OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
August 11, 2025
President Donald J. Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500
Re: Calling Off Mid-Decade Redistricting Efforts
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to ask you to call on the governor of Texas and other red states, who are acting on your request to draw new congressional maps through an unprecedented, mid-decade hyper-partisan gerrymander to rig the upcoming midterm elections, to stop those efforts.
You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make. 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.
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 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. But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it.
Gavin NewsomGovernor of California
SACRAMENTO, CA—In a move that has sent shockwaves through a political party accustomed to issuing sternly worded condemnations, California Governor Gavin Newsom reportedly discovered the radical political theory of reciprocity Monday, threatening in a letter to President Donald Trump that he might actually use his state’s power to counter the actions of other states.
This development came in the form of a formal letter, dated August 11, in which Governor Newsom, after observing Republican-led states' efforts to redraw congressional maps in a "mid-decade hyper-partisan gerrymander," arrived at the stunning conclusion that California could, theoretically, also redraw maps.
"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, outlining a novel ‘fighting fire with fire’ strategy that has largely eluded Democratic strategists for decades. "But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same."
The proposal to engage in a tactic actively and successfully being used by the opposition party marks a significant departure from the Democrats' long-held tradition of decrying such maneuvers as an "affront to American democracy" before watching them unfold. Sources within the Democratic National Committee, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to appear strategically bewildered, confirmed that the primary playbook for gerrymandering has historically involved losing seats, followed by a robust fundraising campaign based on the injustice of that loss.
"Gavin is really playing with fire here," said one high-level Democratic consultant, staring blankly at a whiteboard. "He’s risking the destabilization of our core messaging, which is that we are noble victims of a rigged system. If we start… you know… un-rigging it from our end, what’s our next fundraising email even about? Procedural fairness is our brand. It’s a terrible, ineffective brand, but dammit, it’s ours."
The governor's letter to the White House laid out his controversial thesis. He posits that since red states like Texas are moving to lock in a congressional advantage ahead of the 2026 midterms, California, a state with an enormous population and a Democratic supermajority, could potentially "neutralize any gains." This concept of leverage, while rudimentary in most fields of human conflict and negotiation, is being treated as a paradigm-shifting breakthrough in progressive political circles.
"This is not what the Founders envisioned," Newsom declared in his letter, before bravely suggesting a course of action that also does not appear anywhere in the Federalist Papers. He noted his deep respect for the independent, citizen-led redistricting California has used for two decades, a principle he is now willing to sacrifice in the face of what political analysts are calling "the consequences of the other team not caring about principles."
Political historians are scrambling to find precedent for such a bold, symmetrical response.
As the nation processes this shocking turn of events, all eyes are on other Democrats to see if they will adopt this dangerous new "an-eye-for-an-eye" doctrine, or retreat to the familiar comfort of drafting a resolution to condemn the action after it’s too late.
