The U.S. Supreme Court will allow Texas' newly redrawn congressional maps to stand while an case against them plays out, according to a new order issued on Friday.
Justice Samuel Alito signed an order placing an administrative stay on the order from a lower district court in Texas, which had halted the use of the new maps after finding that state lawmakers likely engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering to create them.
Alito signed the order because he is responsible for addressing emergency appeals from certain states, including Texas.
In a 160-page order earlier this week, 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.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called Tuesday's ruling "erroneous" and quickly appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As of Friday, the Supreme Court's administrative stay will remain in place until the court orders otherwise. The Supreme Court has also required a response to Texas' appeal in the case no later than Monday, November 24.
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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.
"The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans' conservative voting preferences – and for no other reason," Gov. Abbott said. "Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings."
