Democrat leaders push back on Gallagher’s plan to split California
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Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
A SPLIT CALIFORNIA
Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, proposed Wednesday to split California into two states, dividing coastal and inland cities.
The idea of re-examining the state’s political boundaries has a long history of failed attempts, according to the California State Library. Gallagher’s solution is a move that political observers are describing as a long-shot response to the ongoing redistricting fight.
The two state solution is designed to address those in the inland region who are overlooked, Gallagher said. The coastal region would remain California while inland areas would form a new state with separate representation and governance.
Democratic leaders wasted little time in pushing back.
A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office described the idea as “a stunt that will go nowhere.” Meanwhile, Nick Miller, a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, criticized the proposal, calling it a “James Gallamander.”
A statement from California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks contrasted the plan with GOP opposition to expanding representation to Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
“It sounds like more of the hypocrisy we’ve sadly come to expect from California Republicans in Sacramento,” Hicks said in the statement.
Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, criticized Gallagher’s use of the phrase “two-state solution,” noting its established meaning in reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Assemblymember Gallagher’s decision to mockingly repurpose that phrase shows he and the Republican Caucus he leads are no friend to Jewish Americans,” Bains wrote in a statement.
Gallagher has framed his proposal as a way to address regional disparities between inland and coastal California. But Democratic leaders said the plan distracts from more urgent legislative priorities and is unlikely to move forward.
FEDS TO INVESTIGATE CALEPA OVER DEI DISCRIMINATION
…via William Melhado
A California agency is the subject of a federal civil rights investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday, to determine if one of its boards discriminated against applicants as part of an effort to improve equity in its hiring processes.
Federal officials said they suspect the California Environment Protection Agency is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by using “protected characteristics such as race, color, sex, or national origin” in promotion and retention policies. Those practices were outlined in a hiring document investigators included in a letter sent to California officials Wednesday.
The DOJ said the California Air Resources Board, which is overseen by CalEPA, “appears to have put these principles into practice through its ‘Racial Equity Framework’ to ‘shift the culture at CARB from one of white privilege to an actively anti-racist and more inclusive culture that values and affirms Black lives.’”
The letter was signed by Harmeet Dhillon, a conservative activist and former San Francisco lawyer who now serves as the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for civil rights.
“Race-based employment practices and policies in America’s local and state agencies violate equal treatment under the law,” Dhillon said. “Agencies that unlawfully use protected characteristics as a factor in employment and hiring risk serious legal consequences.”
CalEPA said it was aware of the DOJ’s announcement. department spokesperson Nefretiri Cooley said the agency is reviewing the notice and declined to respond to further questions.
The investigation comes after President Donald Trump has taken efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government and universities that receive federal funding.
The DOJ noted that CalEPA hiring documents encouraged the agency to apply “a racial equity lens to every phase of workforce development” and ensure interview committees “reflect racial, ethnic, gender and other diversity as much as possible.”
The CARB document states the “Racial Equity Framework” is not government or employment policy. “It does not impose any specific requirements or procedures on CARB staff or work product,” the document read.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s actually funny to watch these Republican members of Congress all of a sudden realize Donald Trump doesn’t give a rat’s ass about their careers.”
— Republican strategist Rob Stutzman on the California Republicans endangered by redistricting
Best of The Bee:
- California GOP’s answer to redistricting? A two-state solution, via Lia Russell
- Sen. Alex Padilla not ruling out a 2026 run for California governor, via Nicole Nixon
- Sacramento mayor threatened to put homeless camps in councilmember’s district, via Mathew Miranda
This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
