Texas' Bid to Boost GOP Seats Sparks Legal Battle

Texas is in a legal tussle with the U. S. Supreme Court over a new voting map. The state wants to use this map to increase Republican seats in the U. S. House of Representatives. This could help the GOP keep control of Congress in the next elections. A lower court blocked the map, saying it might discriminate based on race. This is a big deal because Republicans currently have a small majority in Congress. If they lose control, it could be hard for President Trump to push his agenda. The new map could flip up to five Democratic seats to Republican in the next elections. This is part of a bigger fight across the U. S. over redistricting. Both Republican and Democratic states are redrawing maps to benefit their parties. Gerrymandering is the practice of redrawing district lines to favor one party. The Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering can't be challenged in federal courts. But racial gerrymandering is still illegal. Texas says the new map is not about race. But a federal court ruled that the map likely discriminates based on race. The court ordered the state to use the old map for the next elections. The fight over redistricting is not just in Texas. California and Virginia are also redrawing maps to benefit their parties. The Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, is hearing another case about race and redistricting.