LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters last week and joined a legal challenge that could help determine which party wins control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.
The complaint, filed in California federal court, targets the Democratic governor's new congressional map. Gavin Newsome in response to similar Republican-led efforts in Texas with the support of the President Donald Trump. That sets the stage for a high-stakes legal and political fight between the Republican administration and the Democratic governor seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender.
“California's redistricting scheme is a brazen power grab that tramples civil rights and makes a mockery of the democratic process,” Attorney General Pam Bondi it said in an emailed statement. “Governor Newsom’s attempt to entrench one-party rule and silence millions of Californians will not stand.”
Newsom spokesman Brandon Richards said in a statement: “These losers lost at the ballot box, and they will soon lose in court.”
The legal move marks the first time the Justice Department has sued over a series of unusual mid-decade House map changes across the country that were made to maximize partisan advantage ahead of next year's elections.
California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment redrawing congressional boundaries to give Democrats chance to win five places currently held by Republicans for next year's midterm elections.
The Ministry of Justice joins case challenging the new map it was proposed by the California Republican Party last week. The Trump administration accuses California of racial gerrymandering in violation of the Constitution by using race as a factor to favor Latino voters in the new map. He is asking a judge to block California from using the new map in any future elections.
“Race cannot be used as a proxy to advance political interests, but that is precisely what the California General Assembly did with Proposition 50, a recent ballot initiative that abandoned California's pre-existing electoral map in favor of urgent redrawing of California's congressional district boundaries,” the lawsuit states.
Proposition 50 was Newsom's response to Trump's maneuvers in Texas, where Republicans have redistricted in hopes of picking up five seats of their own ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when control of the House of Representatives will be at stake.
Democrats only need to win a few seats next year to take control of the camerawhich would jeopardize Trump's agenda for the remainder of his term and open the door to congressional investigations into his administration. Republicans have 219 seats and Democrats have 214.
The standoff between the country's two most populous states has spread across the country. MissouriNorth Carolina and Ohio adoption of new district boundaries that could give partisans an advantage. Other states are considering similar steps.
The national impact of the California ballot measure was evident both in the money it attracted and in the high-profile figures who took part in it. Tens of millions of dollars have been poured into the race, including a $5 million donation to opponents from the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super political action PAC affiliated with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana.
Former Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opposed itwhile former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appeared in advertisements supporting himcalling it a “smart” approach to counter Republican moves to maintain control of the House.
The competition was provided by Newsom national platform and he confirmed that he would consider running for the White House in 2028.
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Reacher reported from Chicago.
Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael R. Blood, The Associated Press
