Republican state senators in Texas are finally moving forward with their redistricting plan.

The Hill reports that the state senators took the next step in the legislative process, which, in this case, is holding public hearings on the bill.

But, that's not all. The lawmakers also advanced the bill.

As we will see, this comes after those Democrats who fled the state to stop the bill have finally returned to Texas. First, though, we'll take a look at the latest moves from the Texas state senate.

The latest

The local outlet KXAN provided the latest update on the redistricting effort.

Per the outlet:

Sunday evening, a Texas Senate committee advanced a bill to redraw congressional voting districts in the state. The vote came after a public hearing scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The hearing comes two days after Governor Greg Abbott called a second special session of the Texas Legislature.

Next step, of course, will be to get the entire state senate to vote on the bill, and, should that be successful - which it will be with the Republicans' majority - the measure will head over to the Texas house.

Republicans could end up netting about five additionally congressional seats in the redistricting.

KXAN reports:

The redistricting plan would give Republicans a partisan advantage in five congressional districts currently held by Democrats. President Donald Trump previously called for Texas leaders to redraw maps to gain Republican seats in the 2026 elections.

They're back

This is Texas state lawmakers' second attempt at getting this redistricting bill across the line. The first effort was upended when a large group of Texas Democrats decided to flee the state in order to stop the bill's progress.

According to Politico, these Democratic lawmakers have finally returned to Texas.

Per the outlet:

Texas Democrats who left the state to stymie Republicans over redistricting have returned to Austin, ending a two-week standoff over President Donald Trump’s plan to carve out five new GOP congressional seats. Their return to the state means the Texas House now has the sufficient number of legislators needed to pass a new map benefiting the GOP.

This comes after the Democratic lawmakers' so-called conditions for return were met. Those conditions, according to Politico, were "that the legislature end its first special session and that California lawmakers introduce their own map granting Democrats five more seats to counter Texas." Apparently, both conditions took place on Friday.

Although the Republicans are finally able to make some progress, expect more shenanigans from the Democrats.