The Republican-led Texas House on Wednesday approved the new congressional map geared to possibly hand five additional U.S. House seats to the GOP over fierce opposition from Democrats, who cast the plan as a racially discriminatory attempt by President Donald Trump to stack the deck in next year’s midterm election.

The House adopted the map, 88 to 52, along party lines. A Senate panel advanced the map Thursday morning, and the full chamber was expected to send the new lines to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk later this week.

To create up to five Republican pickup opportunities, the map dismantles Democratic strongholds around Austin, Dallas and Houston and makes Democrat-held seats in South Texas redder — all without seriously jeopardizing any of the 25 districts Republicans already control. Th

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