WASHINGTON – California can use a congressional map drawn to give Democrats an advantage in this year’s midterm elections, the Supreme Court said Feb. 4 in a decision that will make it harder for Republicans to keep control of Congress.
The court declined a request from California Republicans – which was backed by the Trump administration – to block the map adopted by California voters in November at the initiative of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the U.S. House. If Democrats seize control, they can thwart Trump’s legislative agenda and launch investigations into his administration.
A group of California Republicans argued the state legislature relied too much on race, rather than politics, to create the new districts.
But the high court, without comment, refused to intervene. It did so two months after ruling that Texas could use a congressional map drawn to help Republicans win as many as five additional seats in the U.S. House.
