The California Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Republican legislators to delay Democrats from gerrymandering the state’s congressional districts. The justices said the emergency petition, filed earlier this week, “failed to meet their burden of establishing a basis for relief at this time under” the California Constitution.

Republican legislators in California announced Wednesday that they are sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice and to the U.S. Attorneys representing California, calling for a potential federal investigation into who is behind the proposed new congressional maps in California and how they were constructed.

Republican state legislators have filed an emergency petition with the California Supreme Court to put a Democratic-led mid-decade redistricting effort​ on hold.