Donald Trump‘s razor-thin House majority has been slashed to just three seats after a California Republican quit the party and registered as an independent.
Rep. Kevin Kiley said Monday that he was leaving the party after recent gerrymandering forced him into a blue-leaning Sacramento district.
Kiley’s switch means Republicans now hold 217 seats compared with Democrats‘ 214, with three vacancies. Kiley is the only independent in the House.
The 41-year-old posted on X: ‘Gerrymandering is a plague on democracy, one that Gavin Newsom has brought back to California.
‘But there’s a way we can fight back and protect our democracy from his partisan games: by removing partisanship from the equation.’
Kiley’s young tenure in Washington DC has already been defined by defiance. Some days, he’s blasted California Governor Gavin Newsom’s policies in his home state, on others he’s bucked Trump on his tariffs and criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Asked by reporters whether he was frustrated with Republicans, Kiley said he would ‘characterize it as my frustration with partisanship itself.’
His dilemma is an example of how the redistricting war that began in Texas, at Trump’s urging, and drew a swift counter response from Democrats in California has left some incumbents scrambling to salvage their political careers.
Kevin Kiley and his wife Chelsee Gardner
Kevin Kiley and his wife Chelsee Gardner
After Texas redrew its maps to generate five more districts friendlier to Republicans, California responded in kind. Voters approved new congressional district boundaries that give Democrats a better shot at winning up to five additional seats.
Kiley is not the only California Republican facing a tougher road to reelection.
Republican Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim will face off in a new district. Rep. David Valadao’s district in the Central Valley has become even more Democratic-leaning.
Meanwhile, Rep. Darrell Issa announced his retirement on Friday after his new district was tilted towards the Democrats.
Kiley has been outspoken about their plight. He authored a bill to prohibit states from carrying out more than one congressional redistricting after each decennial census. But the bill has languished, with just one co-sponsor.
He has taken to the floor to criticize Johnson for not doing more to head off a redistricting war that has spread to Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia, among others.
Johnson has been forced to take extreme steps as he navigates the House’s slimmest margin since the 1930s.
The GOP leadership team last month ordered dozens of members to ditch their rides and jump on the metro when a protest blocked roads back to the Capitol.
A Republican who was resting up at home with a heart condition flew to DC despite doctor’s warnings after the GOP needed an extra vote to impeach then-President Joe Biden’s Homeland Security chief.
On another occasion, a Republican member whose mother had just died was asked to stay in DC for a few more hours in case they failed a vote.
With the loss of Kiley, Johnson faces even less wiggle room.
Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales is under intense pressure to resign after admitting to an affair with a staffer who killed herself.
The GOP leadership is also monitoring Neal Dunn’s health after rumors that the 73-year-old Florida Rep. could retire early over complications related to Covid-19.
