California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday confirmed that he and other local Democrats would hold a high-profile press conference geared towards combating the legislative effort to add five additional House seats in Texas.
“Donald Trump is about to have a very bad day,” Newsom wrote in a Wednesday post on X.
The president previously told reporters that Republicans were “entitled” to additional seats and said the FBI “may have to” go after Democratic lawmakers who fled the Lone Star State to ensure a vote approving the measure didn’t pass.
Newsom, Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Ill.) and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) have been working alongside state legislatures to develop a plan to add additional guaranteed Democratic seats in the House through redistricting.
The process requires states to change their constitutions or bylaws to allow for redistricting outside of a census year, when congressional maps are typically redrawn.
“DEMOCRATS WILL DESTROY [Texas Gov.] GREG ABBOTT’S ‘TOTALLY RIGGED MAPS.’ TREMENDOUS WORK IS BEING DONE. DONALD TRUMP (THE CRIMINAL PRESIDENT) GET READY FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PAYBACK YOU’VE EVER SEEN!!!” Newsom’s official press office account wrote on X.
“COULD BE THE WORST DAY OF YOUR LIFE AS YOUR PRESIDENCY ENDS (DEMS RETAKE CONGRESS!). AMERICA WILL BE LIBERATED — ‘LIBERATION DAY’ MANY ARE CALLING IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!” the statement added.
The conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and will include members of the California legislature.
Newsom penned a letter to Trump on Monday pressing the president to have Texas and other red states stop their mid-decade redistricting efforts, saying “you are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make.”
“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,” he added. “But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same.”
Newsom’s office gave Trump until Tuesday evening to reply to the letter, but Trump failed to respond.
