The Justice Department has joined a lawsuit to stop new election maps from going into effect in California, setting up a fight that could determine control of the House of Representatives in 2026.
Californians voted overwhelmingly in support of Proposition 50 last week, the state constitutional amendment for the new boundaries. The lawsuit, filed by the California Republican Party, asserts the new maps are based on racial gerrymandering, favoring Hispanic voters.
“Race cannot be used as a proxy to advance political interests, but that is precisely what the California General Assembly did with Proposition 50,” the lawsuit argues.
The DOJ filed a motion to join the suit on Thursday.
“Today the Justice Department sued [Newsom] over his brazen Proposition 50 redistricting power grab,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a post on X.
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Bondi also said the redistricting “mocks the democratic process” in a statement shared with Associated Press. “Governor Newsom’s attempt to entrench one-party rule and silence millions of Californians will not stand.”
Newsom’s press office dismissed the lawsuit in a post on X. “These losers lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court,” the post read.
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