The Justice Department on Thursday filed suit to block California’s newly approved congressional map, thrusting the nation’s most populous state into a widening national battle over redistricting and setting up a legal fight that could shape control of the U.S. House in 2026.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, challenges district boundaries endorsed overwhelmingly by voters last week through Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment championed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The measure redraws several Republican-held districts and gives Democrats a potential path to flipping as many as five seats in next year’s midterm elections. The Biden-aligned Justice Department argues the map constitutes unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, while the Republican-led administratio

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