This week marks a flashpoint in an escalating and unprecedented fight over redistricting, with the country’s two most populous states taking center stage and control of the US House during the second half of President Donald Trump’s term potentially at stake.

The California Legislature comes back from a summer recess and is slated to vote on a partisan plan to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Democrats unveiled a proposal Friday that could give California's dominant political party an additional five U.S. House seats in a bid to win the fight to control Congress next year.