that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act could be scrapped.
