Texas has ripped open a nasty fight in its legislative halls of power that could determine who controls the U.S. Congress and the fate of President Donald Trump's final two years in office.
Republican legislators in Austin have redrawn the Lone Star State's congressional maps after pressure from the president's political operatives, who are nervous that Democrats might win control of the House – as is customary for the party out of power – in 2026.
The new maps, advanced by a Texas legislative committee on Aug. 2, create five new GOP-leaning districts and target Democratic incumbents, which would give Republicans in Congress more cushion to defend their slim House majority in other states ahead of the midterm elections.
Texas Democrats have left the state in an attempt to sabotage the Republican plan, which has a 30-day time limit in the special session that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott convened on July 25.
"Gerrymandering can be done, or drawing lines, can be done on the basis of political makeup, as in Republicans versus Democrats, and there’s nothing illegal about that," Abbott said in an Aug. 4 interview with Fox News.
