Federal Court Blocks Texas’s New Congressional Map, Citing Racial Gerrymandering

A panel of federal judges has dealt a major blow to Texas Republicans, ruling that the state’s newly redrawn congressional districts cannot be used in the 2026 midterm elections. The court found “substantial evidence” that the map was designed not just with partisan goals in mind, but with racial discrimination at its core.

In a 2–1 decision on Tuesday, the US District Court for Western Texas said the state had racially gerrymandered several districts in violation of both the US Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The majority was blunt:

“Politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics.”

The decision upends Republican efforts to lock in congressional advantages ahead of the midterms, an election in which all 435 House seats are on the line and the GOP currently holds only a razor-thin majority (219 seats). Control of the chamber is fully in play.

Texas’s attempt to aggressively reshape its map kicked off a nationwide redistricting push among right-leaning states. North Carolina and Missouri followed with their own GOP-tilted maps, each projected to add a seat for Republicans.

Democrats responded in kind: California Governor Gavin Newsom pushed a ballot initiative to suspend the state’s independent redistricting commission and draw a partisan map favouring Democrats. Voters overwhelmingly approved it, opening the door to five new Democratic seats next year.

Texas Republicans drew their new map in August after internal hesitation and a Democratic walkout. Reports later surfaced that Trump’s administration had quietly pushed state officials to redesign districts to net the GOP five additional House seats.

Civil rights groups sued, arguing the map diluted Black and Hispanic voting power. Judges David Guaderrama (Obama appointee) and Jeffrey V. Brown (Trump appointee) agreed.

Judge Brown went further, calling out the role of Harmeet Dhillon, the Trump-appointed head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, who previously claimed certain majority-nonwhite districts were “unconstitutional.” Brown called that “legally incorrect” and said the letter helped spark the entire redistricting fight.

He also flagged statements by Governor Greg Abbott that appeared to reference the racial composition of specific districts. And, as the court noted, it was odd that only nonwhite-majority districts were targeted if the motivation was purely partisan.

The ruling restores Texas’s 2021 congressional map, under which the state elects 25 Republicans and 12 Democrats.