The Trump administration has stepped into California’s redistricting battle, challenging a newly approved ballot measure that allows Democratic lawmakers to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The Justice Department’s involvement marks a sharp escalation in a case that could reshape control of the House of Representatives.
Proposition 50, passed last week with 64 percent support, temporarily overrides California’s independent redistricting commission and gives Democrats authority to redraw lines in ways that could flip five Republican-held seats. State Republicans quickly filed suit, and on Thursday, federal lawyers told a judge in the Central District of California that the plan amounts to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. “Our Constitution does not tolerate this,” they wrote, urging the court to block the maps.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who championed the measure, dismissed the challenge as partisan obstruction. “These losers lost at the ballot box, and soon they will also lose in court,” his spokesperson said. Attorney General Pam Bondi countered that the plan was a “brazen power grab” designed to entrench one-party rule.
The case underscores the high stakes of mid-decade redistricting. Democrats argue the measure was necessary to counter Republican-drawn maps in Texas. At the same time, Trump has openly encouraged GOP-led states to redraw districts to protect the party’s slim House majority. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has joined the case to defend California’s plan, though court hearings have not yet been scheduled.