Andrew Schneider | Houston Public Media

Lawmakers who lead the states are both seeking to add five U.S. House seats for their respective parties, after Trump, who's eager to maintain the narrow GOP majority in the House, pushed the Texas Legislature to redistrict and help Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.

Attorneys representing 16 Texas families of varying religious and nonreligious backgrounds requested an injunction to block Senate Bill 10 from taking effect, pending the outcome of a challenge to its constitutionality.

A quartet of civil liberties organizations is suing the state on behalf of 16 Texas families of various religious and non-religious backgrounds. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to stop Senate Bill 10, requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public-school classrooms, from taking effect on Sept. 1.

Republican state lawmakers argue their proposed congressional redistricting map would create Latino opportunity districts. But state Rep. Vince Perez (D-El Paso) counters that the map is drawn to leave Latino residents with one-third the voting power of whites. For Blacks, he says it would be one-fifth.

Ten Texas Democrats as well as two Republicans – one from California and another from New York – are advocating federal legislation to restrict states to redistricting once a decade, following the U.S. Census, unless otherwise required by courts. The chances of passing such a bill in the current Congress are slim.

The attorney general issued an opinion after Texas House Democrats broke quorum in 2021, stating that the move could allow Gov. Greg Abbott to replace lawmakers with appointees of his choosing.

The move effectively brings the state House of Representatives to a standstill and prevents any consideration by the full chamber of HB 4, which would dramatically redraw Texas’ congressional maps.

The proposed map targets districts dominated by coalitions of Latino and Black voters, with a focus on districts in the Rio Grande Valley, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Central Texas. Houston Democrats would also see their districts shuffled.

President Donald Trump is seeking to pick up at least four, potentially five, Texas congressional seats for Republicans in a midterm election cycle that ordinarily would favor the Democrats. Gov. Greg Abbott has obliged Trump by adding redistricting to a crowded special session that also includes disaster recovery and preparedness.

Michael Coen, chief of staff of FEMA under former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, called on the state to be more proactive in preparing for disasters.