Gavin Newsom sends savage threat to Trump that he will 'redraw maps in California'

Gavin Newsom has weighed in on Trump's proposed plans to redraw Texas' congressional map.

Amid predictions that the Democrats will win the House of Representatives vote, the Trump administration is seemingly doing all it can to stop this from happening ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Currently, Republicans hold the majority in the House, but only by a small amount. Trump's party has 219 of 435 seats in the House, while Democrats hold 212.

Texas has been at the center of controversy of late amid plans to restructure the state's congressional map. Republicans currently hold 25 out of 38 congressional seats in Texas, says the BBC. But, should their new plans be put in place, this number could go up to 30 seats.

What Texan Republicans want to do is redefine legislative district boundaries on the federal, state and local jurisdiction levels. This usually happens every 10 years, explains Newsweek, but it possible for it to happen after five years as well.

Republicans currently hold a small majority in the House of Representatives (Getty Stock)

The map would see Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio (four Democratic-leaning major metropolitan areas) divided among at least four Republican-heavy congressional districts each.

There are fears that if Texas is successful with this that other red states will follow suit. Gavin Newsom, California's governor, won't go down without a fight, however.

Newsom has penned a letter to the president calling on him to tell the governor of Texas to stop the state's plans of creating new congressional maps.

"You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make," Newsom said in his letter. "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 society."

Gavin Newsom has threatened that he'll play the president at his own game (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

His scathing message continued: "This is not what the Founders envisioned, and California cannot stand idly by as this power grab unfolds. I do not do this lightly, as I believe legislative district maps should be drawn by independent, citizen-led efforts, as we have done in California for the last two decades.

"If you still 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 of their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same."

Newsom concluded the letter saying that 'American democracy will be better for it' if the maps remain as they are.

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