The partisan breakdown of the chamber today resembles the popular vote more closely than it has in decades: Republicans, who won 50.6 percent of all votes in House races in 2024, control slightly more than half the seats. Democrats, who garnered 47.8 percent, have 49.4 percent of seats.

Texas Republicans had been working quietly for several months to take up Mr. Trump’s call for an aggressive redrawing of the state’s congressional maps, aiming to gain five additional Republican seats in the U.S. House and help the party keep control of the chamber after the 2026 midterms.

Texas Republicans want to redraw the state's congressional districts to gain an advantage in next year's election. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., says Democrats must counter or become complicit.

Districts in Houston, Austin, Dallas and South Texas could be part of the push to create up to five new Republican seats in Congress.

At Trump's urging, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has requested lawmakers potentially redraw the state's electoral map. Opponents warn it could backfire.

With few options to prevent the Republican majority from passing a new congressional map, Democrats threatened to filibuster and even break quorum.

Why is this about the Texas Republicans' redistricting gambit a story with importance far beyond the Lone Star State? Several reasons, actually.