The Texas Senate approved a bill early on Saturday to redraw the state’s congressional maps at the behest of President Donald Trump in an effort to flip five seats held by Democrats to Republicans.
The approval comes after the state House passed it on Wednesday, US media reported. The measure goes to Governor Greg Abbott, like Trump a Republican, to be signed into law amid a nationwide redistricting battle.
State Senator Carol Alvarado, a Democrat, said on social media on Friday that she planned to delay the measure by speaking continuously about it in the legislature, a move known as a filibuster. In 2021, Alvarado delayed passage of Texas’ district map by speaking for 15 hours straight.
But a rare procedural motion by Senate Republicans just after midnight ended the debate and killed the filibuster, moving the chamber straight to the final vote, the Texas Tribune reported.
The Senate adopted the bill on a party-line vote, 18 to 11, after more than eight hours of debate, the report said.
Republicans have acknowledged they believe winning more congressional seats in Texas will help the party maintain its slim majority in the US House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections, despite polls showing headwinds for the party. More states controlled by Republicans are considering similar action.
California and other states where Democrats hold power vow to counter such moves. The California legislature on Thursday approved a redistricting plan aimed at giving Democrats five more congressional seats.
The California plan must be approved by voters in November. The Texas plan does not need voter approval, but Democrats have indicated they will challenge it in court.
The Texas bill was delayed for two weeks after more than 50 Democratic state House members staged a walkout that denied Republicans the legislative quorum needed. They have returned.
During debate on Friday, some lawmakers echoed criticism that Democrats raised in the House, that the new Texas map violates federal law by diluting Hispanic and Black voting power and discriminating on the basis of race.
Senator Royce West, a Democrat, predicted the new map would reduce the number of African Americans representing Texas in Washington from four to two.
“I call that retrogression,” West said.
Texas Senator Phil King, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said repeatedly he had not considered race and that lawyers had assured him the bill meets all legal requirements.
“From my perspective, why would I use racial data?” he told his fellow senators. “Voting history is just much more accurate and is well established as a legal way to draw maps.”
Most Americans believe redrawing congressional lines for the sake of maximizing political gain, known as gerrymandering, is bad for democracy, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found this week.
Texas Senate approves redistricting bill, sending it to governor to sign
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Texas Senate approves redistricting bill, sending it to governor to sign
- The measure goes to Republican Governor Greg Abbott to be signed into law amid a nationwide redistricting battle
Pope criticizes prison overcrowding during special Mass for inmates, guards and families
- Leo recalled that visit in Sunday’s homily, as well as Francis’ Holy Year appeal for governments around the world to offer prison amnesties and pardons
ROME: Pope Leo XIV criticized prison overcrowding and insufficient inmate rehabilitation programs on Sunday as he celebrated a special Mass for detainees, guards and their families in the final event of the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year.
The Vatican said an estimated 6,000 people signed up to participate in the weekend pilgrimage, including representatives from big detention facilities in Italy and prison volunteers, wardens and prison chaplains from 90 countries.
Included were a few groups of inmates who received special permission to participate, according to the Italian penitentiary chaplain’s association.
In his homily, Leo acknowledged the oftentimes poor conditions prisoners face even in wealthier countries. He called for a sense of charity and forgiveness to prevail for prisoners and those responsible for guarding them.
“Here, we can mention overcrowding, insufficient commitment to guarantee stable educational programs for rehabilitation and job opportunities,” he said, adding that patience and forgiveness are needed.
“On a more personal level, let us not forget the weight of the past, the wounds to be healed in body and heart, the disappointments, the infinite patience that is needed with oneself and with others when embarking on paths of conversion, and the temptation to give up or to no longer forgive,” he said.
As the last big event of the 2025 Jubilee, the Mass in many ways closed out the Holy Year that Pope Francis inaugurated Christmas Eve 2024, which had as its main thrust transmitting a message of hope especially for those on society’s margins.
During his 12-year pontificate, Francis had prioritized ministering to prisoners to offer them hope for a better future. On Dec. 26 last year Francis traveled to Rome’s Rebibbia prison to open its Holy Door and include the inmates in the Jubilee celebrations.
Leo recalled that visit in Sunday’s homily, as well as Francis’ Holy Year appeal for governments around the world to offer prison amnesties and pardons, which are a mainstay of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee tradition.
In Italy, prison overcrowding is a longstanding problem that has been denounced by the European Court of Human Rights and humanitarian organizations.
Antigone, an Italian prisoner advocacy group, said Italian prisons are now at 135 percent overcapacity, with more than 63,000 people detained in facilities with fewer than 47,000 beds. Italian prison authorities received 5,837 complaints of inhuman or degrading treatment last year, 23.4 percent more than in the previous year, Antigone said.
The Mass was the final big Jubilee event of the 2025 Holy Year, which Leo will officially close out on Jan. 6 when he shuts the Holy Door of St. Peter’s.
