By ERIN HOOLEY and CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press
National Guard members from Texas are at an Army Reserve center in Illinois. It's the most visible sign yet of the Trump administration's plan to deploy troops to the Chicago area despite a lawsuit and vigorous opposition from Democratic elected leaders. The Associated Press saw military personnel in uniforms with the Texas National Guard patch at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood in the far southwestern suburbs of Chicago. On Monday, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott posted a picture on social media showing National Guard members from his state boarding a plane, but he didn't specify where they were going.
The fight for control of the U.S. House is underway in California. Voters are considering whether to drastically reshape congressional districts to add as many as five Democratic seats in advance of the 2026 midterm elections. The plan championed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is intended to offset Trump's moves in Texas to gain five Republican districts ahead of the midterms. Ballots are arriving at voters' homes and voting concludes on Nov. 4. The outcome of the election could determine which party controls the closely divided House and the reach of President Donald Trump's power in the second half of his term.
By JIM VERTUNO and ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain more seats in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a win for President Donald Trump and his desire to hold on to a slim GOP majority in the U.S. House. The Texas maps drafted in rare mid-decade redistricting have prompted a gerrymandering tug-of-war for voters with Democrats in states across the country. Outnumbered Democrats tried in vain to stop the Texas vote. At one point, they staged a two-week walkout. Democrats have vowed to challenge the new map in court.
By TRÂN NGUYỄN and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press
Updated
California's Democratic Legislature is moving to counter Texas' mid-decade redraw of its congressional map with one of its own. The Texas House on Wednesday passed a map creating five new winnable seats for Republicans. President Donald Trump has pushed for Republican-controlled states to redraw their legislative maps to give his party a better chance of holding onto control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. California lawmakers are expected to pass a map Thursday to create five new winnable Democratic seats. However, that will still need approval from California voters. The Texas map still needs approval from the state Senate and governor.
By JIM VERTUNO and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press
Updated
The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives kicked off a heated debate over a new congressional map creating five new potential GOP seats that is expected to pass the chamber later Wednesday as part of a growing national redistricting battle. The plan is the result of prodding by President Donald Trump, eager to stave off a midterm defeat that would deprive his party of control of the House of Representatives. Texas Democratic state lawmakers delayed the vote by leaving the state, but enough returned this week for the body to reconvene. The GOP House speaker assigned round-the-clock police monitors to Democrats to keep them from leaving again.
By TRÂN NGUYỄN and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press
Updated
California state lawmakers have started a series of legislative hearings to advance a partisan plan aimed at winning Democrats five more House seats. It's part of a plan to counter a similar effort by Texas Republicans that President Donald Trump pushed for. California Republicans on Tuesday filed an emergency petition to the state Supreme Court to try to stop Democrats' plan. In Texas, state Rep. Nicole Collier stayed at the Capitol overnight and into Tuesday to protest a Republican requirement that she and some of her Democratic colleagues have around-the-clock law enforcement surveillance after they ended a two-week walkout that delayed a vote on the Trump-backed maps.
By BILL BARROW and FERNANDA FIGUEROA Associated Press
Updated
Texas Democrats have ended a two-week walkout that stalled efforts to redraw congressional districts as part of a national partisan brawl over President Donald Trump's desire to reshape U.S. House maps to his advantage. Their return Monday to the Texas Capitol will allow the Republican-run Legislature to proceed as California Democrats' advance a countereffort to redraw their congressional boundaries in retaliation. The tit-for-tat puts the nation's two most populous states at the center of an expanding fight over control of Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas and California have been at the forefront of a national fight to reshape the congressional landscape.
