Issa caught on hot mic discussing GOP moves after CA map
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Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) was caught on a hot mic Thursday discussing strategy after California voters passed a new map that could give Democrats an additional five seats in the House.
Issa was apparently referring to Republican Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim, both of California, during remarks he made while attending President Donald Trump’s peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Just before the event started, Issa was caught on a pool camera discussing the race.
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Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Cali., was caught on a hot mic discussing his congressional race after California voters approved a new redistricting plan. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Ken has nowhere else to go,” Issa said in footage recorded before the White House peace signing event. The footage was posted online by a reporter at Spectrum News’ Washington, D.C. bureau.
“There’s a tough seat for her to go to, and I know the administration will look favorably on it if she does,” Issa continued, apparently referring to Kim. “And if he doesn’t win he could go into administration for two years.
“With Ken, we need him exactly where he is and most of this territory belongs to him or used to,” he added. “If anyone else had a claim on this, it would be me.”
California voters in November approved Proposition 50, a measure that would redraw the state’s congressional map and give Democrats more seats in the House ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The move comes in response to a similar plan to give more seats to Republicans in Texas.
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Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim, both California Republicans, are running against each other in the redrawn 40th Congressional District. (Getty Images)
Calvert will challenge incumbent Kim for California’s newly realigned 40th Congressional District.
Fox News Digital reached out to Issa, Calvert and Kim’s offices.
Issa is reportedly considering moving to Texas to run for Congress. But he had previously told Fox News that he would remain in California to run in the newly run 48th Congressional District.
“I’m very excited to set the record straight, and here’s the truth: Members of the Texas House and residents of that state have asked me if I would consider running there after Gavin Newsom’s historically corrupt gerrymander,” Issa told Fox News Digital. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, but California is my home. I told them I would stay in Congress and I didn’t need to go to Texas to do it.
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“I believe that the people of Southern California in San Diego County and Riverside County, the people who have elected me so many times, will consider my record in its entirety and allow me to continue to serve them, regardless of whether I register or not,” he added. “I can have this seat, I’m not giving up on California, and neither should anyone else.”
