By JOHN HANNA, Associated Press

A panel of federal judges will begin Wednesday to consider whether Texas can use a redrawn congressional map that boosts Republicans and has launched a widening redistricting battle ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The case in an El Paso courtroom is the first test of Texas’ new map, which was quickly redrawn this summer to give Republicans five more seats at the urging of President Donald Trump in an effort to preserve the slim Republican U.S. House majority.

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Civil rights groups and dozens of Black and Hispanic voters joined the lawsuit, saying the new map intentionally reduces minority voters’ influence. Their lawsuit argues that the new district lines represent racial gerrymandering prohibited by the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.

Texas Republican lawmakers and state leaders deny these claims, saying the map is a legal partisan gerrymander.

The hearing is expected to last more than a week. It is unclear how quickly the judges will issue a ruling.

The new map eliminated five of the state’s nine “coalition” districts, where no minority group has a majority but together they outnumber non-Hispanic white voters.

“Race and party have folded onto each other,” said Keith Gaddie, a Texas Christian University political science professor who has testified as an expert witness in redistricting cases over the past 25 years. “What could be seen as being racial gerrymandering could just be partisan gerrymandering.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit partisan gerrymandering.

Texas says critics cloak partisan fears in rhetoric about race

The new Texas map is designed to give Republicans 30 of the state’s 38 House seats, up from 25 now.

FILE – Texas state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, right, listens as Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, speaks in favor of a bill before a vote on a redrawn U.S. congressional map during a special session in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

The state’s attorneys argue that Texas officials’ persistent statements about their partisan motives show they weren’t engaged in illegal racial gerrymandering but were in a “political arms-race,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office said in a recent court filing.

The move in Texas has subsequently led some other states — Republican-led as well as those led by Democrats — to respond with some redistricting plans of their own in a scramble to try to dominate the midterm elections.

California countered by putting a proposed map on the ballot in November to pick up five Democratic seats. Missouri redrew its lines last month to give the GOP an extra seat.

In court filings, Paxton’s office argued that Republicans are offsetting past Democratic gerrymanders, and the Texas map’s critics “seek to use race as a foil to kneecap Texas’s efforts to even the playing field.”

“Whenever they do not get what they want, they cry racism,” its filing said.

Making a case involves detailed election analysis

The case will be heard by a panel of three judges, one each appointed by Trump, and Presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan.

Attorneys for groups and voters challenging the map aim to show that a trial is likely to prove the new lines deny minority voters opportunities to elect candidates of their choosing.

“States have to follow rules when they redistrict,” said Nina Perales, an attorney representing some the voters and groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens. “They provide essentially the buffer guards to protect the democratic process.”

The judges are likely to hear a detailed analysis of voting patterns.

“The minority community has to be what’s called politically cohesive, which tends to mean that members of that community overwhelmingly tend to prefer the same candidates in elections,” said Richard Pildes, a constitutional law professor at New York University.

Critics see new, ‘sham’ minority districts

The new map decreased the total number of congressional districts in which minorities comprise a majority of voting-age citizens from 16 to 14.

Republicans argue the map is better for minority voters. While five “coalition” districts are eliminated, there’s a new, eighth Hispanic-majority district, and two new Black-majority districts.

Critics consider each of those new districts a “sham,” arguing that the majority is so slim that white voters, who tend to turn out in larger percentages, will control election results.

“There is growing animus against African-American and other communities who have historically been disenfranchised,” said Derrick Johnson, the NAACP’s national president. “This is consistent with the current climate and culture germinating from the White House.”

Critics also argued that the 2021 map itself didn’t have enough minority districts. For example, Perales said, Houston has enough Hispanic voters for two such districts, and the new map has one.

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. military has begun drawing down its mission in Iraq under an agreement inked with the Iraqi government last year, officials said Wednesday.

Washington and Baghdad agreed last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.

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Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. “will reduce its military mission in Iraq,” reflecting “our combined success in fighting ISIS.”

The move “marks an effort to transition to a lasting U.S.-Iraq security partnership in accordance with U.S. national interests, the Iraqi Constitution, and the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement,” he said.

The statement added that Washington will maintain close coordination with Baghdad and coalition partners to ensure a “responsible transition.”

It did not give details on the number of troops that have withdrawn to date or when the drawdown would be completed.

A senior Iraqi security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the U.S. withdrawal began weeks ago from Baghdad and from Ain al-Asad base in western Iraq.

“Only a very small number of advisers remain within the Joint Operations Command,” the official said.

He added that some forces have redeployed to the city of Irbil in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, while others have left the country entirely, and that there is no accurate count of those who have withdrawn yet.

The official said the drawdown is proceeding according to agreed-upon schedules.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told The Associated Press in an interview in July that the U.S. and Iraq will meet by the end of the year to “arrange the bilateral security relationship” between the two countries.

By ANNIE MA, Associated Press Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Already diminished by cuts by the Trump administration, the U.S. Education Department will see more of its work come to a halt due to the government shutdown.

The department says many of its core operations will continue in the shutdown kicking off Wednesday. Federal financial aid will keep flowing, and student loan payments will still be due. But investigations into civil rights complaints will stop, and the department will not issue new federal grants. About 87% of its workforce will be furloughed, according to a department contingency plan.

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Since he took office, President Donald Trump has called for the dismantling of the Education Department, saying it has been overrun by liberal thinking. Agency leaders have been making plans to parcel out its operations to other departments, and in July the Supreme Court upheld mass layoffs that halved the department’s staff.

In a shutdown, the Republican administration has suggested federal agencies could see more positions eliminated entirely. In past shutdowns, furloughed employees were brought back once Congress restored federal funding. This time, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget has threatened the mass firing of federal workers.

Appearing before the House Appropriations Committee in May, Education Secretary Linda McMahon suggested this year’s layoffs had made her department lean — even too lean in some cases. Some staffers were brought back, she said, after officials found that the cuts went too deep.

“You hope that you’re just cutting fat. Sometimes you cut a little muscle, and you realize it as you’re continuing your programs, and you can bring people back to do that,” McMahon said. The department had about 4,100 employees when Trump took office in January. It now has about 2,500.

Here is what the department does and how a shutdown is expected to affect that work.

Federal student loans

One of the department’s major roles is management of the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio. Student aid will be largely unaffected in the short term, according to the department’s shutdown contingency plan. Pell Grants and federal loans will continue to be disbursed, and student loan borrowers must continue making payments on their debts.

About 9.9 million students receive some form of federal aid, spread across some 5,400 colleges, according to the department. Within the Office of Federal Student Aid, the department plans to furlough 632 of the 747 employees during the shutdown, although it didn’t say which ones. For most student loan issues, borrowers work with loan servicers hired by the department rather than directly with FSA staff.

The department will also continue to process the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which is a key piece of how colleges and universities provide aid packages to incoming students. Certain employees involved with rulemaking around changes to student loans, part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Republicans, also will be kept on to meet deadlines set by legislation.

Money for schools

While American schools are funded primarily by state and local money, the Education Department serves as a conduit for billions of dollars of federal aid going to state and local education agencies. During the shutdown, the department will cease new grantmaking activity and pause its advisory and regulatory role to schools and grant recipients.

But because most federal grants to schools were made over the summer, the department says it would expect minimal disruption to school districts and other grant recipients. Title I money, which goes to schools with high concentrations of students in poverty, plus funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would continue during a shutdown.

Not all federal education money arrives ahead of the school year, however. One example is Impact Aid, a program that bolsters school budgets in areas where federal land management or other activities, such as military installations, reduce the amount of taxable land to generate revenue for the district. These schools likely will see disruptions in payments. More than 1,200 districts receive that aid across all 50 states, according to a national association that represents those schools.

If the shutdown lasts longer than a week, the department says it would revise its contingency plan to prevent significant disruptions to school districts.

Civil rights investigations

Under the shutdown, the department will stop its investigations into schools and universities over alleged civil rights violations.

Since the mass layoffs in March, the office has operated under a significantly reduced footprint. The department’s civil rights branch lost about half of its staff. The cuts raised questions about whether the office would be able to shrink a backlog of complaints from students who allege they have experienced discrimination on the basis of race, sex or disability status.

The department’s own data has shown a decline in resolving civil rights cases, while new complaints from families have increased. During the shutdown, work on the pending cases will stop.

AP Education Writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press National Politics Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — On this, at least, the Democrats agree: It’s time to fight.

Whether far-left activists, Washington moderates or rural conservatives, Democratic leaders across the political spectrum are shrugging off the risks and embracing a government shutdown they say is needed to push back against President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress.

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For Democrats, the shutdown fight marks a line in the sand born from months of frustration with their inability to stop Trump’s norm-busting leadership. And they will continue to fight, regardless of the practical or political consequences, they say.

“It’s a rare point of unification,” said Jim Kessler, of the moderate Democratic group Third Way.

“Absolutely there are risks,” he said. “But you’re hearing it from all wings of the Democratic Party: The fight is the victory. They want a fight. And they’re going to get one.”

As the shutdown begins, there are few signs of cracks across the Democratic Party’s diverse coalition.

Even progressive critics from the party’s activist wing are applauding Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who are insisting that any government spending package must extend health care subsidies that are set to expire at the year’s end. Trump, backed by the Republicans who control Congress, insists on supporting only a “clean” spending package that excludes the health care measure.

Trump blames ‘radical left’

The fight is already ugly as Trump uses his presidential bully pulpit — and taxpayer-funded government resources — to cast blame on the Democrats.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website on Tuesday welcomed all visitors with this message: “The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.”

The president himself posted on social media a deepfake video of Schumer implying that Democrats are fighting to give free health care to immigrants in the country illegally. The fake video, widely condemned as racist, depicted Jeffries with a Mexican sombrero and fake mustache.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, attends a news conference with members of Democratic leadership about the looming government shutdown, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

In a press conference, Jeffries offered a harsh message to the president.

“The next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video. When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face,” the top House Democrat said.

‘I’d rather be us than them’

Privately, political operatives from both sides concede that government shutdowns are bad for both parties. But with Democrats dug in, the Trump administration appeared almost eager to shut down the government this time — having already threatened the mass firing of federal workers in the event of a shutdown.

And as the GOP blames its rivals in the other party, Democrats say they are confident voters understand that Trump’s party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress — and, therefore, Republicans will suffer more political consequences for the chaos in Washington.

“I think I’d rather be us than them in this fight,” veteran Democratic strategist James Carville said. “The incumbent party will suffer more.”

And yet Carville acknowledged that Democratic leadership in Washington had little choice but to take a hard line in the budget negotiations with Trump’s GOP. The party’s activist base, he said, demanded it.

Frustrated progressives have been screaming for months at Democratic leaders, who have limited power in Washington as the minority party, to use more creative tactics to stop Trump. They are getting their wish this week.

“They’re finally not just rolling over and playing dead,” said Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive activist group Indivisible. “Indivisible leaders are cheering them on.”

What do voters think?

The political impact, meanwhile, is hard to predict as each side presents conflicting data points.

On the ground in Virginia and New Jersey, which host governor’s elections in little more than a month, the issue was only just beginning to be a focus on the eve of the shutdown.

Virginia’s Republican candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, refused to answer directly when asked during a Tuesday interview with NBC whether she would tell Trump not to fire any more federal workers in a shutdown.

Instead, she encouraged her Democratic opponent, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, to tell Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner to vote for a “clean” spending bill.

“If we’re talking about across-the-board cuts, then again, we have to include Sens. Kaine and Warner in this. They have a part to play,” said Earle-Sears, ignoring a follow-up question about her message to Trump.

Virginia’s large population of federal workers is preparing for major disruption.

More than 147,000 federal workers live in Virginia, second only to California, according to data compiled last year by the Congressional Research Service. Many may soon stop being paid.

During the 35-day partial shutdown in Trump’s first term, 340,000 of the 800,000 federal workers at affected agencies were furloughed. The remainder were “excepted” and required to work with or without pay, although they all received retroactive pay once the shutdown was resolved.

Warner, the Virginia senator, said the impact on his state’s workforce — or even permanent firings — does not change Democrats’ strategy.

“I’ve been very amazed at the comments I’ve got from federal workers who are saying they’ve been terrorized enough, they want us to push back,” the Democratic senator said.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2-ranked senator in the Democratic caucus, offered a similar message.

“On the Democratic side,” he said, “we think this is a battle worth fighting.”

AP writers Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Va.; Mike Catalini in Trenton, N.J.; and Joey Cappelletti and Eunice Esomonu in Washington contributed.