Newsom warns Trump he’s ‘playing with fire’ on redistricting

Gavin Newsom sent a stern warning to President Donald Trump that he is ‘playing with fire’ over efforts to rewrite the congressional map in Texas. In a letter penned to the president on Monday, Newsom vowed to not ‘stand idly by’ as Texas along with other GOP-dominated states attempt to add more Republican seats to protect and enlarge their majority in the U.S. House.

Republicans in the Texas legislature are battling with Democratic lawmakers who have fled the state over the redistricting effort. The GOP is expected to gain at least five additional seats in the House of Representatives if their efforts in Texas are successful.

Democrats only need to flip three House seats to regain control of the chamber in the upcoming 2026 midterms . ‘If you will 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,’ Newsom wrote.

Newsom offered a compromise to Trump by promising to call off redistricting efforts in California if GOP-led states do the same. ‘But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it.’

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment. Newsom goes on to address Trump directly by claiming the president is ‘playing with fire’ that will lead to the ‘destabilization of our democracy.’

‘You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make,’ Newsom added. ‘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, who many believe has aspirations for a presidential run in 2028, made similar comments last week after claiming he will ‘fight fire with fire’ against Gov. Greg Abbott’s redistricting plan.

‘The proposal that we’re advancing with the legislature has a trigger only if they move forward, to dismantling the protocols that are well-established,’ Newsom told the press. ‘Would the state of California move forward in kind? Fighting? Yes, fire with fire.’

Newsom’s new letter to Trump is the most outspoken example of Democrats planning to counter the GOP redistricting in Texas. Democratic state lawmakers fled from Texas to deny the GOP the quorum necessary to vote on legislation in the state capital.

In response, Abbott last week ordered the arrest of dozens of state Democrats who went to Illinois and New York. The Texas governor also filed an emergency petition to the Texas Supreme Court, requesting the justices declare Democratic Minority Leader Gene Wu’s seat vacant.