Hot mic reveals Issa plotting GOP strategy after California redraws House map

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Hot mic reveals Issa plotting GOP strategy after California redraws House map

Rep. Darrell Issa was overheard at a White House event outlining potential moves for fellow California Republicans Ken Calvert and Young Kim amid the state’s approved redistricting map

Louis Casiano Fox News

Published

December 5, 2025 1:30pm EST

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Issa caught on hot mic discussing California redistricting fallout

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., was heard talking about a new map passed in California that could possibly give Democrats more House seats, at a Washington event Thursday.

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Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., was caught on a hot mic Thursday discussing strategy following the passage of a new map by California voters that could potentially give Democrats an additional five House seats.

Issa was apparently referring to Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim, both California Republicans, during his remarks while attending President Donald Trump’s peace deal signing between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Just before the event began, Issa was captured on a pool camera discussing the race.

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Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Cali., was caught on a hot mic discussing a congressional race after California voters approved on a new redistricting plan. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Ken has nowhere else to go," Issa said in footage recorded ahead of the White House peace-signing event. The footage was posted online by a reporter at Spectrum News’ Washington, D.C., bureau.

"She does have a hard seat she could go to, and I know the administration would look favorably if she would do that," Issa continued, apparently referring to Kim. "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," he added. "If anyone else had a claim for it, it’d be me."

California voters in November approved Proposition 50, a measure that will redraw the state’s congressional map and give Democrats more House seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The move was in response to a similar plan in Texas to give Republicans more seats.

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Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim, both California Republicans, are running against each other in the newly redrawn 40th Congressional District. (Getty Images)

Calvert will challenge Kim, an incumbent, for California’s newly redrawn 40th Congressional District.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Issa, Calvert and Kim.

Issa was reportedly considering a move to Texas to run for Congress. However, he previously told Fox News that he will remain in California to run in the newly gerrymandered 48th Congressional District.

"I’m thrilled to set the record straight, and here’s the truth: Texas House members and residents of that state did ask if I would consider running there following Gavin Newsom's historically corrupt gerrymander," Issa told Fox News Digital. "I appreciate the opportunity, but California is my home. I told them I'm going to stay in Congress, and I don't need to go to Texas for that.

The redistricting effort in California is more about whether or not the Constitution and fairness to the people will be maintained, says Rep. Darrell Issa

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"I believe the people of Southern California in San Diego County and Riverside County who elected me so many times will, regardless of registration, consider my record in full and allow me to continue serving them," he added. "I can hold this seat, I’m not quitting on California, and neither should anyone else."

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.

Hot mic reveals Issa plotting GOP strategy after California redraws House map