WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday sued California over its new redistricting maps after a ballot measure adopting new congressional districts passed last week, according to documents filed in federal court.

The measure could give the Democratic-led U.S. state five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and was aimed as a counterweight to Republican efforts to give their party more congressional seats in Texas and elsewhere amid a push by Trump.

The Justice Department intervened as a plaintiff in a November 5 lawsuit by the California Republican Party and 19 registered voters in the state. The case challenges California’s ballot initiative Prop. 50, which passed earlier this month. The measure was a response to Republican-led Texas redrawing its congressional map.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in a post on the social media platform X on Thursday chided California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom over what she called “his brazen Proposition 50 redistricting power grab.”

Tangpia, California GOP Welcome the Move

Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Clovis, is the lead plaintiff in the case. He welcomed the federal government joining.

“The reason the DOJ is coming in is because it’s fairly clear and evident that the way Gov. Newsom weaponized the process — using the Voting Rights Act to justify partisan gerrymandering — is not legal and is unconstitutional. They see it. They want to jump on this because we’re going to hold these people accountable,” Tangipa told GV Wire.

Tangipa said there was no prior conversation about the DOJ joining the case.

The California Republican Party, another plaintiff in the lawsuit, welcomed the move as well.

“This lawsuit is about a basic promise: The color of your skin should never be used by politicians to decide how much your voice counts at the ballot box,” state GOP Chairwoman Corrin Rankin said in a statement.

The Dhillon Law Group is representing the plaintiffs.

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division — led by Harmeet Dhillon — filed the motion to intervene. Dhillon founded the plaintiffs’ law firm but is no longer listed on the firm’s website.

Preliminary Injunction Set for Dec. 5

A preliminary injunction motion — to prevent the maps from going into effect — is set for Dec. 5 before Judge Josephine L. Stanton in a Los Angeles federal courtroom.

Candidates for the June 2, 2026 primary can start collecting signatures in lieu of a filing fee on Dec. 11.

Stanton is a 2010 appointee of President Barack Obama.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was granted a motion to intervene on Nov. 12 on behalf of the defendants. The federal government’s motion to intervene will be heard Nov. 21.

(Reporting by Mike Scarcella, Jan Wolfe and Christian Martinez; writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chris Reese. GV Wire’s David Taub contributed.)