Trump administration joins lawsuit against California’s redistricting maps

Voters’ support of Proposition 50 means Democrats mightiness triumph up to 5 further seats successful the US House of Representatives successful 2026.

The medication of United States President Donald Trump has joined a suit against California implicit the state’s redistricting effort, which was approved by a landslide successful the November 4 election.

On Thursday, the Department of Justice said it would question to overturn California’s caller representation of legislature districts, which was passed done a ballot inaugural with astir 64 percent support.

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“California’s redistricting strategy is simply a brazen powerfulness drawback that tramples connected civilian rights and mocks the antiauthoritarian process,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said successful a statement.

She accused California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, of attempting to stifle Republican voices successful his state. “Governor Newsom’s effort to entrench one-party regularisation and soundlessness millions of Californians volition not stand.”

The ballot measure, known arsenic Proposition 50, is poised to redraw the boundaries of electoral districts to favour the Democrats successful adjacent year’s midterm elections.

The proposition was designed arsenic a counterattack against Trump’s gerrymandering successful Republican states.

In Texas, for instance, the Trump White House urged the authorities legislature to walk caller legislature districts that would let the Republicans the accidental to triumph 5 much seats successful the House of Representatives successful 2026.

In August, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the caller Republican-backed representation into law.

Republicans besides expect to summation 1 spot each from caller maps successful Missouri and North Carolina, and perchance 2 much successful Ohio. Civil rights advocates person argued that the caller boundaries successful Texas and Missouri illegally disadvantage number communities astatine the ballot box.

Proposition 50 successful California means that Democrats mightiness triumph arsenic galore arsenic 5 further seats successful the House successful 2026, successful an explicit effort to offset the caller Texas legislature map.

However, the California Republican Party and 19 registered voters sued the authorities successful national tribunal connected November 5, a time aft the predetermination was held.

They claimed California’s redistricting effort violates provisions of the US Constitution by unlawfully favouring Hispanic communities.

The Justice Department has echoed those concerns successful its complaint. It argues that California’s representation “manipulates territory lines successful the sanction of bolstering the voting powerfulness of Hispanic Californians due to the fact that of their race”.

Tonight, California sent a almighty connection to Donald Trump. We volition combat for our democracy. And we volition win. pic.twitter.com/tEcPlxVbi4

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 5, 2025

In response, Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Governor Newsom, said, “These losers mislaid astatine the ballot container and soon they volition besides suffer successful court.”

Newsom has emerged arsenic a salient Democratic professional of Trump, calling the president’s absorption to California’s ballot measurement the “ramblings of an aged antheral that knows he’s astir to LOSE”.

Newsom has confirmed helium volition see a White House tally successful 2028 erstwhile the 2026 midterm elections are over.

California’s caller territory boundaries volition use for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections.

Normally, legislature districts successful California are drawn by an autarkic commission, based connected the results of a nationalist census taken each 10 years.

Proposition 50 suspends that commission’s enactment for the adjacent 3 nationalist elections and alternatively adopts a representation created by the authorities legislatures.

In theory, electoral maps should bespeak the radical who unrecorded successful a fixed state. In reality, astir boundaries are rejigged by the parties successful power, successful a process called gerrymandering. Legislatures successful galore states find however the districts are drawn.

California’s caller legislature representation aims to dilute Republican voters’ power, successful 1 lawsuit by uniting rural, conservative-leaning parts of acold bluish California with Marin County, a famously wide coastal stronghold crossed the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

The Justice Department is asking a justice to prohibit California from utilizing the caller representation successful immoderate aboriginal elections.