A federal judge blocked Texas’s new congressional map, concluding there is substantial evidence the plan was racially gerrymandered and ordering the state to revert to the 2021 map. Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, joined by Senior Judge David C. Guaderrama in a 2–1 ruling, cited a DOJ letter urging the dismantling of majority-non-White "coalition districts" and found the Legislature acted on a race-based rationale. The court granted a preliminary injunction and rejected Texas’s claim that returning to the prior map would cause substantial disruption. The ruling could have national consequences if it stands alongside recent redistricting changes in other states.
Federal Judge Blocks Texas’s New Congressional Map, Orders Return to 2021 Districts
A federal judge blocked Texas’s new congressional map, concluding there is substantial evidence the plan was racially gerrymandered and ordering the state to revert to the 2021 map. Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, joined by Senior Judge David C. Guaderrama in a 2–1 ruling, cited a DOJ letter urging the dismantling of majority-non-White "coalition districts" and found the Legislature acted on a race-based rationale. The court granted a preliminary injunction and rejected Texas’s claim that returning to the prior map would cause substantial disruption. The ruling could have national consequences if it stands alongside recent redistricting changes in other states.
07:47 AM, 11/19/2025Politics
Judge Finds "Substantial Evidence" of Racial Gerrymandering
A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking Texas’s recently adopted congressional map, finding "substantial evidence" the plan was racially gerrymandered and ordering the state to revert to its 2021 district lines.
Background and Court Ruling
States typically redraw congressional maps after each decennial census. This year, however, Texas moved sooner after political pressure encouraged early redistricting. Gov. Greg Abbott added redistricting to a special legislative session agenda, and the Texas Legislature adopted a new map that plaintiffs quickly challenged in court as discriminatory.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown of the Western District of Texas — a Trump appointee — wrote a detailed 160-page opinion concluding the new map was likely motivated by race. He was joined by Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama, an Obama appointee, in a 2–1 decision. U.S. Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith, a Reagan appointee, dissented.
DOJ Letter and the Legislature’s Motive
Judge Brown traced the map’s origins to a letter from Harmeet Dhillon at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton. According to the opinion, the letter urged Texas to dismantle four majority-non-White "coalition districts" and threatened legal action — a step the judge described as a legally flawed focus on race.
The court said state leaders acted in response to that pressure and that the redistricting was undertaken "based on race," not on a partisan rationale. As a result, the panel concluded the plaintiffs are likely to prove at trial that the 2025 plan amounted to racial gerrymandering and granted the preliminary injunction.
"Simply put, the 2026 congressional election is not underway," Judge Brown wrote. "Any disruption the State claims is attributable to the Legislature, not the Court. The Legislature — not the Court — opened that door."
Timing and Practical Impact
The court rejected Texas’s argument that reverting to the 2021 map would cause a significant disruption, noting that candidate filing deadlines have not yet passed and the ruling came well before the Dec. 8 deadline referenced in court filings. The three-judge panel emphasized it acted quickly to allow time for an injunction to be implemented.
Broader Implications
Observers say the decision could reshape the national political map if it stands. Some analysts note that, combined with recent redistricting developments in other states — including a voter-approved measure in California — the net effect of competing legal outcomes could alter the balance of competitive U.S. House seats ahead of the 2026 elections.
What’s next: The decision is preliminary; the case will proceed toward trial, and the ruling could be appealed. If the injunction remains in place, Texas will use its 2021 congressional map for the upcoming candidate filing and election processes until the litigation is resolved.