Trump administration sues to stop California from redistricting to give Democrats more House seats
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a "Yes On Prop 50" volunteer event at the LA Convention Center in Los Angeles on November 1
By Devan Cole, CNN
(CNN) — The Trump administration moved Thursday to challenge California’s effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, throwing the full weight of the Justice Department in the high-stakes battle over control the House of Representatives next year.
After voters in the Golden State approved a ballot measure last week that allows state Democratic lawmakers to replace congressional lines drawn by the state’s independent commission with new ones that make five US House seats more favorable for Democrats, the California Republican Party and others raced to court to block the redistricting effort.
The administration’s involvement is a dramatic escalation in the legal challenge, which, if successful, could scramble Democrats’ plan to push back against a nationwide effort by Republicans, at the behest of President Donald Trump, to boost the party’s chance of holding on to their House majority through rare, mid-decade redistricting ploys across several states.
Lawyers for the Trump administration told the federal judge overseeing the case in the Central District of California on Thursday that days after the case was brought last week, the “federal interest” in the matter became clear given the constitutional issues at stake in the challenge.
They argued that the redistricting plan was sold to voters as a purely partisan effort, when in fact “the focus was not partisanship, but race,” which they say would be impermissible under the US Constitution.
“Our Constitution does not tolerate this racial gerrymander,” the Justice Department lawyers wrote in court papers. “Because the Proposition 50 map does, the United States respectfully requests that this court enjoin defendants from using it in the 2026 election and future elections.”
“These losers lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court,” said Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
CNN’s Arit John contributed to this report.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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