🔗 Share this article US Justice Department Joins Lawsuit to Stop California's Congressional Map Federal authorities has officially joined a lawsuit brought forward by California Republicans, seeking to halt the California's recently passed congressional redistricting map. This legal action, submitted to federal court, targets the map championed by Governor Gavin Newsom, which was developed in reaction against a GOP redistricting effort in Texas. "California's electoral map constitutes a brazen power grab that violates voting rights and mocks the democratic process," declared the US attorney general. The Democratic party have voiced assurance that the new maps will survive court challenges. "The plaintiffs were defeated in the election and they are likely to also lose in court," commented a spokesperson for Governor Newsom. Constitutional Challenge The legal challenge claims that California's map wrongfully utilized racial considerations to significantly advantage Hispanic voters in contravention of the federal constitution. "Race cannot be used as a proxy to further partisan goals, but that is precisely what the state legislature did with Proposition 50," argued a senior official from the Civil Rights Division. Political Context The legal battle represents the major counterpunch by the Democratic party in the continuing political battle that started with Texas and has extended to various parts of the country. Unlike other states, where Republican state legislatures have implemented partisan maps, California's plan needed voter approval, which it obtained with approximately two-thirds of the vote. National Implications Democrats need to flip just a handful of GOP-controlled House seats to gain majority of the chamber in next year's congressional elections. The political group controlling the controlling share will shape the final years of the sitting president's term, deciding if a unified Republican Congress will continue to deliver its political program or encounter opposition, investigations and possible additional obstacles. Legal representation for the plaintiffs is being provided by a prominent law firm The firm's founder currently serves as senior DOJ official Nevertheless, this attorney has been recused from the current litigation