Governor Gavin Newsom has intensified his public spat with U.S. President Donald Trump over the redrawing of electoral districts, issuing a taunting statement written in the style of Trump’s signature all-capitalized social media posts. The California governor’s statement threatened to reconfigure maps in his state to favor Democrats.
This comes in response to a Republican plan in the Texas House to redraw districts so that five additional GOP candidates can be elected. Trump has backed the Texas effort, claiming the GOP is “entitled” to those seats, and is encouraging other Republican-controlled legislatures to follow suit in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the 2018 midterms.
Newsom’s statement read, “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!).
“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”
The 2018 midterms delivered Democrats a majority in the U.S. House, hindering Trump’s legislative agenda and contributing to his two impeachments. Currently, existing maps put Democrats within three seats of reclaiming the majority, despite there being only a few dozen competitive districts nationwide, reports The Mirror US.
In response to Texas Republicans’ plans, Newsom and other California Democrats are weighing a proposal to redraw state boundaries in a way that could gain Democrats five seats, effectively neutralizing the GOP advantage in Texas. Such a move would require California voters to override the current maps drawn by an independent commission.
Democratic governors in other states, including New York’s Kathy Hochul and Illinois’ JB Pritzker, have signaled willingness to consider similar tactics in their own legislatures. Newsom also sent Trump a letter on Monday urging him to abandon the Texas strategy, warning that the president was “playing with fire” and “risking the destabilization of our democracy.”
Meanwhile, Texas Democrats have fled the state to prevent a quorum in the legislature, effectively blocking a vote on the redistricting measure. “Stealing congressional districts mid-decade is wrong,” said Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer. “It’s just nothing other than old-school cheating.”
The current special session in Texas cannot extend beyond August 19, but Governor Greg Abbott has vowed to call repeated sessions until enough Democrats return to meet the attendance threshold required to hold a vote.