The DOJ letter that sparked a redistricting war – and could hurt Texas in court
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TEXAS’ NEW MAP GOES TO COURT
A letter penned by Harmeet Dhillon, a former California GOP leader now serving as President Trump’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, gave Texas Republicans the political cover they needed to move ahead with mid-decade redistricting, state attorneys acknowledged in a court filing last week.
But it could backfire on the GOP as arguments pick back up in El Paso Wednesday in a long-running case to decide whether the state engaged in racial gerrymandering.
The letter, which Dhillon sent to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders on July 7, is likely to become a key piece of evidence in the case, which was first brought in 2021 and could also determine whether or not Texas can move ahead with its new congressional map.
Dhillon’s letter claimed several of the Lone Star State’s congressional districts contained “unconstitutional ‘coalition districts,’” which are districts that include multiple racial minority groups that may vote for common candidates and interests. The former San Francisco-based attorney urged the state to “rectify these race-based considerations.”
After receiving the letter, Abbott put redistricting on the agenda for a special legislative session, citing “constitutional concerns” and setting off a multistate war over redistricting. California voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to adopt a new congressional map to counter Texas and make it easier for Democrats to flip five seats.
Now, Texas officials are backtracking and trying to distance their redistricting from the DOJ letter – acknowledging outright that their redraw was always motivated by partisanship.
“In a poor and legally-unsound attempt to provide political cover for Texas to redistrict mid-decade, the Department of Justice issued a letter (“the Dhillon Letter”) threatening to sue Texas if it did not redistrict,” Texas attorneys wrote in a court filing last week. They also argue it was a “political arms-race that motivated Texas legislators to redistrict mid-decade, not race.”
Why the about face?
“It makes them vulnerable to claims that this was a racial gerrymander,” said Benjamin Schneer, an associate professor at the Harvard Kennedy School.
“States are entitled to engage in partisan gerrymandering. What they’re not entitled to do is engage in racial gerrymandering,” said David Froomkin, an assistant professor at the University of Houston Law Center. “The DOJ letter makes clear that the predominant purpose behind this redistricting was a racial purpose – precisely what a state is not allowed to do under federal law.”
Schneer said Dhillon’s argument that coalition districts are unconstitutional is “a bit of a stretch” because while a 2024 circuit court ruling prevents voters from challenging maps based on coalition district claims, they are not illegal, either.
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the arguments from Texas lawyers that the letter boiled down to “a Washington official’s mistake”
PROP. 50 MONEY UPDATE
The National Education Association, the largest labor union in the country, gave $3 million to help Gov. Gavin Newsom pass Proposition 50 on Tuesday.
Charles Munger Jr. dropped another $2.7 million into his “No on 50” account over the weekend, bringing his total spend to fight the Democratic gerrymander measure to nearly $32.8 million.
In the other “No” major campaign, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy transferred $1 million of the $6 million parked in his campaign account to the committee he is running with protege Jessica Millan Patterson. The campaign also got a $1 million gift from Tom Siebel, founder of C3 AI and second cousin once-removed to First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
According to campaign finance filings, Newsom’s campaign raised nearly $77 million for the ballot measure between July 1 and Sept. 20, nearly twice the roughly $40 million raised by both campaigns against Prop. 50 during the same timeframe.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Pete says hazing and bullying are good now, dip....! AMERICA!”
– Izzy Gardon, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s spokesperson, on X, referring to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments about overhauling culture in the military.
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This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "The DOJ letter that sparked a redistricting war – and could hurt Texas in court."
