The Brief Weekly 11/22/25

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The Brief Weekly | Texas Tribune
November 22, 2025

☝️ ️IF YOU READ ONE STORY…

Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference in Houston on Oct. 1, 2025. Photo by Antranik Tavitian for The Texas Tribune

Abbott, Republican lawmakers’ comments cited in court order overturning Texas’ congressional gerrymander

It was Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican state lawmakers’ comments that backfired on them and fumbled — at least temporarily — their plans to use Texas’ new congressional map to pick up more GOP seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

During Texas’ redistricting fight this summer, Texas Republicans were pressed about whether the rare mid-decade redistricting effort came as a result of pressure from President Donald Trump’s team.

Abbott instead cited a recent ruling from a federal appeals court that barred Black and Hispanic voters from joining together to bring voting rights lawsuits. This insistence, which Abbott repeated across several news interviews and was initially echoed by Republican lawmakers, is one of the key allegations that led a federal court to this week strike down Texas’ new congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander.

If Abbott had stuck with the story that this was purely political gamesmanship, the court would likely have allowed the redraw to stand, based on Supreme Court precedent preventing federal courts from addressing partisan gerrymandering. But by repeatedly tying the process to a court ruling that changed the racial makeup of who can bring legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act, Abbott “explicitly directed the Legislature to redistrict based on race,” Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote in the ruling from earlier this week that temporarily blocked Texas’ new map.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday temporarily restored Texas’ new congressional map by granting the state’s request to pause Brown’s ruling. However, the high court has not yet decided what map Texas should use while the court battle over the legality of the map plays out over the coming weeks and months; Friday’s ruling is a short-term pause while they make that decision.  

Alito requested that the plaintiffs respond to the motion by the end of the day Monday. The Dec. 8 candidate filing deadline is fast approaching, which the state made clear to the justices in their petition. 

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🤓 NEWS QUIZ

How well did you keep up with the news cycle this week? 🤔 Take our weekly news quiz to find out!

⭐️ TRIBUNE TOP 5

  • A Texas bill that went into effect on Sept. 1 requires school employees to use names and pronouns that conform to students’ sex at birth. Several transgender students at Texas schools that enforce birth names told the Tribune the new policies have transformed school from a place of support to one that rejects who they are.

  • Months after fighting to keep secret the emails exchanged between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, state officials released nearly 1,400 pages to The Texas Newsroom. But the records reveal little about the two men’s relationship or Musk’s influence over state government, as much of it is redacted.

  • The Trump administration is weighing whether to relocate the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Texas and tap the state’s top emergency official — Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd — to lead it, Politico reported on Monday, citing two former senior FEMA officials.

  • Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to launch criminal investigations into two Islamic groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. Hours later, CAIR filed a lawsuit against the governor.

  • The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission moved forward on Tuesday with its efforts to regulate the sale of consumable hemp products despite a looming federal ban on the products. A provision of the federal funding bill that criminalizes almost all consumable hemp products sold across the country will put Texas’ law in direct conflict with the federal law when it takes effect next November.

From left, Texas Tribune Pie Day winners Brandon Formby, Rebekah Allen, Lexi Churchill and Andy Alford. Photo by Manoo Sirivelu/The Texas Tribune

The Texas Tribune’s annual Pie Day — not to be confused with Pi Day — took place this week. The purpose of the long-running tradition is to allow staff to practice baking and eating pies before the Thanksgiving holiday. Everyone who wishes to participate brings a homemade pie to work that day and votes on awards for best sweet pie, best savory pie, best presentation and best in show. It's a gluttonous and gleeful day in our office. And one of ferocious, cutthroat competition.

Here are the results — and the recipes: 

Best savory pie: Managing Editor of News & State Affairs Brandon Formby for his Autumn Brisket Shepherd’s Pie. Find the recipe here.

Best presentation: Politics Editor Rebekah Allen for her Butterfinger Banana Creme Pie with a Nilla Wafer crust. Find the recipe here, via Daphne Oz.

Best sweet pie: ProPublica-Texas Tribune Investigative Initiative Reporter Lexi Churchill for her Chocolate Chip Cookie Pumpkin Pie. Find the recipe here, via Tieghan Gerard.

Best in show: Director of Editorial Recruitment Andy Alford for her gluten-free Shepherd’s Pie. Find the recipe here.

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📰 OTHER NEWS OF NOTE

Paywall content noted with $.

  • Dallas eviction crisis: As rising costs squeeze the finances of DFW-area families, a staggering number of people are at risk of losing their homes, particularly families with children and single mothers. A recent analysis shows about 49,000 eviction cases were filed in Dallas County in a single year. (NBC 5 Investigates)

  • Ketamine conundrum: The Texas Medical Board in January designated ketamine treatments as “office-based anesthesia,” which requires that a physician be on-site whenever the drug is given. Now, many providers of the psychedelic mental-health treatment expect to close because of the added financial burden, and some say it could cost lives. (Texas Monthly, $)

  • ‘Collateral damage’ from trans health care ban: More than two years after a Texas bill banned physicians from providing gender-affirming treatment to minors, some El Paso health care advocates say the political climate is adding pressure to a region that already suffers from a shortage of medical specialists. (El Paso Matters)

💖 WHAT ELSE WE LOVED THIS WEEK

This is a selection of pop culture finds from Texas Tribune staff.

Read: Editorial Fellow Lindsey Byman suggests reading this The Atlantic story about why pennies are trash now. It dives into how the government has no plan for America’s 300 billion pennies now that the coin is out of circulation. 

Listen: Events Associate Mia Abbe has been listening to the audiobook of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s memoir “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates.” Moore was the 2025 Texas Tribune Festival’s opening keynote speaker. 

Watch: Audience & Collaboration Strategist Jasmine Aguilera recommends the new Selena documentary on Netflix, titled “Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy.” It includes never-before-seen footage from the family’s personal archives.

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SPONSOR MESSAGES 

Chad Cantella is a political insider specializing in education, healthcare, criminal justice and workforce. Learn more about his work.

Raise Your Hand Texas - Texas public schools do so much more than prepare students for a single test on a single day, beyond delivering high quality academics, our schools nurture creativity, teach vital career skills, foster community, and create an environment where every child can thrive.

Disclosure: Politico has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.