The Texas Senate is reconvening Friday morning to take up a controversial GOP redistricting bill that triggered a weeks-long House standoff. The Republican-backed proposal, which passed the House in an 88-52 party-line vote on Wednesday, aims to redraw the state's congressional map and produce five new GOP-leaning districts.

The vote comes more than two weeks after dozens of Democrats left Texas, stalling a vote on new congressional maps favoring Republicans.

Texas GOP set to pass map adding 5 House seats, triggering national redistricting fight and Democratic retaliation. Newsweek's live blog is closed.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom used his Democratic supermajority to push a new congressional map that favors Democrats in an effort to nullify the expected new map from Texas.

Texas lawmakers approved a new congressional map this week at the behest of President Donald Trump, seeking to preserve his Republican Party's slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2026 midterm elections.

Democratic state Representative Nicole Collier hunkered down for a second night in the Texas Capitol building rather than accept a mandatory police escort in a redistricting battle as President Donald Trump seeks to keep Republican control of Congress.

Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives returned to Austin on Aug. 18, 2025, but their protest of redistricting efforts continues.