CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS are poised to vote on legislation Thursday to allow for a special election with the aim of redrawing the state’s maps, as Texas Republicans move closer to finalizing their own reworked districts.

The California legislature could approve the bill establishing a statewide election on a new map as soon as Thursday evening, as Democrats seek to pick up five additional House seats in next year’s midterm elections.

On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by state Republican legislators seeking to halt Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) redistricting plan.

Newsom has cast the effort as a response to Texas’s mid-decade redistricting effort, which aims to help Republicans pick up an additional five House seats next year.

“We’re fighting fire with fire, and we’re gonna punch these sons of b‑‑‑‑es in the mouth,” Newsom said this week on “The Siren Podcast.”

The Texas House advanced the new GOP-friendly map Wednesday after a two-week delay due to Democrats fleeing the state to deny the legislature a quorum. The Texas Senate is expected to pass the new map this week, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) desk for signature.

“Big WIN for the Great State of Texas!!! Everything Passed, on our way to FIVE more Congressional seats and saving your Rights, your Freedoms, and your Country, itself,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

California’s redistricting efforts are more complicated.

The Golden State’s maps are dictated by an independent commission. The California bill will allow for a special election in November that sends the new maps directly to voters to either approve or disapprove.

One early poll showed most Californians oppose the mid-decade redistricting, although Axios reports that Newsom’s pollster found widespread support for the measure in a new survey.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are among those who have vowed to fight the California redistricting push.

A new Reuters survey found most voters believe partisan redistricting in the House threatens democracy.

The Kansas City Star reports that Missouri Republicans are weighing a potential gerrymander, following other red and blue states, including Florida, Indiana, Illinois and New York, who have weighed joining the redistricting fight.

💡Perspectives:

• The Free Press: The real threat to Dems isn’t redistricting. It’s themselves.

• Salon: Democrats play hardball on redistricting.

• Washington Examiner: Newsom’s cracked mirror.

• Los Angeles Times: A smart solution for L.A.’s empty skyscrapers.

• CommonPlace: A sovereign wealth fund could reindustrialize America.

Read more: 

• Fiscal cliff looms as public media braces for Trump cuts.

• House Democrats launch probe into Paramount, Skydance merger.

• Chip Roy launches bid for Texas AG.

• Trump threatens California school funding over transgender policies.

• A New York appeals court threw out the roughly $500 million civil fraud penalty against President Trump on Thursday, but it declined to toss the case entirely.

   

• President Trump said he plans to go out on patrol with the Metropolitan Police Department and National Guard troops around Washington, D.C., tonight amid a federal crackdown on crime.

   

• A former top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on bribery charges.

• James Dobson, a child psychologist and minister who became one of the most influential figures in America’s Christian conservative movement, died at 89.

©  APTOPIX Britain

Vice President Vance visited battleground Georgia on Thursday to promote President Trump’s agenda bill amid criticism that Republicans are shrinking away from their signature legislative achievement.

Vance visited a refrigeration manufacturing facility in Peachtree City, where he headlined an event aimed at promoting the “working families tax cuts” in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

“No matter where you are in this country, if you’re working hard and playnig by the rules, you ought to have a government that stands up for you instead of fights against you,” Vance said. “That’s why we increased the child tax credit…that’s why we eliminated taxes on overtime and on tips, and that’s why we had the biggest tax cut for families that this country has ever seen.”

Democrats have promised to make the GOP’s cuts to Social Security and Medicare the centerpiece of their messaging ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon blasted Republicans for not doing more to sell the Trump agenda bill to voters, with the GOP facing historical headwinds as the party in power.

“I haven’t seen a massive effort to sell the big beautiful bill and actually what it stands for,” Bannon said during his Wednesday “War Room” podcast, pointing to the “paucity of town halls.”

Bannon said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) should “cancel all overseas junkets for members and force them to have town halls, meet and greets, editorial board meetings.”

“Anything to get the word out on the BBB. The supply-side tax cut needs to be sold, and it ain’t gonna sell itself,” Bannon told Politico. 

“The 2026 midterms have started, and the Republicans are letting down the president,” he added.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (Ga.), who is among the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection in 2026, told reporters that Vance is in his home state on a “damage control mission.”

“Defunding hospitals and nursing homes to cut taxes for the wealthiest people in the country is not popular here in Georgia — not where we’ve lost nine rural hospitals in a decade,” Ossoff said.

“So the vice president is here because Georgians understand that defunding hospitals and nursing homes to cut taxes for the wealthiest people is bad for Georgia,” Ossoff continued. “The vice president’s here to defend that policy. I don’t think he’ll succeed.”

MEANWHILE…

Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday she will embark on book tour across 15 cities, including in the United Kingdom and Canada, for her memoir entitled “107 Days.”

On Capitol Hill, Ian Sams, a former special assistant to former President Biden, conducted a voluntary interview with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday morning about Biden’s mental acuity and use of an autopen.

Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said Thursday that testimony from Harris would be “helpful” in his panel’s probe.

This comes as Democrats are sounding the alarm over a New York Times report that found Democrats losing ground in every state that tracks voter registration. Between 2020 and 2024, Republicans added 4.5 million voters compared to Democrats in the 30 states, the analysis found.

DecisionDeskHQ data analyst Zachary Donnini notes:

“At the heart of the Democratic collapse: young White men are registering as Republicans in unprecedented numbers. Gen Z is on track to be the most pro-GOP generation since the Great Depression.”

The Hill’s Amie Parnes writes:

“The data comes as Democrats struggle to figure out how to get out of the political wilderness after losing the presidency to Donald Trump and control of both chambers of Congress to the GOP … the Democratic brand itself has taken a number of big hits, and the New York Times data is just the latest point suggesting the party has lost its way.”

💡Perspectives:

• The New Republic: Democrats have a massive voter registration problem.

• The Hill: Fox and Newsmax reap the whirlwind for their 2020 election lies.

• The Liberal Patriot: Democrats need more Sista Souljah moments.

• The Wall Street Journal: A moonshot won’t stop cancer.

• New York: Trump’s D.C. takeover may be a prelude.

Read more: 

• Trump threatens ‘harsh measures’ if Tina Peters not freed.

• Trump goes 0 for 3 in attempts to unseal Epstein docs.

• Trump ignites new culture war battle over the Smithsonian — and slavery.

• Gabbard slashing intelligence office workforce.

• Trump purchased $100M+ in bonds since January, filings show.

©  UPI Photo

President Trump said Thursday to watch for “interesting times ahead,” as he raised the prospect of Ukraine launching an offensive against Russia.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump appeared to justify a hypothetical offensive against Russia, as Moscow slow-walks a potential peace deal.

“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country,” Trump said. “It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia.”

Trump went on to argue that Biden only allowed Ukraine to play defense, rather than to go on offense.

“Interesting times ahead!!!” Trump added.

ELSEWHERE…

Federal Reserve board of governors member Lisa Cook says she will not step down despite Trump’s demand she resign.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte has accused Cook of mortgage fraud, leading to Trump’s call for her to step aside. Pulte alleges Cook sought mortgages on properties in two different states within two weeks of each other while describing each as her primary residence.

“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook responded. “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will give closely watched remarks Friday at an event in Jackson Hole, Wyo., that could signal whether the central bank intends to lower interest rates next month.

Trump adviser Peter Navarro blasted Powell on Thursday at the White House, describing his refusal to lower rates as politically motivated.

“Powell, he’s a Republican but he’s so anti-Trump it’s unsettling…if you look at the arc of Powell’s decisions everything he’s done since he got appointed has been against President Trump,” Navarro said.

MEANWHILE…

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) supports the Trump administration’s plan for the government to potentially take a stake in Intel.

“Taxpayers should not be providing billions of dollars in corporate welfare to large, profitable corporations like Intel without getting anything in return,” Sanders said.

“If microchip companies make a profit from the generous grants they receive from the federal government, the taxpayers of America have a right to a reasonable return on that investment,” he added.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said earlier this week the administration is considering taking a stake in the struggling U.S. chipmaker, with funding coming from previously allocated Biden-era grants.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is calling it “a step toward socialism.”

“Terrible idea,” Paul posted on X.

💡Perspectives:

• The Wall Street Journal: Weaponizing the housing regulator.

• Kristi Noem: President Trump secured the border.

• The Hill: It’s time Trump told Putin, ‘Nyet!’

• The Nation: The Ukraine peace process is moving quite fast.

• The Hill: Putin has a Melania Trump problem.

Read more: 

• Russian hackers targeting critical infrastructure IT systems: FBI.

• Bessent says tariff revenue will go to national debt before rebate checks.

• White House unveils details for EU trade deal.

• Military lawyers to handle civilian crimes in DC.

• DC officials say Trump crackdown is about immigration, power.

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