SCOTUS OKs CA Districts Favoring Dems  02/05 06:12

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use 
a new voter-approved congressional map that is favorable to Democrats in this 
year's elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the 
Trump administration.

   No justices dissented from the brief order denying the appeal without 
explanation, which is common on the court's emergency docket.

   The justices had previously allowed Texas' Republican-friendly map to be 
used in 2026, despite a lower-court ruling that it likely discriminates on the 
basis of race.

   Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote 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 the California map 
improperly relied on race as well. But a lower court disagreed by a 2-1 vote. 
The Justice Department and White House did not immediately respond to messages 
seeking comment.

   The justices' unsigned order keeps in place districts that are designed to 
flip up to five seats now held by Republicans, part of a tit-for-tat nationwide 
redistricting battle spurred by President Donald Trump, with control of 
Congress on the line in midterm elections.

   Last year, at Trump's behest, Texas Republicans redid the state's 
congressional districts with an eye on gaining five seats.

   California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is eyeing a 2028 presidential 
run, pledged to respond in kind, though he had to win over voters, not just 
lawmakers, to do so.

   Newsom celebrated the court's decision, saying on social media that Trump 
had "started this redistricting war" and would end up losing out in the 
November midterms, when control of Congress is at stake.

   California's attorney general, Democrat Rob Bonta, said the decision was 
"good news not only for Californians, but for our democracy."

   The state Republican Party, which brought the case, vowed to keep fighting 
against the map's use in future elections.

   "We will continue to vigorously argue for Equal Protection under the law for 
all of California's voters," Michael Columbo, counsel for the plaintiffs, said 
in a statement.

   One longtime party strategist, Jon Fleishman, a former executive director of 
the California Republican Party, said in a post on X that the decision means 
"this year's elections will take place on the new lines shrinking the already 
very small Republican delegation from California."

   Filing for congressional primaries in California begins on Monday.