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The justices have previously blocked lower-court rulings in redistricting disputes, notably in Alabama and Louisiana
Mark ShermanSaturday 22 November 2025 01:29 GMTComments
CloseTexas Redistricting Effort Explained | SPECIAL COVERAGE
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The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily intervened to block a lower court's ruling concerning Texas's 2026 congressional redistricting plan, a scheme championed by President Donald Trump that was deemed likely to discriminate on the basis of race.
The order, issued by Justice Samuel Alito, will remain in effect for at least several days while the highest court considers whether to permit the Republican-favored map to be utilized in the upcoming midterm elections.
The court’s conservative majority has a history of overturning similar lower court decisions when they occur close to electoral cycles.
This intervention arrived approximately an hour after Texas formally requested the high court's involvement, aiming to prevent confusion as congressional primary elections approach in March. The justices have previously blocked lower-court rulings in redistricting disputes, notably in Alabama and Louisiana, several months ahead of their respective elections.
Texas redrew its congressional map in the summer as part of Trump’s efforts to preserve a slim Republican majority in the House in next year's elections, touching off a nationwide redistricting battle. (REUTERS/Sergio Flores/File Photo)The order was signed by Alito because he is the justice who handles emergency appeals from Texas.
Texas redrew its congressional map in the summer as part of Trump’s efforts to preserve a slim Republican majority in the House in next year's elections, touching off a nationwide redistricting battle. The new redistricting map was engineered to give Republicans five additional House seats, but a panel of federal judges in El Paso ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the civil rights groups that challenged the map on behalf of Black and Hispanic voters were likely to win their case.
If that ruling eventually holds, Texas could be forced to hold elections next year using the map drawn by the GOP-controlled Legislature in 2021 based on the 2020 census.
Texas was the first state to meet Trump’s demands in what has become an expanding national battle over redistricting. Republicans drew the state’s new map to give the GOP five additional seats, and Missouri and North Carolina followed with new maps adding an additional Republican seat each. To counter those moves, California voters approved a ballot initiative to give Democrats an additional five seats there.
The redrawn maps are facing court challenges in California, Missouri and North Carolina.
The Supreme Court is separately considering a case from Louisiana which could further limit race-based districts under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It's not entirely clear how the current round of redistricting would be affected by the outcome in the Louisiana case.
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