The Supreme Court on Thursday acted on an emergency request from Texas, approving the Republican-favored new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The justices’ order puts a hold on the attempts to block the new map from being used in upcoming elections and gives a green light to Texas Republicans whose redistricting efforts worked in their favor.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump urged members of Texas’ Republican congressional delegation to seek five new seats the GOP could win through redistricting, or redrawing the state’s congressional map.
It was a sign that Trump was looking to not repeat what happened during his first presidency, when Democrats flipped the House of Representatives’ majority two years into his term. The unusual move to redistrict mid-decade and not after a Census count sparked a developing partisan battle over House seats as Democrat-led states also redrew their maps.
The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a brief, un-signed opinion that granted Texas’ request to pause the court ruling that was issued earlier this month stopping the state from moving forward with the new map.
The lower court ruling was already on hold after Justice Samuel Alito, who oversees emergency appeals from Texas, temporarily stayed it last month to give the justices time to review Texas’ request.
The order from Thursday states that Texas is “likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the District Court committed at least two serious errors.” The justices said the lower court should not have inserted itself into the case when the primary elections for those districts are actively occurring.
Justice Elena Kagan dissented from the ruling and was joined by other liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. They said the map violates the rules around race and redistricting.
Republicans currently hold a slim 220-213 majority in the House and the party is concerned about holding that majority following the 2026 midterm elections. Historical trends show the House usually flips away from the president’s party in the midterms.
Texas’ efforts with its new map give Republicans hope to gain five more seats in 2026. Democrats in California, looking to counteract the GOP’s move, also redistricted, drawing five seats likely to flip to Democrats next year.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the news of the Supreme Court’s decision, saying his state is “officially” and “legally” more red.
“The new maps better align our representation in D.C. with the values of Texas,” he said online.