A federal court has blocked Texas from using its newly approved congressional map, halting Republican efforts to add five seats that could have strengthened their majority in Washington.

In a 2-1 decision issued November 18, the panel ordered Texas to revert to the map approved in 2021, saying the mid-decade revision cannot move forward while legal challenges continue. The ruling effectively stops a plan pushed by President Donald Trump and backed by state Republican leaders who argued that new population data justified another round of redistricting.

“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” U.S. Judge Jeffrey Brown, a Trump appointee, wrote in the ruling striking down the new lines. “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.”

President Trump encouraged Texas officials to redraw the map before the next census, an unusual move that fueled a broader political struggle over control of the U.S. House. His effort helped spark similar fights across several states as both parties sought to shape districts ahead of the 2026 elections.

The court’s decision is a clear win for Democrats, who are likely to keep five seats that could have shifted under the blocked plan. 

Republicans currently hold a slim 219 to 214 edge in the House, leaving just a few contests next year that will decide which political party governs the chamber.

While the ruling focuses on Texas, its impact will surely extend well beyond the state. 

The decision signals growing judicial skepticism toward mid-decade mapmaking and highlights how the redistricting process has become a partisan political weapon rather than a once per decade exercise.

Just last week, a Utah state judge struck down the congressional map drawn by Republican lawmakers, ruling that it violates Utah’s voter-approved ban on partisan gerrymandering and ordering new district lines for the 2026 elections.

If nothing changes, Texas will head into 2026 using 2021 district lines. The case will almost certainly be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but they will have to rule quickly as candidates only have until Dec. 8 to file for the upcoming election.