California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday that the state would not back down from its redistricting fight and pledged to “fight fire with fire” if Texas tried to redraw its congressional district maps.
Newsom spent most of his afternoon press conference going after President Donald Trump, repeatedly alleging he was behind a nefarious and illegal stunt to sway the 2026 midterm elections.
“These folks don’t play by the rules,” Newsom said. “If they can’t win playing the game with the existing set of rules, they’ll change the rules. That’s what Donald Trump has done. He’s dialing for seats. Familiar, because he dialed for votes in the last election. Here is someone who tried to break this country, tried to light democracy on fire on January 6th. He recognizes that he’s going to lose in the midterms.”
Newsom added that California had the unique opportunity to stop Trump in his tracks “in less than 18 months.”
“We’re holding the line on democracy,” Newsom, an early 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful, said.
The governor also took aim at United States Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), who announced he would introduce legislation Tuesday to prohibit mid-decade redistricting, which would nullify new maps adopted by states before the 2030 census.
Kiley criticized Newsom’s push to respond to Texas lawmakers’ attempts to redraw their maps to give Republicans another five-seat boost in the House.
“Gavin Newsom is trying to subvert the will of voters and do lasting damage to democracy in California,” Kiley said in a statement. “Fortunately, Congress has the ability to protect California voters using its authority under the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This will also stop a damaging redistricting war from breaking out across the country.”
Newsom said he would not go through with a push to redraw California’s congressional maps as long as Texas stood down on their efforts. That seemed unlikely Monday afternoon. Texas state House Republicans voted earlier in the day to issue civil arrest warrants for Democrats who fled the state to try to stop GOP leaders from redrawing the maps. Most took cover in Chicago, where they would not be prosecuted.
Newsom met with Texas state representatives fleeing the state over the weekend.
“It’s cause and effect, triggered on the basis of what occurs or doesn’t occur in Texas,” Newsom added. “I hope they do the right thing, and if they do, then there’ll be no cause for us to have to move forward.”
It has been more than two decades since California lawmakers drew congressional maps. In 2008, voters took the power away from them and gave it to an independent, citizen-led redistricting commission. The commission was created to draw districts impartially, avoiding the manipulation of boundaries to benefit a single political party.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said he believes the move to present new maps to voters directly would help California counter the push by Texas Republicans to redraw their state’s maps.
Trump suggested last month that Texas’s redistricting could help Republicans gain five House seats to keep the party in control after the 2026 midterm elections. Currently, Republicans have a seven-seat edge in the House. Trump has been able to enact his agenda, which includes everything from mass deportations to extending tax breaks for the ultra-rich, because the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress. If Democrats can flip the House, they will likely be able to stop the president’s agenda from moving forward and render him a lame duck during his last two years in office.
Texas state lawmakers have been holding hearings on the controversial redistricting effort and rolled out their proposed map on Wednesday. The new map would create 30 Republican congressional seats, compared to eight Democratic districts, an expected five-seat boost for the GOP from its current 25-to-13 seat breakdown.
In response to Texas and Trump, three Democratic states, California, Illinois, and New York, have pledged to fight back.
Bonta made headlines last week for saying there was a “legal pathway” for Newsom to carve out new congressional districts that could help Democrats secure more House seats.
Bonta told reporters that Newsom could present new congressional district maps directly to voters on a statewide ballot, allowing Democrats to circumvent the state’s independent redistricting commission. The maps would be prepared by the state legislature and presented to voters for up-or-down approval in a special election.
TEXAS HOUSE PASSES MOTION FOR ARREST WARRANTS FOR DEMOCRATS WHO FLED STATE
During Monday’s news conference, Newsom and Bonta also provided an update on all the state’s lawsuits against the Trump administration. So far, 37 have been filed in 7 months, or about one per week. The state has spent $5 million to preserve $168 billion in federal funding. The cases range from LGBT protections to immigration, education, and voting rights.
“Our work goes far beyond dollars and cents,” Bonta said. “It’s about stopping the administration from senselessly tearing down the federal government.”
Newsom praised the work, calling it a “tremendous return on investment.”
He added, “This is just seven months into a new administration and there is no question in my mind that the most vexing challenges are in front of us, not behind us.”