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 [ STATE WATCH ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=385)

#  Trump DOJ Sues California Over Redistricting Initiative

Written by Brad Reed.

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November 13 2025

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REDISTRICTING - The [US Department of Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/us-department-of-justice) on Thursday filed a lawsuit against California over its new redistricting plan, which was [approved](https://www.commondreams.org/news/california-passes-prop-50-redistricting) overwhelmingly by voters in the state last week.

The DOJ [joined](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-governor-gavin-newsom-californias-race-based-redistricting-plan) a lawsuit filed by the California [Republican Party](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/republican-party) that alleged the state’s new redistricting plan is racially discriminatory because it intends, in addition to other “racial considerations,” to give preference to Latino voters, who have traditionally voted for Democrats.

“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 recent ballot initiative that junked California’s pre-existing electoral map in favor of a rush-job rejiggering of California’s congressional district lines,” the complaint alleged.

US Attorney General [Pam Bondi](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/pam-bondi), in justifying the DOJ’s intervention into California’s mid-decade redistricting, described the effort as “a brazen power grab that tramples on [civil rights](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/civil-rights) and mocks the democratic process” and vowed that “Governor Newsom’s attempt to entrench one-party rule and silence millions of Californians will not stand.”

Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for California Gov. [Gavin Newsom](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gavin-newsom), hit back at the DOJ’s allegations and vowed that the state would not be backing down.

“These losers lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court,” he [told](https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/13/politics/california-trump-redistricting-lawsuit) CNN.

California decided to commit to a mid-decade redistricting plan in response to President Donald Trump’s unprecedented push to get [Republicans](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/republicans) across the country to redraw their states’ maps to help the [GOP](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gop) maintain control of the [US House](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/us-house) of Representatives in next year’s [midterm elections](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/midterm-elections).

Trump’s [gerrymandering](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gerrymandering) push, which began in [Texas](https://www.commondreams.org/news/texas-map) and subsequently spread to [Missouri](https://www.commondreams.org/news/missouri-map) and [North Carolina](https://www.commondreams.org/news/north-carolina-congressional-map), has been hit with several setbacks, including California’s redistricting plan, as well as a district court in [Utah](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/utah) [nixing](https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-republican-redistricting-plan) a Republican-drawn map in favor of one in which Democrats are seen as heavy favorites to pick up an additional seat.

Dave Wasserman, a senior elections analyst at Cook Political Report, [wrote](https://x.com/Redistrict/status/1988231806731305125) in a post on X on Tuesday that the Democrats’ victories in Utah and California, as well as reported plans to redraw maps in [Virginia](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/virginia), have “pushed the mid-decade redistricting war closer to a draw.”

*(Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams where this was first published.)*

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