This week, the Department of Justice joined a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, alleging that California reshaped its congressional map not out of civic duty but partisan ambition. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division says California’s mapmakers aren’t hiding their intent. They charge that race was “used as a proxy” to engineer districts tilted toward Democrats. And they argue the maneuver was meant to counter Texas’ redistricting battle, which produced a series of Republican-leaning seats. “In the press, California’s legislators and governor sold a plan to promote the interests of Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections,” the DOJ lawyers wrote.