A federal court Tuesday struck down the new Republican congressional map of Texas that aimed to flip up to five Democratic seats, ruling that the new districts amount to illegal racial gerrymandering aimed at limiting the power of Black and Latino voters.

In a surprise decision, the three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the Lone Star State must use its previous map in the 2026 midterms and may not use the new one Texas Republicans ordered up at Trump’s urging to help maintain GOP control of the House of Representatives.

The ruling, which came after a two-week hearing, accused Texas lawmakers of illegally redrawing the state’s district lines to reduce the ability of minority voters to elect representatives of their choice.

“It was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows

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