Texas Republican lawmakers released their first draft of the state’s proposed congressional map Wednesday, which looks to fulfill the plan to flip five seats to Republican control in the 2026 midterm elections. House Bill 4, introduced by Texas Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, includes a potentially revised map that targets Democratic congressional members in Austin, Dallas, Houston and South Texas. The draft will likely be changed before the final version is approved by both chambers and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. A public hearing on the proposed map is set for Friday at the Texas Capitol. The mid-decade redistricting effort follows a campaign by President Donald Trump's administration to expand Republicans’ majority in the House — five of which would come from flipping Democratic seats. The midterm elections typically favor the president’s opposing party, and Trump needs to maintain a U.S. House of Representatives majority to successfully push through his policies. Currently, Republicans hold 25 Texas congressional seats and Democrats have 13. Republicans have a 219-212 advantage in the U.S. House, with four seats vacant. Several states led by Democrats, including California, have stated their intention to begin the redistricting process in retaliation. The map immediately faced backlash from Democrats, who have been criticizing the redistricting process as racist and diluting voters of color. Democrats have also threatened to stall the process by fleeing the state. “Let’s be clear — this map is racist, it’s illegal, and it’s part of a long, ugly tradition of trying to keep Black and brown Texas from having a voice,” U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said in a statement. “What Donald Trump and Greg Abbott are doing isn’t about democracy — it’s about consolidating power.” Under the proposed map, Veasey’s district, which is currently split across Tarrant and Dallas counties, would remain solidly Democratic but drop all of Fort Worth — his hometown and political base. His district was one of four specially mentioned in a letter from the Department of Justice as “unconstitutional ‘coalition districts.’” A coalition district is one predominantly made up of minority voters who tend to vote together. Gov. Abbott added redistricting to his agenda for the special session, which started July 21, following the Department of Justice’s letter. The proposed map splits Tarrant County voters among multiple neighboring Republican districts and would go from having seven representatives to five. UTA, currently represented by U.S. Rep Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, would be represented by U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Waxahachie. Hundreds of Tarrant County residents attended a packed public hearing at UTA on Monday, where speakers and lawmakers criticized the proposed map’s absence. Other regional hearings were held across the state. The proposed map was shared two days after the hearings. Republicans have said publicly that the current map, drawn in 2021, did not violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965. However, in an interview with FOX 4, Gov. Abbott defended the redistricting effort and said he’s not worried about criticisms, saying that he lets Trump dictate the process. “We want to make sure that we have maps that don't impose coalition districts, while at the very same time ensuring that we will maximize the ability of Texans to be able to vote for the candidate of their choice,” he said. Other targeted areas include: 9th Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston 28th Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo 32nd Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch 34th Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen @DangHLe news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

On July 23, the university announced Patrick Wilson as the new vice provost for online learning and academic innovation. UTA serves more than 12,000 online students, including undergraduate and graduate students, according to a UTA press release. “My goal is to position UTA as a national leader in online education — deeply connected to labor market needs and powered by academic innovation,” Wilson said in the release. Prior to this role, Wilson served as the executive director of online learning at New Mexico Highlands University and associate vice president for the Division of Digital and Distance Education at Tennessee Technological University. “UTA’s mission and momentum immediately resonated with me,” Wilson said in the release. “As a university with a strong research profile, a diverse Student Body and deep ties to the economic and workforce needs of North Texas, UTA is uniquely positioned to expand the reach and impact of online education.” His work focuses on the intersection of technology and student success and he will assume the new position Aug. 1. “I am particularly drawn to strategies that enhance student engagement and persistence in virtual environments, as well as innovative uses of data to inform institutional decision-making,” he said in a press release. @tay._.sansom news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

As hundreds packed UTA’s Rosebud Theatre on Monday for a Texas House redistricting committee public hearing, citizens and state representatives highlighted one missing item. An actual redistricting map. “Basically, Mr. Chairman, this process is wrong. You guys have the power to stop it. I hope you will use your power for the benefit of the people of Texas,” said U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, at the public hearing. At the final of three Texas House public hearings, dozens of state lawmakers, a packed hearing room and an overflow space set the scene to discuss the sudden decision to tackle congressional redistricting during the Texas Legislature's special session. Approximately 500 people signed up to speak. “This effort to change the district, again, has nothing to do with representing people better. It’s the opposite of that,” said Texas Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, and vice chair of the Texas House redistricting committee. “It's power grab at the expense of Black and brown communities.” The state has not provided any proposed revisions of the current map, which was drawn in 2021 and has yielded 25 seats for Republicans and 13 for Democrats. Critics of the mid-decade redistricting process question why the committee is hosting public hearings before maps are available. If the new maps are drawn, they will also be based on the same U.S. census data from 2020 used for the 2021 maps, Jeff Archer, executive director at Texas Legislative Council, said at the public hearing. Seven of Texas’ 38 congressional districts contain part of Tarrant County — five represented by Republicans and two by Democrats. On July 21, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Dustin Burrows, the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, announced in separate press releases the formation of a Senate Special Committee and a House Select Committee to oversee the redistricting process. The 21-member Texas House redistricting committee is chaired by Texas Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton. Texas, like all U.S. states, redraws its electoral lines every 10 years using data from the U.S. census. While no law is set against redrawing the lines more often, it’s not a common practice. Texas last practiced mid-decade redistricting in 2003 when Republicans gained control of both chambers of the Legislature. Democrats never regained control in Texas. This time, the pressure to redraw congressional seats seemingly comes from the federal level. President Donald Trump’s administration began pushing the idea, asking Texas lawmakers to redraw congressional districts to maintain Republican Party control of the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm election. The Department of Justice sent out a memo July 7, alleging that four Texas districts — including the 33rd Congressional District currently held by U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth — constitute illegal racial gerrymandering. All four districts are majority nonwhite. ‘This fight is not new’ Roman Palomares, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said at the public hearing that the current mid-decade redistricting process continues the suppression of Latino voting strength. “LULAC proudly stands with coalitions of Latino, Black, Asian American organizations, which have consistently led legal efforts to secure fair redistricting,” Palomares said. “This fight is not new, and it is far from over.” Redrawing the state’s congressional map became one of 18 items Gov. Greg Abbott is prioritizing on the 30-day special legislative session that started July 21, citing “constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice,”even as Texas Republicans previously said that the districts were drawn race blind. State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said at the public hearing that he also has not seen the proposed maps. “The reality is that I've been reassured that there'll be hearings once the maps come out,” West said. “But check this out: Will there be regional meetings like this?” Democrats nationwide have already started pushing back against the plan, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is signaling a retaliatory redistricting in the nation’s biggest blue state. Republicans have a 219-212 advantage in the U.S. House, with four seats vacant. At a rally outside the University Center before the public hearing, state Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth, said he has recently had conversations with Newsom and asked the California governor to join the fight against redistricting. “We are at war, and they're coming for us,” Romero said. “The other thing that we have to understand is this is a deal. Trump called his governor, his boy, and said, ‘Time to pay me back.’ This is the way the new government of the United States is working for y'all.” Veasey, whose seat is being targeted by the Legislature, said at the public hearing that his district was created as part of a court-ordered map in 2011 to remedy deliberate racial gerrymandering. Abbott and Republican lawmakers swore under oath in front of the federal court that their map was “race blind,” Veasey said. “So, what is it? Were they lying then or are they lying now?” he said. Mid-decade redistricting In an interview with The Shorthorn, Pat Flavin, a political science professor at Baylor University, called the president’s effort “unprecedented.” “I can't think of an example where a president has so publicly instructed a state to engage in mid-decade redistricting,” Flavin said. Texas Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, told The Shorthorn on Thursday that he has never seen a legislative body being asked to identify and break apart districts that have a majority of minority populations. “That's just a ludicrous statement in and of itself,” Turner said. Throughout Monday’s public hearing, the Rosebud Theatre, which houses 435 people at maximum, was filled with attendees, speakers and state lawmakers. About an hour and a half into the hearing, UTA opened the Bluebonnet Ballroom for overflow following requests from West and other state representatives. Mineola, Texas, resident John van Compernolle said that because the item is now on the special session agenda, the committee should use the opportunity to redraw fair and balanced maps that are color and party blind. “If in fact, these districts, as they're drawn, are gerrymandered, which many people have said they are, then you have an opportunity to un-gerrymander them,” he said. The redistricting process also received support at the public hearing. Rich Stoglin, president of the Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County, said Texas doesn’t need the Democratic Party’s leadership that leads to systemic gang violence, a pummeling education system and deteriorating communities. “We need and must have increased Republican leadership in the great state of Texas to remain great,” Stoglin said. ‘Politicians choosing their voters’ Democrats have repeatedly criticized the decision to focus on redistricting for this special session over dealing with the aftermath of the July 4 flooding in the Hill Country. “In my opinion, if we're going to be in a special session, we ought to be dealing with the tragedy in the Texas Hill Country from the recent floods and better preparing our state for future natural disasters and really nothing else,” Turner said. Romero did not mince words against Abbott’s priorities. “You have a community in Kerr County that's still burying kids, mothers, fathers, brothers or sisters, and he has no honor for those families, no pride for those families,” Romero said. Trump has said he wants five more seats from Texas. If Republicans win those seats, they will have 30 U.S. House representatives over Democrats’ eight. “We are today playing political games to appease the fella in the White House and his lust for power,” said U.S. Rep Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, whose district is targeted by the Legislature. Flavin said Texas is a Republican-leaning state, as proven by Trump winning the state by 14 percentage points. However, Republicans getting 30 out of 38 seats — approximately an 80% control — would provide a distorted view of their support in the state and would probably be “the most egregious gerrymander one could imagine,” he said. Redistricting, he said, takes power out of the hands of regular voters and puts it in politicians’ hands. “Essentially, instead of voters choosing politicians, you have politicians choosing their voters,” Flavin said. Because the Texas map is already favorable to maximize Republican seats, redrawing could lead to the party stretching their districts and spreading their voters too thin, thus putting their seats in jeopardy in an attempt to flip Democratic seats, Flavin said. Potential challenge In June, Democrats criticized Tarrant County’s mid-decade redistricting process, saying that the approved plan racially gerrymandered voters of color in order to give Republicans an advantage. GOP leaders said the plan is legal and since a federal lawsuit has been filed. Redrawing districts to dilute the power of voters of color is bound to draw legal complaints. The current congressional maps drawn in 2021 are still the subject of an ongoing court challenge. What will happen in Texas in the next couple of weeks could be an inflection point in terms of redistricting, Flavin said. Redrawing the map mid-decade may become a political strategy that political parties may use to ensure they have the majority. “It’s going to be a constant state of redistricting,” he said. @DangHLe news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Hundreds of protesters gathered in the summer heat outside the University Center on Monday to rally against a proposed Texas congressional redistricting before a public hearing on campus. On July 9, Gov. Greg Abbott announced an 18-item agenda for a special session, including a mid-decade redraw of the Texas congressional maps, which made waves throughout the state. Hosted by the Texas House of Representatives' Select Committee on Redistricting, the hearing was scheduled in the evening at UTA’s Rosebud Theatre to discuss 14 of 38 congressional districts in Texas. Several government officials spoke out against the redistricting during the protest, including Texas Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth and Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons. Having recently undergone a county redistricting that shifted Precinct 2, which formerly contained most of Arlington, Simmons said she understood the issue well. “Don’t mistakenly call this a power grab, a political play. It is racism," Simmons said. “It is diluting the voting strength of people that look like me, and who are Hispanic, Asian and others.” Texas Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said the issue is that people are attempting to ensure they gain and maintain power, while shifting others away. “This is ground zero, Texas, and if it happens in Texas, it can happen anywhere in this country,” West said. “If it happened on the congressional level, it could happen at the local level.” He said that he was glad to see protesters show up in near 100-degree weather and are able to express their opinions. “That continues to give me faith that democracy is not dead, that it is still alive,” West said. Chants criticizing President Donald Trump, denouncing gerrymandering and demanding fair redistricting maps echoed through the parking lot where protestors stood outside the University Center. Yaseen Tasnif, sociology and logistics senior, said the attempt to redistrict was a call to action from Trump, asking Abbott to push for up to five Republican congressional seats. “It feels like it’s taking away our representation, specifically when it comes to UTA,” Tasnif said. They said a lot of voices will be diluted if the redistricting goes into place. Irving resident Staceye Randle, said lawmakers should be focusing on enhancing infrastructure and ensuring people have access to life-saving measures, referring to the recent Hill Country floods. “[Lawmakers] need to listen to the people in their communities, to their constituents,” Randle said. “That’s the most important thing. We put them in office and we can fire them.” Not everyone at the event shared that perspective. Across the street, Arlington resident Kenny Mills, 64, stood with an American flag and voiced his support for the redistricting. Mills said the community elects its representatives, and if they decide that there needs to be redistricting, he agrees. “I’m sure when [democrats] were in charge, there was plenty of it going on,” Mills said. “I think [Republicans] are doing a good job.” But Turner disagreed. Turner said that what lawmakers are attempting is wrong and that they are targeting two majority-minority congressional districts in Texas and dismantling them. “In our first two hearings, we’ve heard from hundreds of people, in Austin and Houston, who have shown up to testify,” Turner said. “Not a single person said they’re in favor of this.” During the public hearing at UTA and during two separate hearings in Austin and Houston, there were no redistricting maps to show the public what the specific changes would be. Turner, who serves on the Texas House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Redistricting, stated that without maps, the public can't testify on any issue. “We’ve asked repeatedly, ‘Where’s the map? Who has the map? Who’s seen the map? When are we going to see the map?’ and we’re being stonewalled,” he said. Turner said the protest was about the community not wanting a Trump takeover of Texas. “We want Trump and Abbott to leave these congressional districts alone and not further gerrymander an already heavily gerrymandered map,” he said. @ tay._.sansom @wall035203 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

A sea of green overtook the St. Jude Event Center on Sunday afternoon as plant lovers from across Dallas-Fort Worth came to celebrate The Bloomverse Expo. The event was one of the first of its kind in Arlington, garnering hundreds of attendees, with lines wrapping around the building and over 50 vendors selling anything from plants to handmade dreamcatchers and jewelry. Viridiana Robles, owner and founder of The Bloomverse Expo and Plants by Viridiana, said she did not expect such a large turnout. “[The markets] have never been this big,” Robles said. Bloomverse was the first plant convention that many attendees and vendors had participated in of this size. Aubrey residents Julie Harris, 34, and Chloe Freret, 36, ran a booth together and had never been to an expo event before Bloomverse. Harris said they wanted to create an inclusive space. Harris and Freret have kids on the spectrum, which drives the way they sell their items, selling kid kits which come with an affirmation card, care cards and a Pothos cutting that kids can plant themselves. The pair got into growing plants during the COVID-19 pandemic, and since then, it’s been a long journey, Harris said. “I mean, these people often have other jobs like we do, and they're putting their additional time away from their families to do something that they love and they feel passionate about, and that's a huge thing,” Harris said about other vendors in the community. To many attendees, the event was about more than just plants — it was about people. Forney resident, Alexandra Gartin has been a part of the plant community for around six or seven years. She said the community makes her feel included and serves as an icebreaker in getting to know people. “Mostly everybody in the plant community is really nice and welcoming,” Gartin said. Dallas resident Blanca Charles, 35, said her mother’s love for plants and the support from her family and partner drove her to start her business, Rooted by Blanca Charles. While she has been at various pop-up shops across the Dallas-Fort Worth area before, Bloomverse was her first time doing a plant-specific expo. Charles is not alone in her endeavor, however. Her partner, Lancaster resident Armando Molina, 35, pushed her to start her business so she could have something to call her own and has helped her at every pop-up event, he said. “It was scary for her to start, she didn't know what to do,” Molina said. “So I kind of gave her that little push and she did it. Now she's doing pop-ups everywhere.” When Molina first joined the plant community, he didn’t know anything about plants, but the community is what kept him with the hobby. “Everybody's so friendly. You get people from so many different types of backgrounds and characters,” he said. “It's just so many different types of people, and it's beautiful to see.” @tay._.sansom @_.lexlie_ news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

University officials and community stakeholders gathered Thursday in Willow Park, Texas, for the ribbon-cutting of UTA West’s new storefront. The building will serve as the main hub for public engagement around UTA West while the campus is under construction, and will act as the “face” of the new university, said Wayne Atchley, inaugural vice president for regional campuses. The storefront offers students and families access to admissions, advising, financial aid and other essential services. Set to open in fall 2028, UTA West aims to meet the region’s educational and workforce needs and is projected to generate over 2,200 jobs, according to previous Shorthorn reporting. The UT System Board of Regents approved the new campus’s Fort Worth land purchase last August and broke ground in April. The new storefront sits roughly five miles away from the soon-to-be west campus, located in a plaza adjacent to several local businesses. The space features multiple offices for meetings and community use. During the ribbon-cutting, President Jennifer Cowley said that Fort Worth’s quick growth brings a necessity for “top-tier” education, and UTA West will lay the foundation for surrounding major industries. “This may look like a simple storefront, but don’t let its size fool you,” Cowley said at the ribbon-cutting. “We’re planting roots here, and we believe in your future. It’s a bold declaration and a way to show our commitment to Parker County, Fort Worth, Willow Park and the surrounding communities.” Various Parker County officials, who are assisting UTA with the west campus venture, were also present for the ceremony. “We have this tidal wave of development coming, and with UTA coming and setting that high bar at what has to be one of the most premier sites you can get in the gateway to Parker County, I couldn't think of a better partner,” said Mike Hale, Parker County Precinct 4 commissioner. Atchley said the strong response to the ribbon-cutting and open house that followed, reassured him that they had chosen the right location for the storefront. The next step for UTA West, beyond brand awareness, is solidifying the available degree plans and the building’s layout, Atchley said. “We want to build something here that's meaningful long term, that grows with the community and meets the needs of the community as they develop,” he said. @PMalkomes news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu