AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday he’s not ready to call a special legislative session that would allow lawmakers to redraw Texas’ Congressional boundaries and potentially add more Republicans to the state’s delegation to Washington.
Historically, the party that controls the White House takes congressional losses in midterm elections. If Texas, a reliably red state, increases the number of Republicans it sends to Congress through a rare mid-decade redistricting process, the GOP could offset losses in other states.
The Texas Legislature is not scheduled to meet again until January 2027, well after the 2026 midterm elections. Abbott must call a special session in order for the Legislature to meet before 2027.
“Right now I haven’t identified a need for a special session, and I wouldn’t do that until I get through all these bills,” Abbott told reporters Wednesday. “You’ll see some more vetoes come up, I suspect, in the coming days. And so we’ll need to take a look at what things look like after that.”
A veto of certain bills could give Abbott immediate reasons to bring lawmakers back to Austin.
The New York Times published a story this week, citing unnamed sources, that President Donald Trump’s political operation wants Texas Republicans to consider a rare mid-decade redistricting.
Abbott says he frequently talks to Trump, but would not disclose if the president asked him to call a special session on redistricting.
“Just to be clear, whether it be that or any other topic, I would never disclose what I talked to Trump about in private,” Abbott said.
In 2021, Abbott called lawmakers into a special session to finish redistricting plans for legislative and congressional seats. Analysts say a special session on redistricting would likely focus on redrawing South Texas and Rio Grande Valley districts, where Trump and Republicans have made gains.