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After California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would move forward with a state redistricting plan – replete with implied mockery of President Donald Trump – California Republicans responded late Thursday.
Newsom had declared “liberation day” – an apparent reference to Trump’s own moniker for the day he introduced a comprehensive tariff regime – and preceded the announcement with “ALL CAPS” social media posts meant to mock the president’s penchant for doing the same on Truth Social.
California Republicans were not amused and pushed back on the project that could put an end to their already muted federal representation in America’s most populous state.
“Californians demand and deserve transparency from their government. Governor Newsom’s sinister redistricting scheme is the opposite,” the top Republican on the state’s Elections Committee said.
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“There is no public input,” lamented state Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, as the state hosts nine Republican federal House lawmakers of the 52 total. The state’s last Republican senator was Sen. John Seymour in 1991 – who had been appointed for a brief stint after Sen. Pete Wilson resigned to take the governor’s office.
Macedo suggested Newsom would go to great lengths just to grab national headlines, no matter what the “will of the voters” is in reality.
“Governor Newsom is on a mission to take power away from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission,” Macedo said of the panel that typically would help decide decennial mapping.
“Governor Newsom’s power-grab erodes public trust in our government. Undermining the commission’s hard work … is shortsighted and insulting to voters,” said Macedo, whose caucus holds 19 of the 60 assembly seats.
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Newsom, however, defended his decision, saying that Trump “poked the bear” – the animal which also appears on the Golden State’s flag – and that California will therefore push back.
“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” Newsom wrote in his Trump-esque post.
Trump has supported a “simple redrawing” of the Texas congressional map to represent the state’s Republican bent, he said.
“We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas, I got the highest vote in the history of Texas as you probably know. And we are entitled to five more seats,” Trump recently said.
Sen. Brian Jones, R-San Diego, leader of the upper chamber’s minority in Sacramento, directed Fox News Digital to recent comments prior to the official announcement by Newsom.
“Californians didn’t elect Newsom to play gerrymandering games to boost his presidential campaign, they elected him to solve problems here at home,” said Jones, who leads 10 senators compared to the Democrats’ 30.
“What he’s doing now undermines the independent redistricting commission that voters created to stop exactly this kind of political manipulation.”
He also ripped Democrats after hearing that California Secretary of State Shirley Weber told reporters the legislature would have only a short window to schedule a special election for redistricting to coincide with the November elections.
California lawmakers are on summer recess until Monday. The process would have to finish by next Friday; five days.
“Once again, Newsom convinced Senate and Assembly Democrats to roll over, ignore voters, rush sham hearings, and violate the California Constitution,” Jones said.
“Democracy is dead in California, killed by Newsom’s corrupt pursuit of the presidency.”
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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