Texas has filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court after a panel of federal judges barred the state from using its recently redrawn congressional map, calling the map “racially gerrymandered.”
Shortly after the petition was submitted on Friday, Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay, temporarily pausing the lower court’s ruling and allowing the new map to remain in place for the moment.
In its filing, the state argued that an administrative stay is necessary because Texas has an “election already in progress,” pointing to the upcoming congressional primary elections in March.
The Supreme Court has recently intervened in other high-profile redistricting disputes, including cases out of Louisiana and Alabama, where it also blocked lower court rulings.
Texas redrew its congressional districts last summer in a President Donald Trump-backed effort that could help Republicans gain as many as five seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
In the majority opinion, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, joined by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, an Obama appointee, acknowledged political considerations but said they were not the whole story.
“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” the judges wrote. “To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map.”
Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan appointee and the third member of the three-judge panel, dissented without explanation.
The ruling marked a major setback for Trump and his allies, who have been working to expand the Republican Party’s narrow House majority ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, in part by encouraging states to undertake mid-decade redistricting.
Several states, including Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, have already redrawn their congressional maps, while others such as Florida and Kansas are considering similar moves. Democratic-led states are also weighing map changes in response to Republican-led efforts.
In one of the most notable developments, California voters earlier this month overwhelmingly approved a redistricting plan that could significantly undercut the advantages Texas hoped to gain from its new map.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reiterated on Tuesday that the state would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
“For years, Democrats have engaged in partisan redistricting intended to eliminate Republican representation,” Paxton said. “But when Republicans respond in kind, Democrats rely on false accusations of racism to secure a partisan advantage.”
