Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) on Tuesday confirmed California will proceed with redistricting efforts as Democrats and Republicans compete to expand political power in the House by redrawing legislative maps.  

Redistricting efforts initially gained the country’s notice in Texas when Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), at the request of President Donald Trump, recently called a special session seeking to redraw district lines to boost the Republican majority in the House by up to five seats. 

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California was among several Democratic-led states that responded with threats to carry out similar efforts to counteract Texas’s agenda, with Newsom announcing this week in a mocking message to Trump that he will “NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS.’”

“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP,  AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!!,” Newsom wrote in an all-caps post to X, imitating the president’s signature bombastic communication style. The post also referenced the “Trump always chickens out,” or TACO strategy, which critics have accused the White House of using in tariff negotiations.

“CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” the governor continued. “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”

Newsom’s statement about the deadline referenced multiple messages he sent to the White House this week, threatening to move forward with his own redistricting agenda in California unless Trump told Abbott and other Republican leaders to stand down on similar redistricting efforts across red states. 

“DONALD TRUMP, IF YOU DO NOT STAND DOWN, WE WILL BE FORCED TO LEAD AN EFFORT TO REDRAW THE MAPS IN CA TO OFFSET THE RIGGING OF MAPS IN RED STATES,” the governor wrote on Monday. “BUT IF THE OTHER STATES CALL OFF THEIR REDISTRICTING EFFORTS, WE WILL DO THE SAME.”

NEWSOM TO CALL NOVEMBER SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO APPROVE NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAPS

Newsom has labeled Republicans’ efforts to redraw district lines in Texas a “power grab” and an attempt to “rig” the maps. 

The California governor has countered the Texas plan with a quest to redraw his own state’s maps to pick up five Democratic seats, negating the gain from the Lone Star state. Newsom plans to order a special election in November for voters to decide whether to approve new congressional maps, an effort that bypasses the voter-approved independent redistricting commission that traditionally draws up the maps.