The Texas House of Representatives is set to vote on a contentious redistricting plan that could increase the number of congressional seats held by Republicans. The vote on House Bill 4 is scheduled for Wednesday morning.

House leadership plans to conduct a second and third reading of the bill on the same day, a move that is considered unusual and aims to expedite its passage to the Texas Senate. Democrats have voiced strong opposition to the proposed map, claiming it is designed to shift five U.S. House seats from Democratic to Republican control.

State Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat from Houston, has introduced an amendment linking the redistricting map to the release of Epstein files by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Wu stated, "Trump is in those files, and that's why he's fighting to keep them hidden. At the same time he's demanding Abbott ram through racist maps, he's making sure Congressional Republicans block the release of files that could expose his decades-long relationship with a child sex trafficker. This amendment forces Republicans to choose between their loyalty to Trump and their obligation to expose sexual predators."

On the Republican side, there is enthusiasm to move past the redistricting debate. State Rep. Jeff Leach, a Republican from Plano, expressed confidence in the plan, stating, "In about 12 hours, the silly games, petulant name-calling and ridiculous publicity stunts of our Democrat colleagues will be met with the resounding and overwhelming adoption of the fair, legal and constitutional congressional redistricting plan, HB 4. I can’t wait to vote YES to send the Big Beautiful Map to the desk of [Gov. Greg Abbott]!"

A protest took place at the Texas Capitol on Wednesday morning, where demonstrators chanted "put Texans first" in opposition to the new congressional map. This protest followed an evacuation of the Capitol grounds the previous evening due to a reported threat on social media, as noted by the Texas Department of Public Safety.