Gavin Newsom urges Trump to abandon Texas redistricting effort in letter

The Guardian

5 days ago

Texas Democrats once again stymied a Republican effort to redraw the state's congressional maps at the behest of Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom, the California governor, urged the president to stand down and defuse the redistricting arms race that has spread across the country.
Enough Texas Democrats remained outside of the state on Monday to deny the Republican-led state legislature the quorum necessary to proceed with Trump's desired congressional map. Dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left the state on Sunday, taking refuge in blue states such as Illinois and New York. They have spent the last week working to raise awareness and rally support for their efforts to block the Republican redistricting plan.
The standoff has widened the redistricting wars, with Newsom and other Democratic state leaders threatening to draw retaliatory maps if Texas moves ahead with its redistricting scheme.
In a letter to Trump on Monday, Newsom said the president was 'playing with fire' and warned that California was prepared to consider new boundaries to 'neutralize' any gains Republicans hope to achieve in Texas.
'This attempt to rig congressional maps to hold onto power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy,' Newsom wrote.
The governor said he would prefer to leave the matter of congressional map-making to independent commissions, not partisan legislative bodies and emphasized that he would 'happily' stand down if other states abandoned their redistricting effort. But, Newsom said: 'California cannot stand idly by as this power grab unfolds.'
In a snarky, all-caps tweet meant to mimic Trump's social media style, Newsom's office summarized the letter: '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. BUT IF THE OTHER STATES CALL OFF THEIR REDISTRICTING EFFORTS, WE WILL DO THE SAME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!'
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But when asked, Trump has defended the Texas plan, arguing that he is 'entitled to five more seats' because he won the state's popular vote in the 2024 presidential election. The argument, however, is flawed – a popular vote win does not necessarily mean a president's party is awarded more congressional seats.
Despite Newsom's appeal, the White House is seeking to enlist other red states in the redistricting clash. Last week, vice-president JD Vance traveled to Indiana, where he met with state Republican leaders to lobby them on the effort. Republicans have also targeted Ohio and Missouri.
At a press conference with several quorum-breaking Texas lawmakers, as well as California's legislative leaders, Newsom outlined his plan to ask voters to override the existing congressional maps drawn by an independent commission and accept a new proposal to create five more Democratic-leaning seats. The governor expressed confidence that voters would approve the plan and said the state legislature would act in time to get the measure on the ballot this November.
Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, have also vowed to take action.
At the Texas capitol in Austin, Dustin Burrows, the state house speaker, adjourned the session moments after opening it on Monday, in a fourth failed attempt since the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, convened a special session in large part to approve a mid-decade redistricting plan aimed at flipping five Democratic-held seats and securing a GOP house majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
In brief remarks, Burrows said the department of public safety had deployed special agents across Texas to locate the absent Democrats who have civil warrants out for their arrest. Agents, he said, were set up outside the members' homes, conducting surveillance, repeatedly knocking on their doors and calling their phones.
'So far, no one is home,' he said, adding: 'The search continues and it will not stop.'
DPS has set a tip line for the public to report any information regarding the 'whereabouts' of the Democratic lawmakers. But those out of state are beyond the reach of Texas authorities.
Since Sunday, Texas Republicans have ratcheted up the political, legal and financial stakes for the Democrats who left.
The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, a far-right ally of the president, asked the state supreme court to vacate the seats of 13 out-of-state Democrats. He also asked an Illinois court to enforce the Texas civil warrants. Abbott has separately asked the state supreme court that seeks to remove Gene Wu, the house Democratic leader, from office. US Senator John Cornyn, a Republican facing a rightwing primary challenge by Paxton, has said the FBI agreed to assist Texas authorities locate the Democrats, though the agency declined to comment and it remains unclear what authority federal law enforcement would have, as they are not charged with federal crimes.
The Democrats have indicated that they intend to stay away until at least the end of the current special session on 19 August. Speaking earlier on Monday from Illinois, Texas state lawmaker Mihaela Plesa said she and her Democratic colleagues were 'more committed than ever' to stopping Trump from gaining Republican seats. 'We don't take our marching orders from a man who thinks he's a king,' she said, adding: 'We don't back down when the stakes are high.'
But the Texas governor has vowed to call special sessions again and again until enough return to the state house.
'If they show back up in the state of Texas, they will be arrested and taken to the capitol,' Abbott said in a weekend interview on Fox News Sunday.
Burrows claimed that the members would be responsible for 'every gallon of gas, every mile traveled, and every hour of overtime' spent trying to track them down. Under legislative rules, they face a $500 daily fine for each absence.
Burrows said the House would attempt to reconvene again on Tuesday.