Texas lawmakers pass Trump-backed election map, sending it to governor
The plan now heads to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature, after a weeks-long standoff with Democrats that erupted into a national fight over redistricting.
Washington Post, By Patrick Marley August 23, 2025, at 12:27 p.m.
Texas state lawmakers gave final approval early Saturday to a new election map that President Donald Trump pushed to help Republicans in next year’s midterms, sending the plan to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his signature after a weeks-long standoff with Democrats that erupted into a national fight over redrawing congressional lines.
The map is designed to help Republicans retain their narrow U.S. House majority in 2026. It would create five new U.S. House districts in Texas that favor Republicans and has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and voting rights advocates.
The Republican-controlled state Senate blocked a filibuster and passed the map Saturday in a quick, party-line vote, 18-11, days after the GOP-dominated Texas House voted for it. The legislative action capped a late-summer stretch of partisan clashes, including a two-week walkout by dozens of Texas House Democrats, who fled the state in an effort to slow Republicans down. Democrats spent hours Friday and Saturday arguing against the map in the upper chamber before Republicans called a vote to approve it.
Trump’s push to get Texas and other Republican-led states to redraw their maps prompted California to pursue its own new district lines to counter the likely GOP gains elsewhere. On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill that triggered a special election in November asking voters there to sign off on a map that would give Democrats as many as five more U.S. House seats.
Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the U.S. House, with four vacancies. Depending on the political climate, even marginal shifts benefiting one side or the other could help determine which party controls the chamber in 2027. If Democrats take control of the House, they would have the ability to stymie Trump’s legislative agenda and launch investigations into his administration.
The Texas Senate’s approval of the map sends the map to Abbott, a Trump ally who is set to sign it into law early next week. Voting rights advocates have already asked a court for a hearing so they can block the map from going into effect because they believe it is unconstitutional.
Just as their state House counterparts did, Democrats in the state Senate grilled Republicans on the floor Friday to help build a legal record they can use against the map in court. Democrats contend the map will illegally prevent Black and Latino voters from electing candidates of their choice. Republicans say they are confident the map is legal and are prepared for challenges.
Democrats in the state Senate sought to take a final stand against the map Friday by preparing to argue against it deep into the night. State Sen. Carol Alvarado (D) had planned to launch a filibuster Friday evening.
However, Republicans accused Alvarado of violating Senate rules and potentially the law by attempting to fundraise off the filibuster, then denied her the chance to speak before forcing a final vote on the bill.
Revising congressional lines is a process that typically happens at the start of each decade after the latest census. The current fight over congressional lines is unusual. Many Democrats who once opposed partisan gerrymandering have shifted their positions in response to the actions of Trump and Texas Republicans.
“Over the long term, we shouldn’t have political gerrymandering in America, just a fair fight between Republicans and Democrats based on who’s got better ideas,” former president Barack Obama wrote this week on the social media platform X. “But since Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House and gerrymandering in the middle of a decade to try and maintain the House despite their unpopular policies, I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this.”
Trump has followed the Texas legislative debate, weighing in publicly and urging Republicans to continue their efforts in the face of Democratic resistance in the Lone Star State and beyond.
“I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know. And we are entitled to five more seats,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC this month.
Trump recently endorsed Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, rewarding him after shepherding the party agenda, including the map plan, through his chamber.
Patrick Svitek and Molly Hennessy-Fiske contributed to this report. Patrick Marley writes about voting issues in the Upper Midwest for The Washington Post. He previously covered the Wisconsin Capitol for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.