At a hearing in hard-hit Kerr County, an emergency management coordinator for the first time explained his whereabouts when the Guadalupe River burst its banks.

Kerr County emergency chief William “Dub” Thomas defended his response to the Texas floods that killed more than 130 people, saying he mobilized despite being off duty and ill. He said supervisors knew of his personal time and that he skipped a cellphone alert because the National Weather Service had already issued one.

Republicans in Texas currently hold 25 of the state’s 38 seats, and the new map ups the total they could win to 30. All of those new 30 seats were won by Trump in November by at least 10 percentage points, leading to conservative optimism they can hold them even in what’s likely to be a tough midterm environment for the party.

Democrats consider counter-efforts in blue states like California after Texas GOP proposes new congressional maps to flip Democratic seats.

Texas Republicans have proposed a new congressional map that creates five additional GOP-leaning districts as they brace for a challenging midterm election in 2026