{"id":15690,"date":"2025-11-15T04:20:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T04:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/doj-sues-over-california-us-house-map-that-could-tip-control-of-congress-brazen-power-grab\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T04:20:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T04:20:40","slug":"doj-sues-over-california-us-house-map-that-could-tip-control-of-congress-brazen-power-grab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/doj-sues-over-california-us-house-map-that-could-tip-control-of-congress-brazen-power-grab\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ sues over California US House map that could tip control of Congress: \u2018Brazen power grab\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\n<div>\n<p>                                <bsp-timestamp data-timestamp=\"1763070430000\" data-recent-thresholdinhours=\"1\">                    <template data-date-tpl>Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]<\/template>                    <span data-date><\/span>                <\/bsp-timestamp>            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                    <bsp-page-actions>                            <\/bsp-page-actions>                                                            <\/div>\n<div>\n<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; The Justice Department on Thursday sued to block <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/california-redistricting-prop-50-gavin-newsom-839193bfc2a817086acca7365315f26f\">new congressional district boundaries<\/a><\/span>  approved by California voters last week, joining a court battle that could help determine which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026. <\/p>\n<p>The complaint filed in California federal court targets the new congressional map pushed by Democratic Gov. <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom<\/a><\/span>  in response to <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-republicans-congress-redistricting-gerrymandering-texas-cb63c6b0102bc45a11515c6b33efc697\">a similar Republican-led effort in Texas<\/a><\/span>  backed by President <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/span>. It sets the stage for a high-stakes legal and political fight between the Republican administration and the Democratic governor, who&rsquo;s seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;California&rsquo;s redistricting scheme is a brazen power grab that tramples on civil rights and mocks the democratic process,&rdquo; Attorney General <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/pam-bondi\">Pam Bondi<\/a><\/span>  said in an emailed statement. &ldquo;Governor Newsom&rsquo;s attempt to entrench one-party rule and silence millions of Californians will not stand.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Newsom spokesperson Brandon Richards said in a statement, &ldquo;These losers lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The legal move against heavily Democratic California marks the first time the Justice Department has sued over a flurry of unusual, mid-decade House map revisions across the country that were drawn to maximize partisan advantage in advance of next year&rsquo;s elections.<\/p>\n<p>Three Republican-led states &mdash; Texas, along with Missouri and North Carolina &mdash; have not faced federal legal action after revamping district lines following Trump&rsquo;s call for new maps to expand GOP numbers in the House. Civil rights advocates <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-redistricting-fight-naacp-65dd3035e7e4b4347a9be9e01d5158d8\">have argued<\/a><\/span>  that the new boundaries in Texas and Missouri illegally disadvantage minority communities at the ballot box. <\/p>\n<p>California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment changing the congressional boundaries to give Democrats <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/redistricting-congress-trump-california-8033414da22c409a8419ffb385caf579\">a shot at winning five seats<\/a><\/span>  now held by Republicans in next year&rsquo;s midterm elections. <\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department is joining <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/california-redistricting-legal-challenges-republican-7148dda9a171a0e279010d1eaf0d22d2\">a case challenging the new map<\/a><\/span>  that was brought 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 Hispanic voters with the new map. It asks a judge to prohibit California from using the new map in any future elections. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Race cannot be used as a proxy to advance political interests, but that is precisely what the California General Assembly did with Proposition 50 &mdash; the recent ballot initiative that junked California&rsquo;s pre-existing electoral map in favor of a rush-job rejiggering of California&rsquo;s congressional district lines,&rdquo; the lawsuit says. <\/p>\n<p>Prop 50 was Newsom&rsquo;s response to <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/redistricting-trump-missouri-texas-california-b1c16a00f07c8df117c2f5b685542085\">Trump&rsquo;s maneuvers<\/a><\/span>  in Texas, where Republicans rejiggered districts in hopes of picking up five seats of their own ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when House control will be on the line. <\/p>\n<p>Democrats need to gain just a handful of seats next year to <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/california-house-trump-newsom-democrats-republicans-43868bbcfb81cf2b1ef5d2862b2665a9\">take control of the chamber<\/a><\/span>which would imperil Trump&rsquo;s agenda for the remainder of his term and open the way for congressional investigations into his administration. Republicans hold 219 seats, to Democrats&rsquo; 214.<\/p>\n<p>The showdown between the nation&rsquo;s two most populous states has spread nationally, with <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/redistricting-gerrymander-trump-missouri-936e8daecadb32556fcfbd2eb9f7457b\">Missouri<\/a><\/span>North Carolina and <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/virginia-ohio-congressional-redistricting-trump-midterm-election-6c617a08c84f453eacc1727f9be9ef52\">Ohio<\/a><\/span>  adopting new district lines that could provide a partisan advantage. <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/redistricting-congress-trump-california-8033414da22c409a8419ffb385caf579\">Other states<\/a><\/span>  are considering similar moves.<\/p>\n<p>The national implications of California&rsquo;s ballot measure were clear in both the money it attracted and the high-profile figures who became involved. Tens of millions of dollars flowed into the race, including a $5 million donation to opponents from the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super political action committee tied to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. <\/p>\n<p>Former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/arnold-schwarzenegger-trump-california-house-redistricting-d15c5dcad9829b94c42cea1118ea782d\">opposed it<\/a><\/span>while former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/barack-obama-california-redistricting-proposal-ad-c3961c1de1c93a57904e7b8df9a1a3fb\">appeared in ads supporting it<\/a><\/span>calling it a &ldquo;smart&rdquo; approach to counter Republican moves aimed at safeguarding House control.<\/p>\n<p>The contest provided Newsom with <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/gavin-newsom-california-president-2028-house-democrats-81f26408fd5a72605dc619b9d08a3793\">a national platform<\/a><\/span>  and he has confirmed he will consider a White House run in 2028.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>Richer reported from Chicago.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/california-redistricting-justice-department-lawsuit-025b00f0b3490a5fa8219c4376bcb9d2\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; The Justice Department on Thursday sued to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters last week, joining a court battle that could help determine which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026. The complaint filed in California federal court targets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trump"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}