California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appeared alongside Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier (D) on a call as they rallied their party behind California’s redistricting measure.
“Yes, we’ll fight fire with fire. Yes, we will push back. It’s not about whether we play hardball anymore — it’s about how we play hardball,” Newsom said on the call.
Newsom and California Democrats released a proposed set of new congressional lines last week that look to offset expected gains Texas Republicans aim to make with their new House map once passed.
Democrats are seeking to put their House map on the ballot before voters this November, pressing voters to allow lawmakers to redraw the map in the middle of the decade and bypass the state’s independent redistricting commission.
Republicans have already challenging California Democrats’ ability to put the measure before voters, and other top GOP leaders such as former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have also signaled they’re preparing to fight the map.
The appearance of Booker and Newsom together is notable, given both have been floated as 2028 White House hopefuls. The two painted a picture of democracy under threat and emphasized the stakes of the redistricting battle.
“The is all-hands-on-deck right now. People are going to ask, ‘Where did you stand when Donald Trump was violating court orders? Where did you stand when he was trashing the concept of due process in our country?’” Booker said. “’Where did you stand when he was sending out masked unidentified people in unmarked vehicles to sweep people off of our streets?’”
“I’ll be damned if I’m going to continue to let Donald Trump [and] Republicans from Texas continue to disregard, demean and degrade other Americans, to deny them their rights without a fight,” he added later.
During the call, Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier (D) was asked to leave at one point while she was participating in the call from a bathroom in the Texas Capitol, saying, “They said it’s a felony for me to do this. Apparently I can’t be on the floor or in a bathroom.”
It’s unclear what crime Collier was committing. The Hill has reached out to Collier’s office, the Texas House Democratic Caucus and Texas House GOP caucus for comment.
Democrats on the call slammed the move.
“Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker said.
“That is outrageous. What they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a Black woman, and that is outrageous,” he added.
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