Houston Sen. Carol Alvarado plans to filibuster a Republican bill that redraws congressional maps and adds five GOP-leaning districts, part of a Trump-backed strategy to secure House control.

Texas state Rep. Gene Wu joined a private strategy call on Thursday with Democratic leaders from other GOP-led states that might also redraw their maps.

While Gov. Greg Abbott blasted through a Democratic blockade and advanced a new congressional map, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is eying a new map in his state.

The House Democrats who broke quorum to block GOP redistricting and stopped all activity in the chamber for two weeks have each been fined more than $9,000, according to a letter dated Thursday from the chairman of the House Administration Committee.

Texas lawmakers approved a new congressional map this week at the behest of President Donald Trump, seeking to preserve his Republican Party's slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2026 midterm elections.

Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the longest-serving member of Texas' congressional delegation, announced Thursday that he will retire instead of run for re-election if new congressional district boundaries aren't rejected in court after state Republicans carved up his Austin-area home district in new maps.