Justice Samuel Alito has temporarily reinstated Texas' contested congressional map, a move that could boost Republicans by up to five seats in the 2026 midterms, while the Supreme Court reviews a lower court's decision that found the map likely relied on unconstitutional racial considerations. The redistricting plan, pushed by Texas Republicans and backed by President Trump, had been thrown out earlier in the week, per Politico.
Alito's order allows state officials to proceed with 2026 election preparations under the new boundaries—at least for now. Texas had filed an emergency appeal arguing that discarding the map at this stage would disrupt an election cycle already in motion, with candidate filings and campaigning underway and early voting for the March primary just three months out. State Solicitor General William Peterson said overturning the map would create "obvious" chaos and argued that the redistricting was driven by a desire for GOP advantage, not race.
The state's petition asked the Supreme Court to issue a longer-term stay by Dec. 1, ahead of the congressional filing deadline, and to ultimately reverse the lower court's ruling. The AP notes that SCOTUS' right-leaning majority has stymied lower court rulings in other cases due to being too close to elections. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, who penned the 2-1 majority decision against the map, acknowledged the inconvenience of reverting to old boundaries but said that was outweighed by the harm of a potential unconstitutional gerrymander. Alito, who handles emergency matters from the 5th Circuit, is expected to refer the case to the full court. He has put the issue on a fast track, giving civil rights groups until Monday afternoon to respond.
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