Sacramento, Nov 13
The administration of US President Donald Trump on Thursday, US time, moved to block California's new congressional map by suing the state and joining a Republican lawsuit against Proposition 50 (Prop 50), a voter-approved measure that could shift several US House seats in the 2026 mid-term elections, according to federal court filings and official statements.
In a complaint filed in federal court, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that the map enacted under Prop 50 is a "race-based redistricting plan" that violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and the federal Voting Rights Act, the department said in a press release.
US Attorney General Pamela Bondi described California's approach as a "brazen power grab that tramples on civil rights and mocks the democratic process," said the statement, news agency reported. The DOJ filing seeks to intervene as a plaintiff in Tangipa v. Newsom, a lawsuit brought on November 5 by the California Republican Party and 19 voters. The suit claims that the Prop 50 map created an unconstitutional racial gerrymander "to favour Hispanic voters," reported Democracy Docket, a voting rights litigation tracker.