The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday approved House Bill 4, a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan that supporters say could give the GOP as many as five additional U.S. House seats in time for the 2026 midterm elections. The measure passed on a party-line vote of 88–52 after more than seven hours of debate. The map was drafted at the urging of President Donald Trump and marks an unusual departure from the once-a-decade redistricting cycle. It reshapes districts in Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston and South Texas to merge or dilute Democratic-held seats and shift conservative voters into those districts. House passage came days after more than 50 Democratic lawmakers ended a two-week walkout that had denied the chamber a quorum. Republican leaders responded by assigning state troopers to ensure lawmakers remained in the Capitol until the vote was taken. The bill now moves to the GOP-led Senate, where swift approval is expected, before heading to Governor Greg Abbott, who said he will sign it. Democrats and civil-rights groups contend the plan violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting minority voting power and have vowed to sue, setting up a legal and political fight that could reverberate nationally as other states weigh retaliatory map changes.