00:00well good afternoon everybody get this started I'm proud to be here with many
00:08of our legislative colleagues I'm proud to be here with Pro Tem McGuire and of
00:13course our governor mr. Gavin Newsom this is a dangerous moment for our
00:19country and we are here to to meet that moment as Californians as legislators
00:27you know President Trump doesn't believe in our democratic system and it's clear
00:35that he'll do whatever it takes to hold on to power that's what we saw on January
00:426th he couldn't handle losing so he sent a violent mob that terrorized our nation's
00:51capital all to stop the peaceful transition of power what happened
00:58yesterday in Texas is the same dangerous playbook his MAGA allies in that state
01:06just gave themselves five more house seats at Trump's order they want to rig the
01:15system so that there's no way Republicans can lose in the 2026 midterm elections
01:22let's call it what it is Donald Trump and Republicans don't want to be held
01:28accountable by voters not in California not anywhere actually in this country
01:34they want to be held accountable for cutting Medicare Medicaid they want to be
01:41held accountable for reckless tariffs that are rate raising prices at the
01:45grocery store every single day and many other goods they don't want to be held
01:51accountable for illegal ice raids that are terrorizing our neighborhoods they
02:00don't want to be held accountable for the corruption that sees Donald Trump his
02:04family his closest friends raking millions of dollars while everyone else
02:09struggles to get by in this country the list goes on and on and on of course
02:17Donald Trump doesn't want to be held accountable for his failures in this
02:22next election that's why he is trying to rig it well mr. president here in
02:30California we are going to hold you accountable for your failures and we will
02:36do whatever it takes to preserve American democracy and ensure that voters can
02:43still let you know in 2026 what they think of your job performance and this bill is a
02:51temporary measure in response to an urgent threat Californians can see that
02:58we are not a threat why because we are living through the consequences of Trump's
03:03policies every single day and today we are giving every California the
03:10opportunity to say no to Donald Trump's power grab and to stand up for our people
03:15for our state and for our democracy and with that I want to invite up here Senate
03:22pro tem Mike McGuire well good afternoon I want to take a moment to acknowledge speaker Revis I've
03:33said it before and I'm gonna say it again and I'll continue to say it he is one of the best in
03:38the nation we are so grateful that he is helping lead California and I'm grateful to call him a
03:43partner and a friend and thank you so much mr. speaker for all your work I want to acknowledge the
03:48the governor the governor who has had the backbone to be able to stand up against
03:54Donald Trump one of the few and accountability is coming thanks to
04:00California I also want to acknowledge the senators the assembly members who've
04:05moved this historic legislation forward today we are here this afternoon because
04:12we're putting our faith in our fellow Californians to do the sacred duty to walk into the
04:18voting booth sit at their kitchen table and do their best to do the right thing
04:23cast their vote in one of the most consequential elections that we will have
04:28in our lifetime let's be honest let's get through the rhetoric we all know we
04:35wouldn't be here in this situation if it weren't for the nefarious actions of
04:39Republican leaders in Texas and their boss Donald Trump actions of Republicans in
04:47Texas that have now been compounded by an inaction from Republicans in
04:52California let's be crystal clear all of this this entire circus could have been
05:01avoided nullifying nearly a century of election protocols we know that this is
05:11just the start redistricting is the first step in Donald Trump's playbook he said the
05:18quiet part out loud earlier this week they're coming after mail-in voting to
05:24disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans next stop the census
05:33Republican leaders in Texas our Republican colleagues all this week here in California
05:39Republican leaders have gone on TV had press conferences did live events on their
05:45social media expressing outrage about the action that California is taking but what
05:51they forgot to mention is how we got here we got here because of Greg Abbott Republican
05:57leaders in Texas and their boss Donald Trump they started all of this and sometimes in life you
06:05have to stand for the greater good even though you may lose your job as an elected leader sometimes
06:11you have to tell your boss no you have to do something constructive do everything in your power to
06:19and share to ensure free and fair elections and that's what Democrats did today here in California
06:25and certainly you have to do more than vote against redistricting reforms the way Republicans have
06:32year after year after year their votes are public they have voted against the vast majority of
06:39independent redistricting reforms advanced in this legislature over this past decade you know it is
06:46offensive to be able to see these sham lawsuits that Republican leaders in California are advancing we called it
06:54the scaramucci of the lawsuits in the last 48 hours the Supreme Court rejected it and it's offensive because
07:01their brethren their brethren are literally tracking elected leaders with state troopers calling in the FBI
07:11locking legislators in the chambers and dragging a female legislator out of the bathroom just simply because she didn't have permission to go
07:22here's I think all of our concern we've seen this story play out in history the hypocrisy today may save them for today but it won't save their hides tomorrow because the secret police and the Mar-a-Lago goons they're going to find a way and a reason to come after them as well just like they're doing democratic mayors
07:29and leaders across this nation all of us support redistricting here in California in the
07:52across this nation. All of us support independent redistricting here in California and every state
07:59in this union. One thing that we do not support is unilateral disarmament when the fairness of
08:06the 2026 election is being threatened. You know, other states may want to play games. California
08:12is the only state committed to fairness whose potential redistricting goes away the minute
08:17others drop theirs. I'm going to end it right here with this. Today was more than drawing
08:23lines on a map. It was about drawing a line in the sand to stop Texas, to stop Donald Trump
08:32from rigging this election. And the stakes are so high for California. Millions are going to lose
08:41health care. Our families lose health care. Fire assistance will continue to be leveraged
08:47for millions across this state. People are going to continue to be snatched up off the
08:52street. Public education funding is going to dry up and the governor, the governor will
08:58talk about a recent Supreme Court ruling that's going to hurt this state for years to come.
09:06One of the main reasons I think I voted for today is because this package of bills, the person
09:15that's going to be impacted the most is going to be waiting for me tonight at our kitchen table to
09:21tell me about his first week of school. My son four and a half started TK this week. Today's
09:28vote, regardless of what Republicans may say, today's vote is not about politics. Today's vote
09:35is about protecting people. It's about protecting the state, protecting our progress in everything
09:42that we stand for. It's about protecting the future and sharing fairness and trusting the
09:48voters. And I want to take a moment to say thank you to Governor Gavin Newsom for his leadership,
09:53for his tenacity, for his backbone. Will we please give him a round of applause.
09:59Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Pro Tem. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To all of the leaders that are assembled
10:06here today, thank you for an outstanding job. Thank you for your faith and devotion to this larger
10:11cause, democracy that I think should unite all of us, regardless of our political party
10:16and political stripes. Let me just briefly reinforce, because I'm eager to sign a bill that no other
10:22governor in U.S. history has ever signed, a bill that will put the maps in front of the
10:29voters. We will be the first state in U.S. history to, in the most democratic way, submit
10:36to the people of our state the ability to determine their own maps. That simply has not been done.
10:44But I want to first just briefly back up and pick up a little bit on what the speaker and
10:48the pro tem said, and just remind everybody what they reminded you that need to be reminded,
10:53all of us again, of how we got here. We got here because the President of the United States
10:58is struggling. We got here because the President of the United States is one of the most unpopular
11:03presidents in U.S. history. We got here because he recognizes that he will lose the election.
11:09Congress will go back into the hands of the Democratic Party next November. We got here
11:14because of his failed policies. Those are being exposed hour by hour, reinforced today by Wal-Mart
11:20announcing they'll be raising prices because of the tax increases, because of the tariffs. Reminded
11:26every day by slowing economy, growing mistrust, distrust all across this nation. Across the board,
11:34he is failing. He recognized that. And that's why he made a phone call to Greg Abbott asking for five
11:40seats. Can't win by playing by traditional sets of rules. He plays by no rules. I remind you all the time,
11:48it's not the rule of law, it's the rule of dawn. And we're standing up to that. We're responding to that.
11:54They fired the first shot, Texas. We wouldn't be here had Texas not done what they just did.
12:00Donald Trump didn't do what he just did. He went so far as to follow up and say that he didn't just
12:08want those five seats. He said he's quote unquote entitled to those five seats. Just pause and reflect
12:14on that. Everything should have just stopped there. President of the United States claiming he's entitled
12:20to five seats. That should put chills up your spine. Every Republican, not just Democrat and
12:26independent. Every American, American. Those enduring values that we celebrate, just celebrated,
12:32249 years, the best of the Roman Republic, Greek democracy. The rule of law, co-equal branches of
12:39government, popular sovereignty. What we'll celebrate, will we? Next year, the 250th anniversary.
12:47Masked men. Masked men at the site of the Japanese that were interned and bussed in Little Tokyo last
13:00week in Los Angeles were sent right there in front of the Democracy Center as we kicked off this effort.
13:09That's a preview of things to come all across the United States of America. Mark my word,
13:13just as we let folks know what was going to happen in other cities, what is happening in Washington,
13:22D.C. We said two months ago, Los Angeles is a preview of things to come with the federalization
13:29of the National Guard, with the militarization of the streets of America. And I'll remind you,
13:36Donald Trump never sent the military, active duty military, in his first term or now even in his
13:40second term. Anywhere overseas, he sent them to a United States city. They remain
13:47federalized National Guard, interestingly, through Election Day.
13:53$175 billion in the bill that was just signed to reinforce the ranks of ICE, Homeland Security,
14:06for what is increasingly becoming self-evident to anyone with eyes wide open in any level of
14:15objectivity. A private army for Donald Trump.
14:19going an oath only to him, not the Constitution of the United States. You just heard from the speaker
14:27that vote in mail ballots are being threatened by the president of the United States. 80% of
14:34Californians. No coincidence. 80% submitted their ballots in the last election. 86% in 2020,
14:4188% in 2020. He's trying to rig the election. He's trying to set up the conditions where he can claim
14:52that the elections were not one fair and square. Open your eyes to what is going on in the United
14:59States of America in 2025. That's what this is about. We're responding what occurred in Texas.
15:08We're neutralizing what occurred and we're giving the American people a fair chance because when all
15:15things are equal, we're all playing by the same set rules, there's no question that the Republican
15:22Party will be the minority party in the House of Representatives next year. We'll be transitioning,
15:28and I'll close, from this process that has unfolded over the course of the last few weeks to the campaign.
15:38after I sign these two pieces of legislation, establishing a special session and the maps.
15:44I also will be signing a proclamation. On November 4th, the people of the state of California, in a transparent,
15:51and as Speaker and Pro Tem said, temporary and democratic way, will have the opportunity to determine
15:57their fate in our collective future. And I couldn't be more proud, again, of the extraordinary leaders
16:04that are standing up for the rule of law, are standing up for the principles and those enduring
16:11values of our founding fathers. Thank you for getting us to this point. We have a lot more work
16:17to do get this done November 4th.
16:25Thank you, Paul. Yeah, I was trying to get over here. Come on.
16:40I was trying to get over here. Come on.
17:45And we'll be transitioning nearby and we'll have a chance to take all the questions.
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