Texas Republicans pushed through a controversial new congressional map on Wednesday — one that was directly requested by Donald Trump and designed to hand the GOP more power in Washington. Democrats tried everything to stop it, even leaving the state for weeks, but Republicans muscled it through anyway.
Now, the map moves to the Republican-controlled state Senate, where it’s expected to pass as early as Thursday. Republican Governor Greg Abbott has already promised to sign it into law.
“Big WIN for the Great State of Texas!!! Everything Passed, on our way to FIVE more Congressional seats and saving your Rights, your Freedoms, and your Country, itself,” Trump bragged online. “Texas never lets us down. Florida, Indiana, and others are looking to do the same thing.”
This fight has become ground zero in a national redistricting battle, with blue states like California moving to redraw their own maps in response. It’s a political arms race — one that could reshape who controls Congress next year.
Democrats in Texas didn’t go down without a fight. Last month, they fled the state to block the vote by denying quorum. This week, they returned as California began pushing its own redistricting plan to counter Texas’s move.
Inside the House chamber, Democrats filed amendment after amendment to try and slow the process. All were shot down. Their arguments? That Republicans were prioritizing power over disaster relief, violating House rules, and bulldozing voting rights — especially for people of color.
“We’re ready to meet Trump where he is, which is on a dirt road,” said Democratic Rep. Nicole Collier, livestreaming from a bathroom near the House floor where she’d been sleeping in protest. “We’re ready to get down and dirty.”
Collier refused to sign a GOP-backed agreement requiring lawmakers to be escorted by police if they wanted to leave the chamber. She was effectively locked in, and during a Zoom call with Sen. Cory Booker and DNC chair Ken Martin, she said she was being threatened with a felony if she didn’t stop livestreaming. She abruptly disconnected.
“This bill intentionally discriminates against Black and Hispanic Texans and other Texans of color by cracking and packing minority communities across the state of Texas,” said Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat from Arlington. “It is a clear violation of the Voting Rights Act and the constitution.”
Republicans deny race played any role. Instead, they admit the goal is raw political gain.
“The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance,” said Rep. Todd Hunter, the Republican who wrote the map. “We are allowed to draw congressional districts on the basis of political performance, as recognized by the US Supreme Court.”
The new map would flip five Democratic seats to Republicans — all based on 2024 voting data. Republicans also argue they actually increased the number of Hispanic-majority districts, from seven to eight.
But critics say the strategy is obvious: concentrate Democratic voters into fewer districts (packing) or scatter them across many (cracking) to water down their influence — a textbook gerrymander.
This mid-decade redrawing of district lines comes after the U.S. Department of Justice said Texas’s 2021 map was likely unconstitutional because of how it used race. Abbott seized that moment to push for a redraw — one that clearly favors Republicans.
Trump’s public call for GOP states to rework their maps for partisan gain has sparked a fierce backlash. California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, is leading the charge in response.
“It’s on,” Newsom posted on X after Texas passed the bill.
California lawmakers are voting Thursday on a new map designed to “neutralize” the Texas plan. It would only go into effect if Texas or another red state enacts mid-decade redistricting.
Former President Barack Obama called California’s move “responsible.” Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signaled her state may follow suit: “Game on.”
Republicans tried to stop California’s counterattack in court, but late Wednesday night, the state Supreme Court refused to step in.
In the words of one Texas lawmaker, “When you say the word ‘redistricting,’ I think you know there are going to be legal challenges.” Those are coming. But for now, Trump got what he asked for — and Texas Republicans delivered.
