A US federal court has blocked Texas from using a new congressional map intended to flip several Democratic-held US House of Representatives seats to Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.

The court faulted Governor Greg Abbott for directing the legislature to draw it based on race.

The 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel dealt a major blow to Texas Republicans who had been urged by President Donald Trump to redraw the boundaries of the state's congressional districts to maximise the number of Republicans who could be elected in order to protect his party's narrow US House majority.

The El Paso-based panel ruled in favour of civil rights groups that had challenged the map, finding that "substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered" it.

The map was passed by the Republ

See Full Page