The Republican-controlled Texas Senate approved a new congressional redistricting plan on Tuesday in a 19–2 vote after nine Democratic senators left the chamber in protest. The map, drawn midway through the decade, is designed to create up to five additional GOP-leaning U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Passage in the upper chamber leaves the measure stalled in the Texas House, where more than 50 Democratic lawmakers remain out of state, preventing a quorum. Without their return, the first 30-day special session is expected to adjourn on Friday. Governor Greg Abbott said he will convene a second special session “immediately” if the House cannot vote this week and signaled he is prepared to keep calling sessions until the map and other priorities, including flood-relief funding, are enacted. Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick have also reiterated that absent lawmakers face possible arrest once they re-enter Texas. Multiple sources told ABC News and Houston affiliate KTRK that House Democrats are preparing to return to Austin as early as this weekend, arguing they have succeeded in drawing national attention to the redistricting fight. A spokesperson for the caucus said members are still assessing their strategy, leaving the timing of any House vote on the map uncertain.