House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has declined to oppose a Texas gerrymandering effort that could maintain Republicans’ control of Congress. Still, he has insisted that a similar move by Democrats in California was an “illegal power grab.”

“Gavin Newsom’s latest attempt to disenfranchise millions of California voters was written in the dark of night by the DCCC—more than 2,700 miles away from Sacramento in Washington,” Johnson wrote in a Monday post on X. “This is a slap in the face to Californians who overwhelmingly support the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.”

“Gavin Newsom should spend less time trampling his state’s laws for a blatant power grab, and more time working to change the disastrous, far-left policies that are destroying California,” he continued.

Johnson accused Newsom of using redistricting to launch a presidential campaign.

“Democrats across the nation have played politics with redistricting for decades, and this is just the latest example,” he argued. “Republicans who are following state and federal laws will not be lectured by people who abused the system.”

“I have instructed the NRCC to use every measure and resource possible to fight the California Democrats’ illegal power grab,” he added. “I will continue to lead efforts to defend our House Republican incumbents and grow our majority so that we can continue to deliver on our commonsense, America First agenda.”

A spokesperson for Johnson told The Washington Post that the speaker had “no involvement” in Republicans’ “development of national redistricting strategy.”

https://www.rawstory.com/mike-johnson-california-redistricting