WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice sued on Nov. 13 to block California from implementing its new congressional map, which could determine which party controls the House of Representatives in 2027.

“California’s redistricting scheme is a brazen power grab that tramples on civil rights and mocks the democratic process,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.

She wrote in a post on X, “Newsom should be concerned about keeping Californians safe and shutting down Antifa violence, not rigging his state for political gain.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is joining a lawsuit filed last week by the California Republican Party to stop Proposition 50 from taking effect.

“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 lawsuit states.

Proposition 50 redraws California’s congressional map to include five Democratic districts in response to Texas redrawing its map to add five GOP districts.

The lawsuit alleges that the new map is a violation of the 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment to the Constitution. The former guarantees all citizens “equal protection” under the law, and the latter prohibits denying citizens the right to vote based on race.

The suit also stated that the new map was redrawn by a consultant paid by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to do the task, not by legislators or the state of California.

The California GOP lawsuit was filed by Dhillon Law Group. Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights office, has recused herself from the case.

Newsom’s administration has been dismissive of the case.

“We haven’t reviewed the lawsuit, but if it’s from the California Republican Party and Harmeet Dhillon’s law firm, it’s going to fail. Good luck, losers,” Brandon Richards, a spokesman for Newsom, previously told The Epoch Times.

A hearing on the DOJ’s complaint is scheduled for Nov. 21.

Republicans currently control the House of Representatives with 219 seats, while the Democrats have 214 seats.

The Associated Press contributed.