California Governor Gavin Newsom, along with local congressional representatives, state officials and supporters, speaks as he announces the redrawing of California’s congressional maps, calling on voters to approve a ballot measure, in response to a similar move in Texas being supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 14, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
TheSupremeCourton Wednesday allowedCaliforniato use a newvoter-approved congressional mapthat is favorable toDemocratsin this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from stateRepublicansand the Trump administration.
No justices dissented from the brief order.
The justices had previouslyallowed Texas’ Republican-friendly mapto be used in 2026, despite a lower court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race.
Conservative JusticeSamuel Alitowrote in December that it appeared both states had adopted new maps for political advantage, which the high court has previously ruled cannot be a basis for a federal lawsuit.
Republicans, joined by the Trump administration, claimed theCaliforniamap improperly relied on race, as well. But a lower court disagreed by a 2-1 vote.
The justices’ unsigned order keeps in place districts that are designed to flip up to five seats now held byRepublicans, part of a tit-for-tat nationwide redistricting battle spurred by PresidentDonald Trump, with control ofCongresson the line in midterm elections.
Last year, at Trump’s behest,TexasRepublicansredid the state’s congressional districtswith an eye on gaining five seats.
CaliforniaGov.Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who iseying a 2028 presidential run, vowed to respond in kind, though he had to win over voters, not just lawmakers, to do so.
Filing for congressional primaries inCaliforniabegins on Monday.
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