Justice Alito delivers win to Texas GOP, temporarily restores Republican congressional map



U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivered Texas Republicans some good news on Friday, temporarily reinstating the Republican-friendly congressional map they passed in August.

After Texas Republicans surmounted weeks of obstruction by their Democratic colleagues, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ultimately signed the "One Big Beautiful Map into law" on Aug. 29, leaving the Lone Star Sate with a congressional map that could net the GOP five extra seats in the midterm elections.

'Radical left-wing activists are abusing the judicial system to derail the Republican agenda and steal the U.S. House.'

However, the adoption of the new map prompted hand-wringing among liberals and a successful Democratic gerrymandering campaign in California — as well as a legal challenge from several race-based groups of plaintiffs led by the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The plaintiffs alleged in their complaint that the map was the result of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering and asked a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to block use of the map for the 2026 elections.

The court on Tuesday ruled 2-1 in favor of the liberal advocacy groups, finding that the challengers likely would be able to prove that it was racially gerrymandered.

RELATED: Yet another state's districts found to be racist, resulting in new map for 2026 midterms

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

"The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics," wrote Judge Jeffrey Brown in the ruling. "To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was among the liberals who celebrated the ruling, noting that "Donald Trump and Greg Abbott played with fire, got burned — and democracy won. This ruling is a win for Texas, and for every American who fights for free and fair elections."

But the celebration proved premature as Abbott and other Texas officials promptly appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement, "Radical left-wing activists are abusing the judicial system to derail the Republican agenda and steal the U.S. House for Democrats. I am fighting to stop this blatant attempt to upend our political system."

Justice Alito stayed the lower court's ruling Friday and gave GOP map opponents until Monday to respond to his order.

The Republican map is back in play pending the outcome of the state's appeal before the high court.

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Trump's 'chainsaw' ally wins key election in South America



Since taking office in December 2023, Argentina's self-proclaimed "anarcho-capitalist" President Javier Milei has successfully taken a "chainsaw" to his leftist predecessors' ruinous policies and rescued his nation from an economic death spiral.

Despite delivering significant results, the fate of the Argentine president's libertarian agenda and his nation's continued support from the U.S. were conditional on the success of Milei's Freedom Advances party in Sunday's midterm elections.

Fortunately for Milei and his anti-left alliance with the United States, the Freedom Advances party prevailed over its leftist rivals in almost every district in the country, securing nearly 41% of the national vote — far and above the result reportedly expected by the Milei government.

Milei's party picked up 64 seats in the lower house of the Argentine National Congress and 12 seats in the Senate. The ruling party exceeded the threshold necessary to sustain Milei's presidential vetoes.

President Donald Trump congratulated Milei "on his Landslide Victory" early Monday morning, noting, "Our confidence in him was justified by the People of Argentina."

"He's making us all look good. Congratulations Javier!" added Trump.

RELATED: Trump’s Caribbean ‘drug wars’ are forging a new Monroe Doctrine

Photo by Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images

"The [Argentine] president is fighting 100 years of bad economic history and policy," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at an Oct. 14 Cabinet meeting where Milei was present. "There's a midterm election coming up. We think he's going to do quite well and then continue his reform agenda."

Bessent indicated that whereas the Obama administration "wasted" an opportunity to support Latin American governments when they moved center-right politically, the Trump administration is forming economic bridges with like-minded nations that "want to do the right thing."

'The entire country confirmed its will to irreversibly change the destiny of our homeland.'

In the case of Argentina, whose stability Bessent indicated was "in the strategic interest of the United States," American support recently came in the form of a $20 billion currency swap — a lifeline bypassing the International Monetary Fund that is aimed at economically stabilizing the country — and the possibility of $20 billion more in private credit.

Trump underscored the importance of the election and noted that if Milei and his party didn't win, the U.S. would "not be generous with Argentina."

"Our approvals are somewhat subject to who wins the election because if a socialist or — in the case of New York City — a communist wins, you feel a lot differently about making an investment," said Trump, suggesting further that the U.S. wouldn't waste money supporting a government kneecapped by or captive to a leftist philosophy.

Milei noted in his victory speech that when the new lawmakers take their congressional seats in December, Argentina "will have the most reformist Congress in Argentina," and his party will work to make Argentina "the most free country in the world," reported the Buenos Aires Herald.

"Today, the entire country confirmed its will to irreversibly change the destiny of our homeland," added Milei.

Florida Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R) stated on Sunday, "Milei is the moral reference for the hemisphere, the exact opposite of Maduro. He's proving that freedom, capitalism, and democracy still work. President Trump recognizes that, and together we can help Latin America prosper with those same values."

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CNN host warns Democrats they are 'way behind' Republicans



CNN host Harry Enten warned Democrats this week they could trail Republicans by the largest margins in decades if they do not turn things around.

Enten, the resident stats expert at CNN, told Democrats to "hold the phone" if they think criticizing the Trump administration over the Jeffrey Epstein files is going to save them.

Instead, Trump's support has been resilient among likely voters, with the Democrats in danger of taking a monumental backstep in the 2026 midterm elections.

'Democrats have not come anywhere close to sealing the deal at this particular point.'

Enten delivered the shocking numbers to CNN's John Berman, giving him the grim "bottom line" for the Democrats.

"Democrats are behind their 2006 and 2018 paces when it comes to the generic congressional ballot."

In Democrat versus Republican congressional ballot margins, the Democrat lead has shrunk by more than two times when compared to July 2005, when it was a +7-point margin. The gap remained the same in 2017, but in July 2025, the margin is now just a +2 for Democrats.

"Donald Trump may be unpopular, but Democrats have not come anywhere close to sealing the deal at this particular point," Enten told his colleague.

The devastating numbers somehow got way worse for Democrats when breaking down the midterms race by race.

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When comparing chances for seat changes ahead of previous midterms under Republican presidents, Democrats were favored by +7 in 2005 and a whopping +33 in 2017, CNN showed.

The Democrats over performed in both cases, picking up 31 seats in the 2006 midterms and 41 seats in the 2018 midterms.

Now, CNN's Enten showed Republicans are up a shocking 12 points at the same time this year ahead of the 2026 midterms.

"So it's not just on the generic ballot where Democrats are behind their 2017 and 2005 pace. It's actually when it comes seat by seat, you see that at least at this particular point, Republicans actually have more net pick-up opportunities," Enten stressed.

"This doesn't look anything like those wave elections back in 2006 or 2018," he added.

RELATED: When I brought the truth to Congress, Democrats lost their minds

Reality check: Dems are way behind their 2006 & 2018 pace on the generic ballot at this point in the cycle.

Ahead by only 2 pt vs. 7 pt in 2006/2018 cycles.

Seat-by-seat analysis actually reveals more GOP pickup opportunities than Dems! Very much unlike 2006 & 2018 at this pt. pic.twitter.com/CRgXukTjz6
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) July 16, 2025

The stat guru concluded by showing the congressional ballot margin numbers were the same among voters in October 2024, before the presidential election, as they are now.

"Reality check," Enten wrote on his X account. "Dems are way behind their 2006 & 2018 pace ... at this point in the cycle."

The host emphasized that the numbers he is seeing are indicative of when Republicans have held onto a House majority and appear strikingly similar to the 2024 election cycle.

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