WASHINGTON (TNDD) — A judge in Texas criticized a court’s decision to block Texas from using its new congressional map for the upcoming 2026 midterms.
“This is the most blatant exercise of judicial activism that I have ever witnessed,” Judge Jerry Smith who is on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, said in a dissent on Wednesday, according to Fox News.
He said in his dissent that the people of Texas and the Rule of Law were the losers in this ruling.
“The main winners from Judge Brown’s opinion are George Soros and Gavin Newsom,” he said. “The obvious losers are the People of Texas and the Rule of Law.”
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown ordered Texas to use maps that were previously used by the Texas Legislature in 2021 for the 2026 elections.
“The map ultimately passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor — the 2025 Map — achieved all but one of the racial objectives that DOJ demanded,” Brown wrote for the panel majority.
The decision was made 2-1.
“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” the ruling reads. “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.”
Judge Smith accused Judge Brown of engaging in “judicial tinkering.”