The Texas Senate started its session Friday morning debating a controversial GOP redistricting invoice that triggered a weeks-long Home standoff.
The Republican-backed proposal, which handed the Home in an 88-52 party-line vote on Wednesday, goals to redraw the state’s congressional map and produce 5 new GOP-leaning districts.
The Texas Senate Committee on Redistricting superior the invoice Thursday with a vote alongside celebration strains.
It is unclear whether or not the Democrats within the Texas Senate will attempt to delay the vote by breaking quorum themselves. When an analogous redistricting invoice handed the Senate through the first particular session, all however two Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest. If all 11 Democrats are absent, Republicans can be one senator shy of a quorum.
As soon as authorised by the Republican majority within the full Senate, the invoice will head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature.
Democrats have vowed to problem the legality of the brand new map in courtroom, arguing it undermines honest illustration and dilutes minority voting energy.
California launches counter-redistricting plan
The Texas redistricting plan has sparked a nationwide combat over political boundaries.
Earlier this yr, President Trump requested Abbott to name a particular session so lawmakers might create further Republican districts, the New York Instances reported. The bizarre mid-decade redistricting was meant to assist the GOP retain its slender majority within the Home of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections.
The president’s celebration virtually at all times loses seats in Congress within the midterms, in keeping with historic knowledge. Democrats gained 41 Home seats and the bulk in 2018, Mr. Trump’s first time period, and Republicans picked up 9 seats to assert the bulk in 2022, throughout President Biden’s time period.
Texas Home Democrats fled the state for 2 weeks do deny a compulsory quorum within the Home, killing the the primary particular session and visiting blue states to drum up assist. They returned earlier this week, permitting the votes to proceed.
Throughout that point, California Gov. Gavin Newsom joined the combat, introducing a new congressional map to flip 5 of California’s seats from Republican to Democratic. Voters might want to approve the plan in a particular election referred to as for the autumn.
Newsom stated the transfer was essential to “combat fireplace with fireplace” and stop what he referred to as a Trump-backed try to rig the 2026 midterm elections.
