Congressional map heads to Texas House as mid-decade redistricting continues
A redrawn congressional map that positions Republicans to pick up more seats in Washington is headed to the full Texas House of Representatives for consideration.
The House’s select committee on congressional redistricting voted 12-6 on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 2 to advance the map, after hearing hours of testimony from Texans across the state the day before. The meeting spanned past 1 a.m., though comments from the public ended around 11:30 a.m., when 10 hours set aside for public feedback lapsed.
The redistricting process has been a whirlwind, as lawmakers meet for up to 30 days during a special session called by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The map headed to the full House for consideration, among other changes across the state, would push North Texas’ Congressional District 33, held by Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat, fully into Dallas County. Currently, it falls in both Dallas and Tarrant counties.
Democratic members of the committee, including Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat, spoke out against the proposed plan ahead of the Saturday vote. Turner noted that back home in his district, constituents are preparing for a new school year.
“That’s where I wanted to be this morning,” Turner said. “Meanwhile, this committee meets here to rip apart and divide their communities. To rob them and their kids of their voices in Congress, all to appease the Republican Party’s cult leader in the White House. Doubling down on our state’s shameful history of intentional racial discrimination.”
President Donald Trump has reportedly said he wants Texas to pick up five Republican congressional seats, and the map headed to the full House could help Republicans achieve the gains.
Under the proposed boundaries, Trump would have won three congressional districts he lost in 2024, according to an analysis of general election data from the Texas Legislative Council. Among those districts is Congressional District 32 in North Texas, represented by Rep. Rep. Julie Johnson, a Farmers Branch Democrat. Two seats currently held by Democratic members of Congress would lean further to the right.
The proposed map includes eight congressional districts where Hispanic residents make up the majority of citizens of voting age, compared to seven currently, Hunter told his committee colleagues on Friday. It includes two districts where Black residents make up the majority of citizens of voting age, compared to none currently, he said.
The map proposes 24 districts where white residents make up the majority of eligible voters, up from 22 currently, according to an analysis by The Texas Tribune.
Abbott’s special session call comes after the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter targeting four congressional districts as “unconstitutional ‘coalition districts.’” Among them was Veasey’s seat.
Rep. Cody Vasut, an Angleton Republican who chairs the committee considering the congressional map, previously said it could be considered by the House early next week.
“Today, the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting passed HB 4, the #BigBeautifulMap, providing an opportunity for five more Republican congressional seats in Texas,” Vasut said in a post on X. “Onward to Calendar.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2025 at 10:32 AM.
