US Supreme Court allows California redistricting to proceed News
Missvain, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
US Supreme Court allows California redistricting to proceed

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday denied an injunction request from California Republicans who had asked the court to block the implementation of a new congressional district map before the 2026 midterm elections.

A ballot initiative, Proposition 50, mandates redistricting of California to potentially flip five Republican-held seats to Democrats. Republicans challenged the new map shortly after state voters approved it in November 2025 and filed an emergency application for writ of injunction to the Supreme Court after the US Central District Court of California decided in a two-judge majority to uphold the map.

The lawsuit, brought by Dhillon Law Group and led by Assemblyman David Tangipa and other Republican leaders, alleged that the new map is unconstitutional.

“Specifically, the California Legislature violated the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution when it drew new congressional district lines based on race, specifically to favor Hispanic voters, without cause or evidence to justify it,” plaintiffs wrote.

The district court upheld the map on the grounds that its redistricting was motivated by political considerations and not racial ones, despite Republican claims to the contrary. After the ruling, the Trump administration joined as a party to the case.

California’s redistricting came as a response to a Republican-backed redistricting effort in Texas. In December, the Supreme Court allowed Texas to proceed with redistricting efforts that come outside the usual 10-year redistricting cycle. These efforts largely aim to help Republican candidates claim more seats in Congress.

The two cases and the Supreme Court’s disinterest in hearing them have pushed many other states to consider similar redistricting, including Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Missouri.

THIS DAY @ LAW

First international arbitration court founded

On February 6, 1900, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was founded with the ratification of the 1899 Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes. Set at The Hague in the Netherlands, the PCA was the first international tribunal established to settle disputes between nations. The PCA was later revised by the subsequent 1907 Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes. Today, the PCA is housed at the Peace Palace in The Hague and is comprised of 109 member countries.

20th Amendment to the US Constitution ratified

On February 6, 1933, the 20th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified by the requisite majority of states, moving the start of presidential, vice-presidential and congressional terms from March to January in an effort to shorten the problematic "lame duck" period.

Learn more about the 20th Amendment.