WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved congressional map that is favorable to Democrats in this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the Trump administration.
No justices dissented from the brief order denying the appeal without explanation, which is common on the court's emergency docket.
The justices had previously allowed Texas’ Republican-friendly map to be used in 2026, despite a lower-court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in December that it appeared both states had adopted new maps for political advantage, which the high court has previously ruled cannot be a basis for a federal lawsuit.
Republicans, joined by the Trump administration, claimed the California map improperly relied on race as well. But a lower court disagreed by a 2-1 vote. The Justice Department and White House did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The justices' unsigned order keeps in place districts that are designed to flip up to five seats now held by Republicans, part of a tit-for-tat nationwide redistricting battle spurred by President Donald Trump, with control of Congress on the line in midterm elections.
Last year, at Trump's behest, Texas Republicans redid the state's congressional districts with an eye on gaining five seats.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is eyeing a 2028 presidential run, pledged to respond in kind, though he had to win over voters, not just lawmakers, to do so.
Newsom celebrated the court's decision, saying on social media that Trump had “started this redistricting war” and would end up losing out in the November midterms, when control of Congress is at stake.
California's attorney general, Democrat Rob Bonta, said the decision was “good news not only for Californians, but for our democracy.”
The state Republican Party, which brought the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One longtime party strategist, Jon Fleishman, a former executive director of the California Republican Party, said in a post on X that the decision means “this year’s elections will take place on the new lines shrinking the already very small Republican delegation from California."
Filing for congressional primaries in California begins on Monday.
Associated Press writers Michael Blood in Los Angeles and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom reacts after being asked by local media about a potential run for the U.S. presidency following a news conference at the California High-Speed Rail Authority's 150-acre Southern Railhead site in the Wasco/Shafter area, where he announced the next phase of construction that will bring the state closer to passenger service with track installation between Merced and Bakersfield, in Wasco, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The U.S. Supreme Court is photographed after a snowstorm Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A government lawyer who told a judge that her job “sucks” during a court hearing stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota has been removed from her Justice Department post, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Julie Le had been working for the Justice Department on a detail, but the U.S. attorney in Minnesota ended her assignment after her comments in court on Tuesday, the person said. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. She had been working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before the temporary assignment.
At a hearing Tuesday in St. Paul, Minnesota, for several immigration cases, Le told U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell that she wishes he could hold her in contempt of court “so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep.”
“What do you want me to do? The system sucks. This job sucks. And I am trying every breath that I have so that I can get you what you need,” Le said, according to a transcript.
Le's extraordinary remarks reflect the intense strain that has been placed on the federal court system since President Donald Trump returned to the White House a year ago with a promise to carry out mass deportations. ICE officials have said the surge in Minnesota has become its largest-ever immigration operation since ramping up in early January.
Several prosecutors have left the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota amid frustration with the immigration enforcement surge and the Justice Department’s response to fatal shootings of two civilians by federal agents. Le was assigned at least 88 cases in less than a month, according to online court records.
Blackwell told Le that the volume of cases isn't an excuse for disregarding court orders. He expressed concern that people arrested in immigration enforcement operations are routinely jailed for days after judges have ordered their release from custody.
“And I hear the concerns about all the energy that this is causing the DOJ to expend, but, with respect, some of it is of your own making by not complying with orders,” the judge told Le.
Le said she was working for the Department of Homeland Security as an ICE attorney in immigration court before she “stupidly” volunteered to work the detail in Minnesota. Le told the judge that she wasn't properly trained for the assignment. She said she wanted to resign from the job but couldn't get a replacement.
"Fixing a system, a broken system, I don’t have a magic button to do it. I don’t have the power or the voice to do it," she said.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Le was a probationary attorney.
“This conduct is unprofessional and unbecoming of an ICE attorney in abandoning her obligation to act with commitment, dedication, and zeal to the interests of the United States Government,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
Le and the U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Kira Kelley, an attorney who represented two petitioners at the hearing, said the flood of immigration petitions is necessary because “so many people being detained without any semblance of a lawful basis.”
“And there’s no indication here that any new systems or bolded e-mails or any instructions to ICE are going to fix any of this,” she added.
An person is detained by federal agents on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
