California Gov. Gavin Newsom said California will move forward with drawing new congressional maps that he said “WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY” and allow Democrats to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives, ABC News reported.
“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM “MISSED” THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE “BEAUTIFUl MAPS,” THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!) Newsom wrote Tuesday night, in a post written in the style of President Donald Trump’s occasionally all-caps social media post.
The announcement comes amid Texas Republicans’ efforts to redraw congressional maps in their party’s favor. The redistricting showdown in Texas has led blue states to threaten to retaliate — with Newsom proposing to cut five GOP-held seats in California.
The redistricting battle in Texas — and potentially in other states — has national implications. The Texas GOP’s proposed congressional map could net Republicans between three and five seats in next year’s midterm elections — seats that could make a difference as Republicans work to maintain their small majority in the U.S. House.
A spokesperson for California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas confirmed to ABC News that the state legislature is aiming to release draft maps on Friday.
Newsom’s post did not offer any details on the maps or how he plans to get them approved, although Newsom has said previously he would consider trying to have maps on the ballot in a special election in November.
The California governor said he would be part of a press conference this week with “powerful” Democrats, but didn’t offer details about who would be in attendance.
Newsom sent a letter to Trump on Monday asking the president to tell Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican governors to abandon efforts to draw new congressional maps. Texas Democrats have fled the state in protest of the maps.
The Texas House of Representatives was once again unable to reach a quorum Tuesday. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said that the House will convince once again in Friday, adding if there’s no quorum by then, Abbott will adjourn the current session and call a second special session to begin immediately.
The Hill reported: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) trolled President Trump with a social media post Tuesday declaring “SECOND-TO-LAST WARNING” in the ongoing blue state/red state battle over redistricting — ribbing Trump over his polling, squishy deadlines and distinctive communication style.
“DONALD TRUMP, THE LOWEST POLLING PRESIDENT IN RECENT HISTORY, THIS IS YOUR SECOND-TO-LAST WARNING!!! (THE NEXT ONE IS THE LAST ONE!),” Newsom’s press office posted on the social platform X. “STAND DOWN NOW OR CALIFORNIA WILL COUNTER-STRIKE (LEGALLY!) TO DESTROY YOUR ILLEGAL CROOKED MAPS IN RED STATES.”
“PRESS CONFERENCE COMING — HOSTED BY AMERICA’S FAVORITE GOVERNOR, GAVIN NEWSOM.” the post continued. “FINAL WARNING NEXT. YOU WON’T LIKE IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”
Trump frequently uses his Truth Social feed to issue similarly styled missives about policies and to air political grievances. Among the hallmarks of Trump’s posts that Newman sarcastically copied: thanking followers for their “attention to this matter,” curious users of punctuation, capitalization, and parenthetical aside, and references to himself as the “favorite” president.
Newsom also appeared to mock Trump’s waffling warnings and deadlines that prompted the spread of the “TACO” moniker, short for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
Newsom, who is seen as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, sent a letter to Trump on Monday urging the president to end the redistricting tit for tat that has swelled in states amid a battle over Trump’s call for Texas to draw a map more favorable to Republicans.
“This attempt to rig congressional maps to hold power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy,” the governor wrote.
Newsom also took aim Tuesday at Trump’s recent emergency declaration in the nation’s capital to allow federal intervention in D.C.’s crime-fighting efforts, as well as the president’s threats to expand his efforts to other Democrat-led cities.
“President Trump is peddling the same tired lie he used in Los Angeles — claiming there’s rampant lawlessness in Democratic cities like Washington, D.C.,” Newsom said in a news release, highlighting high crime rates in GOP-led states. “His authoritarian orders aren’t about safety — they’re an attack on the very foundation of our nation and a slap in the face to democracy.”
Time.com reported: “It’s time to stand down,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned President Trump. “It’s time to, dare I say, do the right thing.”
Newsom has a history of locking horns with Trump, especially as the former has emerged as a strong contender for the Democratic presidential nomination for 2028 – a race that Trump has repeatedly teased running in despite constitutional term limits and one in which his legacy will be tested nonetheless.
But midterm elections in 2026 are the main point of tension at the moment. As Trump and Republicans have pursued a controversial plan to redraw Texas’ congressional map to boost the party’s chances of retaining its narrow House majority, Democrats have threatened to redistrict in kind.
“It’s time to make another phone call to [Texas Gov.] Greg Abbott — this time instead of calling them and telling them you’re ‘entitled’ to five congressional seats, it’s time to tell him to stand down,” Newsom warned Trump in a video posted Monday on X. “If you don’t, California will neutralize anything you do in the state of Texas.”
“We will fight fire with fire,” Newsom said.
Newsom also sent Trump a letter carrying the same threat. “You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make,” he wrote. “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. But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it.”
How California plans to ‘neutralize’ any Republican gains
State legislatures normally redraw their congressional district maps every 10 years to account for population changes. These maps can be redrawn to the advantage of whoever is the ruling part at the time for political gain.
But in California, where three-quarters of the state legislature is Democratic, an independent commission composed of equal numbers of Democrats, Republicans, and independents is tasked with redistricting — a shift supported overwhelmingly by California voters in 2010.
Newsom, however, said he would, in retaliation to Republican redistricting efforts, seek to toss out the commission’s maps and instead use maps drawn by state Democrats. He would need to act quickly to get state lawmakers to later this month approve a special election in November for Californias to vote on the use of maps for 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections.