EL PASO, Texas — A panel of three federal judges has ruled that Texas cannot use a new congressional map drawn by Republicans in hopes of securing the party additional U.S. House seats, blocking the map from taking effect ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he plans on filing an appeal.

The 2-1 ruling followed a nearly two-week trial in El Paso. The court's decision marks a major setback for President Donald Trump’s efforts to push GOP-led legislatures in multiple states to redraw maps in order to preserve the party’s slim House majority during the potentially difficult 2026 cycle.

Texas this summer became the first state to meet Trump’s demands in what has grown into a nationwide redistricting battle. Republicans drew a new map that would have giv

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