California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made confronting President Donald Trump a central part of his second term — in court, at the ballot box and online. Two of those fights have drawn the most attention: a $787 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News, and the legal battle over Proposition 50, the redistricting measure California voters approved in November 2025.

The Fox News lawsuit

What it's about

In June 2025, as Trump sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles over Newsom's objections, Newsom said the president had not called him before the deployment. Trump said he had spoken to Newsom the day before. On his show, Fox News host Jesse Watters accused Newsom of lying about the call.

Newsom says Fox aired a misleading version of Trump's remarks and knew that Watters' claim was false. He sued in Delaware Superior Court on June 27, 2025, seeking $787 million — the same amount Fox paid in 2023 to settle Dominion Voting Systems' defamation suit over 2020 election falsehoods (Al Jazeera). "If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump's behalf, it should face consequences," Newsom said.

Fox's response

Fox called the suit a "political stunt" filed "to advance his presidential ambitions," asked the court to throw it out on First Amendment grounds, and sought attorney's fees.

Where it stands

On April 30, 2026, Judge Sean P. Lugg denied Fox's motion to dismiss, finding it "reasonably conceivable" that the network knowingly aired false statements, and rejected Fox's request for fees (Bloomberg Government; Mealey's). "Looking forward to discovery," Newsom posted. Fox said it would "vigorously defend against this frivolous lawsuit." To win, Newsom must ultimately prove "actual malice" — that Fox knew its statements were false or recklessly disregarded the truth — the high bar public officials face in defamation cases.

The Prop 50 fight

What it's about

After Texas Republicans redrew their congressional map in 2025 to gain as many as five seats, Newsom led a response: Proposition 50, which temporarily replaced California's independent commission-drawn map with one designed to help Democrats win up to five more seats. Voters approved it on Nov. 4, 2025.

The lawsuit

The California Republican Party and Republican voters sued the next day, arguing the new districts were an illegal racial gerrymander. The Justice Department joined the challenge, with Attorney General Pam Bondi calling the map "a brazen power grab." Newsom's office mocked the department after its announcement contained an embarrassing typo.

Where it stands

In January 2026 a three-judge federal panel ruled 2–1 that the challengers had "failed to show that racial gerrymandering occurred" and refused to block the map (NBC Los Angeles). In early February the Supreme Court declined to intervene, clearing the way for the new districts to be used in the November 2026 midterm elections (Long Beach Post).

Newsom's state also sued over Trump's deployment of the California National Guard to Los Angeles; see our explainer on Trump's National Guard deployments.

Sources