Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed into law on Friday a newly gerrymandered map for Texas’ U.S. House districts, openly declaring that the state’s congressional delegation would soon be more Republican.
The redistricting push has triggered a scramble in other states, controlled by Democrats and Republicans, to redraw their U.S. House maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, as President Trump pushes to maintain control of Congress with methods far outside the political norm. Democrats such as Gov. Gavin Newsom of California have tried to counter in a fight that appears to be accelerating.
Mr. Abbott’s signing, announced in a video posted to social media, came nearly a week after the legislation passed the Texas Legislature. And it punctuated a special legislative session in which Republican lawmakers battled with Democrats over redistricting and, once the map was passed, quickly pushed through a raft of other hard-right bills.
Mr. Abbott said that the map, which redraws congressional districts to flip five seats currently held by Democrats, would ensure “fairer representation in the United States Congress.” In signing the legislation, he referred to it by the name favored by President Trump — “the One Big Beautiful Map” — who had been pushing for Texas to conduct the rare mid-decade redistricting since the spring.
“Texas is now more red in the United States Congress,” Mr. Abbott said, holding up the paper with his signature on it.
Redistricting was only one of two dozen items on Mr. Abbott’s agenda for the session, including hard-right bills to curb mail-order abortion pills sent from out of state, regulate the use of bathrooms by transgender people and expand the powers of the state attorney general to investigate allegations of election law violations.
Those socially conservative measures had failed during previous regular sessions. But each sailed through the Legislature during this 30-day special session as Republican lawmakers, unified after their battles with Democrats over redistricting, appeared to emulate the Trump administration’s uncompromising, aggressively partisan model for conservative governance.
J. David Goodman is the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma.
The post Abbott Signs Gerrymandered Map as Texas G.O.P. Moves Further Right appeared first on New York Times.
