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Hot Mic Captures GOP Strategy After California’s Prop 50 Redraw

10:18 AM, 12/05/2025
Hot Mic Captures GOP Strategy After California’s Prop 50 Redraw

California voters approved Proposition 50 to redraw congressional districts, a change expected to give Democrats additional House seats. The new map will force incumbents Rep. Ken Calvert and Rep. Young Kim into a likely contest as the 40th District shifts. Rep. Darrell Issa was caught on a hot mic suggesting the Trump administration might prefer Kim step aside, and he has since downplayed reports he might move to Texas to remain in Congress.

Hot Mic Captures GOP Strategy After California’s Prop 50 Redraw

A California Republican lawmaker was recorded on a hot mic discussing campaign strategy after voters approved Proposition 50, a statewide redistricting measure that will redraw U.S. House districts and is expected to give Democrats additional seats in the House.

Supporters framed Prop 50 as a response to map proposals in other states that could favor Republicans. The new lines in California will pit two incumbent House Republicans against one another: 41st District Rep. Ken Calvert and 40th District Rep. Young Kim. Politico reported that the newly drawn 40th would encompass more than half of the current 41st, prompting Calvert to consider a challenge.

Moments before President Donald Trump’s signing of a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 48th District Rep. Darrell Issa was captured on pool camera audio discussing the reshaped 40th District. In that exchange, Issa appeared to suggest the Trump administration might favor Kim stepping aside to allow Calvert to run in the new 40th.

"Ken has nowhere else to go," Issa said. "[Kim] does have a hard seat she could go to, and I know the administration would look favorably if she would do that. And then if she doesn’t win, you know, she could go to the administration for two years. With Ken, we need him exactly where he is, and most of this district is or has been his. If anyone else had a claim for it, it’d be me."

Earlier reports suggested Issa had considered relocating to Texas to preserve a congressional seat amid uncertain reelection prospects; he has since downplayed or dismissed those plans. The exchange highlights internal GOP maneuvering as California’s new map reshapes several districts and could influence the balance of power in the House.

Sources: Reporting by Politico and pool footage referenced by Mediaite.

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