"President Donald Trump has pushed for the map to help the GOP maintain its slim majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. It has five new districts that would favor Republicans. Abbott, a Republican, is expected to quickly sign it into law, though Democrats have vowed to challenge it in court. The effort by Trump and Texas' Republican-majority Legislature prompted state Democrats to hold a two-week walkout and kicked off a wave of redistricting efforts across the country."
"State Sen. Carol Alvarado, leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, announced on social media that she planned to filibuster the bill with a long speech and intended to speak for several hours. But just when she expected to start, the Senate broke for a long dinner break. When members returned, Alvarado never had a chance to filibuster because Republicans accused her of breaking Senate rules by attempting to fundraise off the coming filibuster."
"Sen. Charles Perry said it "appears to be potentially unlawful, at least unethical, using state resources for a campaign purpose." A spokesperson for Alvarado did not immediately respond to an email and phone call from The Associated Press. "Shutting down a filibuster over a fundraising email is unprecedented," Democratic Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said in a post on social media platform X. "It exposes the hypocrisy of Republicans, who will turn around and raise millions off stealing Texans' votes while silencing their voices.""
The Texas Senate approved a Republican-leaning congressional map that adds five districts likely to favor Republicans and sent it to Gov. Greg Abbott for signature. President Donald Trump backed the map to help the GOP try to retain a narrow U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterm elections. State Democrats staged a two-week walkout and vowed court challenges. Senate Democrats attempted a filibuster, but Republicans stopped it after alleging fundraising violations tied to the planned speech. The dispute produced accusations over procedure and ethics and galvanized further redistricting actions nationwide.
Read at ABC7 Chicago
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]