Republican lawmaker questions racial considerations and the absence of the state’s mapmaker during federal hearings.
California State Assemblymember David Tangipa (R-Fresno) is a central plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed on Nov. 5, 2025, challenging the constitutionality of the congressional district maps enacted through Proposition 50, a ballot measure passed by California voters on Nov. 4, 2025.
Proposition 50 amended the state constitution to suspend the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission and empower state constitution to suspend the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission and empower the Democratic-controlled Legislature to redraw U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
The legal action, Tangipa et al. v. Newsom et al., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
The plaintiffs maintain that the newly drawn maps constitute an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments, asserting that race was used as a predominant factor without satisfying strict legan standards.
During court proceedings this week, Tangipa criticized what he described as a lack of transparency surrounding the map-drawing process.
Specifically, he questioned the absence of testimony from the Legislature’s contracted mapmaker, Paul Mitchell. In a post on X during the second day of hearings, Tangipa wrote, “Why is Newsom hiding Paul Mitchell, the mapmaker? … Race was used to draw the lines with no justification. This isn’t about elections—it’s about incompetence. If you have nothing to hide, stop hiding.”
On Nov. 13, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division also filed a civil rights lawsuit challenging the maps, asserting that California’s approach “tramples on civil rights” by using race-driven criteria. That filing, prepared by DOJ attorneys, expands the constitutional arguments at issue.
A three-judge panel is scheduled to hear initial arguments in Los Angeles beginning Dec. 15, 2025, with motions focused on whether a preliminary injunction should halt implementation of Prop 50’s maps before the 2026 candidate filing deadline.
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