Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday directed lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map as part of a special session that kicks off later this month, as the GOP seeks to retain its narrow US House majority after next year’s midterm elections.

The special session agenda includes 18 legislative priorities, with several directly addressing the recent disaster.

Kerrville’s mayor said he was unaware of any help sent by the state to his community ahead of the flood, a day after Gov. Greg Abbott said the state had “assets, resources and personnel” in place two days before a flood tore through the Hill Country.

Abbott’s lengthy agenda for the Texas Legislature includes unfinished business, such as eliminating the STAAR test, and conservative priorities.

In the Austin area, 12 people are still missing and 16 are known to have perished after rain swept away homes along rivers and creeks.

Democrats criticized Gov. Greg Abbott for seeking a redistricting, favored by President Trump’s political team, just days after devastating floods in Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott is facing fierce criticism after dismissing questions about state and local officials' response to the deadly Texas Hill Country flooding, calling efforts to assign blame "the word choice of losers" and likening the ongoing disaster to a football game.

The governor directed lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries, an effort President Donald Trump has been pushing ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The Republican governor laid out an ambitious agenda that includes an unexpected array of conservative bills that failed during the regular session.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) pushed back against a football analogy made by Gov. Greg Abbott yesterday, saying the catastrophic flooding in the state and the region’s response to the disaster is “not a game.

The claim spread widely on social media after the floods that devastated the Lone Star State in early July 2025.