California Governor Gavin Newsom, along with local congressional representatives, state officials and supporters, speaks as he announces the redrawing of California's congressional maps, calling on voters to approve a ballot measure, in response to a similar move in Texas being supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom is responding after President Donald Trump announced that he will direct the U.S. Department of Justice to sue California over its plan to put new congressional maps before voters, a move state officials say is a response to the president’s directive requiring Texas to redraw its maps to create five additional Republican districts.

In a nearly unprecedented move last month, President Trump told Texas Governor Greg Abbott he wanted new congressional maps drawn in the Lone Star State, to create five new GOP-held seats. The move would help Republicans in their efforts to hold the majority the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterms.

Districts, by constitutional mandate, are redrawn every ten years, based on the official U.S. Census. A mid-decennial redrawing is unusual, although not entirely unprecedented.

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Governor Newsom had warned that if Texas succeeded, he would move to have his state’s maps redrawn. Texas did, and last week state lawmakers passed legislation that will ask voters this November to approve the redrawn maps.

Asked by a reporter if there is a “federal mechanism” he could use to “fight back” against Governor Newsom’s redistricting, despite having ordered Texas to redistrict, President Trump referred to the California governor as “Gavin Newscum.”

He then replied, “Well, I think I’m going to be filing a lawsuit pretty soon and I think we’re going to be very successful in it.”

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“We’re going to be filing it through the Department of Justice. That’s going to happen,” Trump vowed.

Responding to the news of a lawsuit, Governor Newsom wrote on social media: “BRING IT.”

On Thursday, according to CNBC, President Trump praised Texas for its new maps, writing: “The incredible people of Texas will have the opportunity to elect five more Republicans to Congress, thanks to the passage of their much more fair new Map — A BIG WIN for Republicans in Texas, and across the Country!”

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