Texas appeals ruling that TRUMP-urged voting map is racial gerrymandering

Wednesday, November 19, 2025-A federal court has blocked Texas from using its newly redrawn congressional map for the 2026 midterms, concluding there’s strong evidence of racial gerrymandering. 

The three-judge panel ruled 2–1 that the map, aggressively pushed by Republicans and backed by

President Trump, likely violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black and Latino voting power.

The disputed map was drawn, in part, after a Justice Department letter pressed Texas to dismantle “coalition” districts — areas where no single minority group is a majority but where combined groups, such as Black and Hispanic voters, account for a majority. 

Courts found that Texas officials adopted those racial objectives when redrawing district lines. According to the ruling, Republicans deliberately reconfigured districts to favor white voters and diminish the influence of minority communities.

Texas officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, have already appealed the decision — taking it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the ruling is upheld, Texas will be forced to use its previous 2021 map for the next election, undercutting a major part of the Republican strategy to gain five new seats.