US President Donald Trump speaks to the press after signing an executive order that aims to end cashless bail, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on August 25, 2025.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Monday that the Department of Justice will sue California over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to draw a new, Democratic-leaning congressional map.
The redistricting push in California was ignited by a similar effort underway in Texas to gerrymander key House districts to more heavily favor Republicans.
“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 said of Newsom’s redistricting push during a lengthy press event in the Oval Office.
“We’re going to be filing it through the Department of Justice. That’s going to happen,” he said.
Newsom promptly responded on social media: “BRING IT.”
Trump’s announcement that the government intends to challenge the California plan came just days after he praised Republican Texas legislators’ efforts to codify a new map that would give the GOP an advantage in five more U.S. House races in the 2026 midterm elections.
That map passed the Texas state Senate early Saturday morning, sending it to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law.
“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!” Trump wrote Thursday, after the map had passed in the state House.
Trump previously told CNBC that the GOP was “entitled to five more seats” in Texas.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
House redistricting efforts typically take place every 10 years, after each new U.S. Census reveals changes in population distribution. But the Texas redistricting plan is taking place in the middle of the decade, drawing intense criticism from Democrats across the country.
Newsom, who is widely viewed as a 2028 presidential contender, has led the charge for the Democratic Party by advocating for California to redraw its own congressional map, to serve as a counterweight to Texas.
Newsom last week signed two redistricting bills, setting up a special election in November on whether to finalize the new congressional map.
Trump’s pressure on Texas to push for a rare mid-decade redistricting underscores how crucial the president believes it is for Republicans to maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
But Trump already faces headwinds: His approval ratings are declining, according to numerous polls, and the incumbent president’s party tends to lose seats in the midterms.
