Obama's comments came as efforts in Texas, encouraged by President Trump, aim to strengthen GOP control ahead of next year's elections.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is receiving a boost from his state’s voters as he moves to counter a plan backed by President Donald Trump, his longtime pollster wrote in an internal memo released by Axios on Thursday.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) on Governor Gavin Newsom's attempt to redraw California's congressional districts: REP. KEVIN KILEY: Some other state is doing something that's so bad and sinister we are going to do it too.

Newsom said his state will move forward with plans for a November special election that would allow Democrats to redraw congressional maps.

The California governor says at a Thursday press conference in Los Angeles that he aims to gain five U.S. House seats in 2026.

Democratic state Representative Nicole Collier spent the night in the Texas Capitol building rather than agree to a police monitor amid a contentious partisan struggle over redistricting that is part of President Donald Trump's campaign to keep the national House of Representatives in Republican hands.

Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the House, with four vacancies. New maps are typically drawn once a decade after the census is conducted. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California is among states that rely on an independent commission that is supposed to be nonpartisan.

The governor must convince Californians to adopt a ballot initiative allowing Democrats to redraw congressional maps and neutralize GOP gains in Texas.