Supreme Court Blocks Ruling Striking Down Texas Congressional Map

Matthew Vadum, 11/21/2025|Updated: 11/21/2025

A federal district court ruled Nov. 18 that challengers would likely be able to prove at trial that the state map was racially discriminatory.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency stay late Nov. 21, temporarily allowing a newly redrawn election map that was expected to increase Republican representation in the state’s U.S. House delegation.

The Supreme Court took action hours after Texas appealed a federal district court ruling striking down the election map passed earlier this year.

Justice Samuel Alito, who oversees urgent appeals from Texas, issued an administrative stay halting the lower court ruling. An administrative stay preserves the status quo while giving justices more time to consider a case.

Republicans currently enjoy a razor-thin majority over Democrats in the House of Representatives, and Texas Republicans currently hold 25 of the state’s U.S. House seats. Democrats hold 12 seats. Congressional elections are scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.

The emergency application that Texas filed earlier in the day asks the nation’s highest court to overturn the ruling and issue an order blocking its enforcement for the time being.

Under the federal Voting Rights Act, the state is allowed to file an appeal directly with the Supreme Court, skipping the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Texas Sues Tylenol Maker Over Allegedly Omitting Evidence of Autism Link From Marketing

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Johnson and Johnson, accusing the pharmaceutical company of failing to warn consumers about the risk of taking Tylenol while pregnant.

This lawsuit, the first of its kind from a state government, comes a month after President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced updated guidance discouraging pregnant women from taking acetaminophen, citing it as a possible cause of autism. The announcement set off a wave of controversy in the health care community, and confusion among pregnant women unsure how they should manage fever and pain during pregnancy.

The science around Tylenol and autism is uncertain. While some studies suggest a correlation between taking Tylenol while pregnant and having a child with autism, others have repudiated those findings. Major medical associations rejected Kennedy and Trump’s claims as overly generalized and potentially harmful.

Medical Students Have Spring Semester Tuition Fully Covered

(NewsNation) — Medical students from the Class of 2026 at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University will have their spring semester tuition fully covered.

According to a TCU news release, an anonymous family donated $1.8 million to cover the cost of the students’ last semester of medical school.

The announcement was made to students via Zoom call by Stuart D. Flynn, founding dean of the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU.

“The donors hope that this alleviates some of the financial stress of being a medical student and allows you to make the best choices possible as you head into residency,” Flynn said.

Secretary of War will Pursue Execution of Fort Hood Mass Murderer

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) – Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says he will be pursuing the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army doctor convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre.  [Pictured here]. 

In a statement sent to KWTX by the Pentagon, Hegseth states, “I am 100 percent committed to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan. This savage terrorist deserves the harshest lawful punishment for his 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. The victims and survivors deserve justice without delays.”

It’s news that victims tell us, they are happy to hear.

Retired Army veteran Alonzo Lunsford was serving at Darnell Hospital on Fort Hood when, then Major Nidal Hasan, was waiting in the soldier readiness processing center.

“While I was at the front checking soldiers in, Major Hasan was sitting in the chair,” said Lunsford. “He was sitting in the [chair] by himself and rocking like this.”

Texas Democrats Take Center Stage at DNC Summer Meeting Amid Redistricting Battles

Chase Smith, 08/25/2025,  Brandon Bell/Getty Images

State House Minority Leader Gene Wu detailed Texas Democrats’ quorum-busting in recent weeks as other states like California weigh counter redistricting.

Texas Democrats got a heroes’ welcome on opening day of the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in Minneapolis, with DNC Chair Ken Martin and Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu outlining their response to Republicans’ redistricting plan.

“We’re fighting fire with fire in Texas with a massive mobilization effort, and working alongside brave Texas Democrats who are standing up and squaring up with [Gov.] Greg Abbott and [President] Donald Trump,” Martin said in his opening remarks on Aug. 25.

Texas Senate Panel Advances House-Passed Map, Setting Up Floor Vote

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/texas-senate-panel-advances-house-passed-map-setting-up-floor-vote-5904187

By Jackson Richman, 08/21/25. https://www.theepochtimes.com/author/jackson-richman

A Texas Senate committee advanced a newly drawn congressional map on Aug. 21 that was passed by the state House, setting it up for a vote on the state Senate floor.

The vote tally in the Texas Senate Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting was 5–3.

The map would likely flip five U.S. congressional seats in the Lone Star State in favor of the GOP. If the state Senate passes the map, it will go to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature. The state Senate is scheduled to meet on Thursday evening.

The committee advanced the map to the floor a day after the state House passed its map 88–52, following a several-hours-long session.

“I congratulate Speaker [Dustin] Burrows and the Republican members of the Texas House of Representatives for passing congressional districts that better reflect the actual votes of Texans,” Abbott said in an Aug. 20 statement. "While Democrats shirked their duty, in futility, and ran away to other states, Republicans stayed the course, stayed at work and stayed true to Texas. I will sign this bill once it passes the Senate and gets to my desk.”

Texas AG Sues Eli Lilly

by Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Eli Lilly for allegedly “bribing” doctors to prescribe the company’s most profitable drugs, including its GLP-1 weight-loss medications Mounjaro and Zepbound. 

Many of the prescriptions were covered by Texas Medicaid, resulting in “millions of dollars” in claims made at taxpayers’ expense, the suit alleges.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Eli Lilly for allegedly “bribing” doctors to prescribe the company’s most profitable drugs, including its GLP-1 weight-loss.