Speaking to two dozen state lawmakers, a packed hearing room, two overflow rooms and a robust virtual waiting room, Texans condemned the Legislature’s plan to redraw the state’s congressional map at the House redistricting committee’s first public meeting on Thursday.

President Trump and Texas GOP leaders push for mid-decade redistricting to create five new winnable seats, as both parties engage in mapping strategies to control the House in 2026.

Tempers have flared at the Texas Capitol during the first in a series of public hearings to address a controversial plan to redraw the Lone Star State’s congressional map, with one candidate being forcibly removed from the State House chambers and arrested last week.

Gov. Greg Abbott was initially resistant to the plan pushed by President Donald Trump’s political team to pick up new GOP seats through a rare mid-decade redistricting.

The catastrophic floods in the Texas Hill Country and a partisan redrawing of U.S. House maps, aimed at giving Republicans more winnable seats in the 2026 elections, are two major issues in a 30-day special session that is already off to a combative start.