Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito just threw a lifeline to Texas Republicans with a last-minute block on a federal court’s decision to toss out the state’s new congressional map.
Alito issued an administrative stay, ensuring the disputed boundaries remain in play while the Supreme Court mulls over the case, giving GOP candidates a fighting chance as challenges mount, The Daily Caller reported.
Earlier this year, Texas Republicans, nudged by former President Donald Trump, redrew the state’s congressional map to bolster their odds of maintaining control in upcoming elections.
This new layout has potential for up to five GOP pickups.
However, it didn’t sit well with everyone, especially advocacy groups like the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Just days ago, on November 18, a federal panel in the Western District of Texas declared the map likely a racial gerrymander.
By a tight 2-1 vote, the court struck it down and ignited a firestorm.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott wasn’t about to let that stand, however.
Abbott responded by filing an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court on Friday evening.
The governor is pushing for clarity before the candidate filing deadline on December 8.
Enter Justice Alito, who personally signed the stay on Friday.
The move halts the lower court’s ruling and allows candidates to keep filing under the contested map.
The Supreme Court’s order was crystal clear: The district court’s decision “is hereby administratively stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court.”
Meanwhile, Texas Republicans have been given some breathing room against a progressive push to redraw the lines.
Alito’s order didn’t just hit pause; it set a tight clock, requiring challengers like the League of United Latin American Citizens to submit responses by Monday at 5 p.m. EST.
Abbott’s appeal highlighted the stakes, warning that “the confusion sown by the district court’s eleventh-hour injunction poses a very real risk of preventing candidates from being placed on the ballot and may well call into question the integrity of the upcoming election,” as reported by The Hill.
While some cry foul over gerrymandering, others see a judicial overreach threatening to upend a critical election process at the last second.
Governor Abbott has urged the justices to make a final call by December 1, hoping to lock in certainty before the filing period closes.
The Supreme Court is expected to weigh in after Monday’s responses, potentially shaping not just Texas’s political landscape but also the broader debate over electoral fairness.
While critics of the map decry it as unfair, the timing of the lower court’s ruling feels like a deliberate wrench in the gears, and Alito’s stay might just keep the system from grinding to a halt.
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