The partisan breakdown of the chamber today resembles the popular vote more closely than it has in decades: Republicans, who won 50.6 percent of all votes in House races in 2024, control slightly more than half the seats. Democrats, who garnered 47.8 percent, have 49.4 percent of seats.

Texas Republicans are using this month’s special session to attempt to lock in the party’s majority in Congress by means of weakening or eliminating Democratic districts in the state. As

Texas Republicans want to redraw the state's congressional districts to gain an advantage in next year's election. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., says Democrats must counter or become complicit.

Texas Republicans had been working quietly for several months to take up Mr. Trump’s call for an aggressive redrawing of the state’s congressional maps, aiming to gain five additional Republican seats in the U.S. House and help the party keep control of the chamber after the 2026 midterms.

With few options to prevent the Republican majority from passing a new congressional map, Democrats threatened to filibuster and even break quorum.

Districts in Houston, Austin, Dallas and South Texas could be part of the push to create up to five new Republican seats in Congress.

Beto O'Rourke said Democrats should be "ruthlessly focused on winning power" through their own redistricting in California as Texas Republicans began a special session.

Republicans hold 25 out of 38 congressional seats, or 65% of the delegation. Trump only won 56% of the vote in the 2024 election, while former Vice President Kamala Harris won 42%. The state's delegation is 65.8% white, while Texas’ population is less than 40% white.