A federal court on Tuesday blocked Texas from using its newly drawn 2025 congressional map, ruling that state lawmakers likely engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

In a 160-page order, a three-judge panel in the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction preventing the state from implementing the map in the 2026 elections. Instead, the court ordered Texas to revert to the congressional map enacted in 2021 while the case proceeds.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the new congressional maps into law after calling a special session earlier this year.

The maps, pushed by President Donald Trump, were designed to give Republicans an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections and could help the party pick up as many as five seats.

Abbott said he would appeal Tuesday's ruling, calling it "erroneous."

"The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans' conservative voting preferences – and for no other reason," he said. "Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton echoed that sentiment and blamed Democrats.

"For years, Democrats have engaged in partisan redistricting intended to eliminate Republican representation," he said. "Democratic states across the country, from California to Illinois to New York, have systematically reduced representation of Republican voters in their congressional delegations."

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In November, California responded to the Texas effort to redraw its maps. Voters approved a constitutional amendment to redraw the state’s congressional districts, creating maps that would favor Democrats and potentially flip five Republican-held seats.

The Department of Justice has sued to block California from implementing the maps, calling the plan a “brazen power grab that tramples on civil rights.”