(CNN) — The Trump administration moved Thursday to challenge California’s effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, throwing the full weight of the Justice Department in the high-stakes battle over control the House of Representatives next year.

After voters in the Golden State approved a ballot measure last week that allows state Democratic lawmakers to replace congressional lines drawn by the state’s independent commission with new ones that make five US House seats more favorable for Democrats, the California Republican Party and others raced to court to block the redistricting effort.

The administration’s involvement is a dramatic escalation in the legal challenge, which, if successful, could scramble Democrats’ plan to push back against

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