- calendar_today August 11, 2025
.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and members of the Democratic National Committee were interrupted this week by a Texas Democrat mid-conversation.
Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier cut off the call, telling California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Democratic Party Chair Mark Dillon, DNC Chair Ken Martin, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and other national party officials that she had been told it was a felony to be on the call while at the Texas Capitol. The Texas Democrat made the abrupt exit from the phone conversation mid-discussion on Wednesday while sitting in the Texas Capitol.
The Zoom conversation, captured on video and first obtained by Fox News Digital, was among Newsom and other top Democrats and quickly became an interview for Collier in real time on a sensitive topic: Texas’s controversial redistricting bill, seen by Democrats as a violation of federal voting rights laws.
The subject of the redistricting law, a pivotal political struggle that could shift congressional control in the battle for each party’s future direction in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections, became a sudden focus on Collier and national Democrats. Collier, while on the call with the leaders, expressed concerns over the Voting Rights Act and how the map in Texas would be less competitive for people of color to win their choice of candidates.
“This bill will prevent Black and brown individuals from selecting the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier stated during the conversation.
Collier and other Democrats in the Texas House were participating in a phone discussion as Texas state representatives were also meeting in a floor debate on a redistricting bill, backed by former President Donald Trump, in the lower chamber.
For the past two weeks, some 50 Texas Democrats bolted the state Capitol and fled to Washington, D.C., in a failed attempt to break a quorum needed to pass the Republican-backed redistricting bill and allow the GOP to pass the law.
“You can’t pass it. We want a fair fight,” Collier told Booker, addressing how Republicans are now “tracking” members of the legislature throughout the state Capitol. “I think we’ve got to do more,” she added.
With Martin speaking on the call and about 30 minutes into the conversation, Collier interjected and left the call abruptly. “Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,” Collier told the group of Democrats on the call. “I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” Collier added as she then briefly said something to an unidentified person off-camera.
“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” she added to the individual. “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go,” Collier told those on the call as she ended the call.
The abrupt cut-off from Collier left those on the call in stunned silence. Booker, who immediately jumped in, was incensed. “This is outrageous, what is happening here is outrageous, and you know what, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker added as Newsom nodded in agreement. Booker continued: “Look, what they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a black woman, and that is outrageous.”
Booker added: “What we just witnessed, them trying to shut her down and saying it’s illegal for her to be in the bathroom and on this call, this is the lengths that they’re going to in Texas.”
The dispute over the redistricting fight between California and Texas has grown fierce as national Democrats turn to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s direction to fight back against the law in Texas. The dispute in Texas over redistricting has been one of the more partisan in the nation, with California responding with a new congressional map to negate what Texas Republicans can gain on the congressional map.
As Texas Democrats continued to fight the redistricting measure on the state floor, Collier’s description of the Texas Department of Public Safety officers tracking the Democrat members through the Capitol has continued to persist among those in the Texas House and Senate. One lawmaker was asked to provide “permission slips” when exiting the Capitol complex.
GOP Gov. Greg Abbott on April 19 ordered the arrest of the more than 50 Democrat lawmakers who fled the state to D.C., in a high-profile attempt to deny Republicans a quorum, which is needed to conduct official business. At that time, Abbott threatened the members with arrest and possible removal from office if they refused to return to Texas.
The Texas bill alone is estimated to add up to five congressional seats to Republicans in the Lone Star State. The measure would solidify Republican control for the next decade, which is why Democrats are objecting to its potential passage.
Democrats in California, meanwhile, said they would respond in kind with a redistricting measure of their own. The California effort, backed by Newsom and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for strategic mapping and planning, could theoretically erase up to five Republican seats in California to offset the estimated five GOP seats in Texas.
On Friday, the DCCC unveiled its new California map that was obtained by Fox News Digital. The political map in California was released to show how Democrats would have a chance to retake seats on the West Coast if they pass the measure, and could cancel out the estimated five Republican seats in Texas.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of both Booker and Newsom for comment, but has not yet received a response. A representative for Collier also declined to provide additional comment, as the Texas House is in session.





