U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) jumped into the national fray over U.S. House seats Aug. 5 by proposing to ban mid-decade redistricting at the federal level.
“Gerrymandering is a problem regardless of which party does it, and it certainly shouldn’t be done in the middle of the decade,” Kiley posted on X Aug. 6. “But what [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom is attempting in California goes beyond that.”
He accused the governor of launching “a full-fledged assault on democracy itself.”
The second-term congressman’s legislation, if passed, would also put the brakes on Texas Republicans’ plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts.
In response to Texas’s redistricting proposal, which would potentially expand Republicans’ slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, Newsom said he planned to temporarily bypass California’s independent redistricting commission and hold a special election in November to have voters sign off on redrawing congressional maps to favor Democratic Party wins in the House.
“I’m leading the opposition to Newsom’s brazen plan, which involves calling a Special Election in a few months and tricking voters to abolish the Redistricting Commission,” Kiley wrote. “I believe we can stop him.”
In response, Newsom said he supports the state’s independent redistricting commission. Any move California makes to redraw its maps would be contingent on decisions by Texas, according to the governor.
“I’m appreciative that this member of Congress is waking up to the realities, what has occurred in Texas,” Newsom said during a press conference Aug. 5. “I haven’t heard much from him as it relates to the condemnation of their efforts, but I’m grateful that he recognizes the importance of a national framework.”
The Texas Legislature convened a special session on July 21 to consider redrawing the state’s congressional districts. Texas was slated to keep its current district maps until 2031, but was prompted to redraw them after the Justice Department suggested the state’s Ninth, 18th, 29th, and 33rd districts are unconstitutional.
President Donald Trump has said Republicans could pick up five seats in the U.S. House if Texas redistricts.
Democrats in the Texas Legislature stalled the special session by fleeing to blue states such as Illinois and New York to prevent a quorum and now face legal action. Democrats in the U.S. House, Newsom, and several other Democratic-controlled states also vowed to counteract Texas’s redistricting plan.
Texas state Rep. Chris Turner holds a map during a public hearing on congressional redistricting in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 1, 2025. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Kiley’s legislation was introduced Aug. 5 and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
The congressman said Newsom’s plan would leave Republicans with 6 percent of the state’s seats in Congress—reducing their House representation to just three congressional seats out of the state’s 52.
Registered Republicans make up 25 percent of California’s electorate, with Democrats at 48 percent and independents at 22 percent.
Kiley said the national redistricting war that has broken out across the nation could damage democracy and representative government.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference with Texas lawmakers at the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento, Calif., on July 25, 2025. They met to discuss redistricting issues. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The 50 states are required to redraw congressional districts every 10 years, after census data is released. State legislatures usually handle the task, but some states leave it to a bipartisan commission. In California, an independent commission made up of citizens from across the state decides how to draw the map. Newsom is proposing asking voters to return the job to elected officials.
“Congress has the ability to protect California voters using its authority under the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” Kiley said in a press release. “This will also stop a damaging redistricting war from breaking out across the country.”
