Texas House committee advances congressional redistricting plan
AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- In a Saturday morning meeting, the Texas House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting approved legislation to change redraw voting districts for the Congressional seats in the state. The committee vote sets the stage for the bill to be considered by Texas House members next week.
House Bill 4 calls for redrawing 37 of the state's 38 congressional districts, with changes primarily focused on five districts drawn for partisan Republican advantage. President Donald Trump previously called for Texas leaders to redraw maps to gain Republican seats in the 2026 elections.
"Just a very simple redrawing, we pick up five seats," the president told reporters last month.
The Saturday morning committee vote came after a lengthy public hearing over the legislation that started Friday morning. The hearing stretched past midnight, ending just before 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, presented House Bill 4 at the start of Friday's hearing. Hunter acknowledged the map was drawn using "political performance" as a criteria, citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent allowing partisan considerations in redistricting.
"These districts were drawn primarily using political performance," Hunter said. "That criteria from the U.S. Supreme Court."
Hunter, who is listed as the author of HB 4, faced several questions about whether he instructed map makers to carve out five new Republican seats, as Trump requested. Hunter said he did not give any direction as to the outcome of redrawing the map. Hunter also claimed repeatedly that he did not know who drew the maps used in the legislation.
"We have to do a congressional redistricting. A law firm was hired. They no doubt were doing work. The chairman of the committee asked me to file the bill. I agreed. I met with counsel. They showed me the data and what they were, think that they could be able to show on the data. I said, let's get it in bill form," Hunter said early Saturday morning, responding to a question from Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat from Dallas.
The proposed changes target Districts 9, 28, 32, 34 and 35, creating what Hunter described as Republican-leaning seats while establishing new majority-minority districts. Under the plan, four of the five redrawn districts would have Hispanic citizen voting-age population majorities.
"Each of these newly drawn districts now trend Republican in political performance," Hunter said. "Doesn't guarantee electoral success. Does not guarantee -- that's up to the candidates."
Partisan advantage acknowledged
During Friday's hearing, Hunter and State Rep. David Spiller, R - Jacksboro, openly discussed the partisan intent behind the redistricting effort. Spiller noted that Texas currently holds a 65% Republican advantage in its congressional delegation despite being 58% Republican statewide, compared to larger advantages in Democratic-controlled states.
"There is nothing wrong with doing it," Hunter said regarding partisan redistricting. "I'm telling you that we have five new districts, and these five new districts are based on political performance."
The proposed changes would affect major metropolitan areas including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley.
State Rep. Christian Manuel, D-Port Arthur, questioned whether the changes represented "political retaliation" against Black congressional members who have opposed the current administration.
"Is this political retribution against congressional members, particularly those who have been outspoken and who, whether it's intentional or not, happen to be Black African American?" Manuel asked.
Hunter responded: "The answer I can only speak for Todd Hunter, is no."
The committee vote Saturday morning to advance the bill was 12-6 along party lines Committee Chair Cody Vasut, R - Angleton, said he expects the proposed map will be discussed on the House floor as early as Tuesday next week.