US justice department joins lawsuit to block California’s new electoral map

Move escalates legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to help Democrats flip House seats in 2026

The justice department on Thursday joined a lawsuit brought by California Republicans to block the state's new congressional map, escalating a legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to give Democrats a better chance of retaking the House of Representatives next year.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, challenges the congressional map championed by Gavin Newsom, the state's Democratic governor, in response to a Republican gerrymander in Texas, sought by Donald Trump. The justice department's intervention in the case sets up a high-profile showdown between the Trump administration and Newsom, one of the president's chief antagonists and a possible 2028 contender.