Trump Threatens To Sue CA Over Redistricting Days After Praising Texas Gerrymandering Plans

President Donald Trump says the Department of Justice may sue California over Gov. Gavin Newsom's plans to draw new, Democratic-favoring congressional maps.

Newsom's plan was a direct response to a similar effort by Texas Republicans to draw their own maps.

“I think I’m going to be filing a lawsuit pretty soon, and I think we’re going to be very successful in it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.

Newsom promptly responded on X: "BRING IT."

Dueling redistricting efforts in Texas and California could shape control of the House after the 2026 midterms. A new GOP-friendly map in Texas — pushed by Trump — could send five more Republicans to Washington and make it harder to counter his agenda.

READ MORE: If Texas Gerrymanders, Should CA Do The Same? Readers Weigh In

Trump's announcement Monday comes on the heels of the Golden State's passage of its retaliatory redistricting plan through the legislature, which will appear on the November 2025 ballot.

If voters approve in November, the new map could give Democrats a chance to win up to five additional seats.

Meanwhile, the Texas map passed through the Senate on Saturday and will be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk to be signed into law.

Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California relies on an independent commission that is supposed to be nonpartisan and would need permission from voters to implement the new map.

Democrats currently hold 43 of California’s 52 U.S. House seats.

Newsom, who is considered a 2028 presidential candidate, engineered the high-risk strategy in response to Trump's own brinkmanship. Trump pushed Texas Republicans to reopen the legislative maps they passed in 2021 to squeeze out up to five new GOP seats to help the party stave off a midterm defeat in 2026.

Redistricting usually happens after the once-a-decade population count by the U.S. Census Bureau or in response to a court ruling.

Last week, California Republicans filed a lawsuit and called for a federal investigation into Newsom's plan and promised to keep fighting to stop it.

The group of Golden State Republicans is arguing that Democratic leaders bypassed a rule that says the legislation must be publicly available for 30 days before lawmakers vote on it.

To get the new maps on the ballot, Democrats repurposed two existing bills, instead of authoring new legislation that would have triggered a 30-day holding period. Read more about that from CalMatters.