California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Tuesday that his state would redraw its House maps after President Trump failed to respond to a letter the governor sent him urging Trump to have red states call off redistricting efforts.
“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” Newsom wrote in a statement on the social platform X put out through his press office, meant to mock how Trump writes his posts on Truth Social.
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“BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN,” he added.
Newsom penned a letter to Trump on Monday pressing the president to have Texas and other red states stop their mid-decade redistricting efforts, saying “you are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make.”
“If you will not stand down, I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states,” he added. “But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same.”
Newsom’s office gave Trump until Tuesday evening to reply to the letter.
Trump and his White House have been urging Texas and several other Republican states to do mid-decade redistricting in an effort to create more pickup opportunities for the GOP in the House ahead of 2026.
California holding special redistricting election in November: Newsom
Republicans are bracing for an unfavorable political environment given the historical midterm headwinds the sitting president’s party typically faces.
Newsom said his state was already planning to call a special election for November over redistricting as Democrats in the Golden State look to neutralize any gains Republicans may get from Texas’s new House map.
Other Democratic states are also eyeing potential redraws of their House maps.
