As the founder of the Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus, I've long fought for these precious children in Washington — and that's exactly what they're getting from President Donald Trump. Last week the president announced he's doubling the amount of Pediatric Cancer funding for research using artificial intelligence — which could lead to historic breakthroughs, and eventually cures for this heartbreaking disease.
At 12:01 a.m. last Wednesday, Senate Democrats forced a government shutdown. Two weeks ago, House Republicans passed a clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open. Simply put, we did our job. Senate Democrats refused to do theirs. Why? Because Chuck Schumer and his caucus wanted to load a simple 24-page bill with a mountain of radical, America-last policies.
Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham, M.D., announced that 99.28% of all respondents questioned through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 2025 National Cemetery Administration State and Tribal Veterans Cemeteries Satisfaction Survey were satisfied with their overall experience at all four of the VLB's Texas State Veterans Cemeteries.
Governor Greg Abbott today announced that he deployed additional Texas emergency management personnel to Arizona to support ongoing flood recovery efforts following a request from Arizona’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. At the Governor’s direction, the Texas Division of Emergency Management has deployed logistics, planning, and disaster finance personnel to assist the State of Arizona’s Emergency Operations Center and field operations in support of flood response and recovery.
Selling this additional 600 to 800 megahertz of bandwidth to the private sector will enable the U.S. to expand 5G and even 6G technology, ensuring American dominance in internet, artificial intelligence and satellite technologies. President Donald Trump gets this, and earlier this year he posted on his Truth Social account that he supports freeing up "plenty of SPECTRUM for auction" to assure America's "status as the Worldwide Leader in WiFi, 5G, and 6G."
Under the Constitution, money cannot be withdrawn from the U.S. Treasury unless appropriated by Congress. With funding for the Federal Government expiring on October 1st, the House had done our job by passing a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government open at the current levels of spending until all 12 Appropriations Bills could be passed by both the House and the Senate. Senate cooperation, however, is required.
Governor Greg Abbott announced earlier today that Fund for Veterans’ Assistance (FVA) Grants totaling over $8.5 million were awarded to 35 organizations in Central Texas as part of the Texas Veterans Commission’s "Grants Across Texas" presentations. Administered by Texas Veterans Commission, the funding will provide services to more than 4,440 area veterans and their families across the 30 Counties listed herein.
Since the Federal Government has shut down – meaning funding has lapsed for many federal government operations – I understand there are questions about what is impacted during this time. I’m here to answer them. Below is a list of Federal Agencies and how their services will be impacted by the shutdown. Please keep in mind the agencies responsible for administering them may see reduced workforces impacting operations.
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock today unveiled a new interactive data dashboard designed to put the latest economic and demographic information directly into the hands of Texans. The announcement came during a regional event hosted by the Tyler Chamber of Commerce, where Hancock kicked off the Good for Texas Tour: TexStats Dashboard Edition. The new TexStats Regional Data Dashboard consolidates a wide range of state, county and regional data into a single, user-friendly site.
One party is forfeiting its own pay and standing up for Troops & Taxpayers alike. The other is hiding behind procedures, pointing fingers, and pretending the problem is someone else’s fault. This isn’t about optics; it’s about integrity. Rejecting pay while government is frozen isn’t just symbolic — it forces everyone else to look bad for not doing it. These aren’t just gestures for show — they underscore a fundamental contrast.
Governor Greg Abbott today officially launched the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office (TREO), housed within the Office of the Governor, and opened the TREO website and Regulation Evaluation Portal. On the website, Texans can find the "Regulation Evaluation" Portal to submit feedback and make recommendations on potential government overregulation that TREO needs to investigate.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of State Senator Brandon Creighton, who resigned his position today to become Chancellor of Texas Tech University, Brett Ligon – the longest serving District Attorney in Montgomery County history – kicked off his campaign today for Senate Dist. 4. “Texas Tech is getting one of the brightest stars as their new Chancellor, and I'm proud to call Brandon my friend," Ligon said.
Texas state sales tax revenue totaled $3.97 billion in September, an increase of 3.2% when compared to September 2024," said Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock earlier today. Accounting for 58% of all state tax collections, Sales Tax is the largest source of state funding for the Texas State Budget. “Remittances from the sectors influenced mainly by business spending were mixed last month,” said Hancock.
Whether it's ordering the dispatch of Federal Troops to protect Immigration Enforcement Personnel in "sanctuary" states, authorizing his Budget Director to use reorganization powers available after Senate Democrats shut down the government, announcing a peace plan for Israel & Hamas, or launching a Pediatric Cancer Initiative – President Donald Trump has what Alexander Hamilton once called "Energy in the Executive."
Democrats thought they had the leverage and could force President Trump to give them what they wanted. Instead they've foolishly given him what he could only have dreamt of – a Government Shutdown. They've given him what few presidents have had the opportunity or courage to attempt... the breathtaking chance to fundamentally reshape Washington, D.C., perhaps forever. Democrat's shutdown stunt has backfired spectacularly.
"Today we are putting violent repeat offenders on notice. We are coming for you, we are going to target you, arrest you, and put you behind bars where you belong. This is a Texas-sized effort by the Texas Department of Public Safety & Local Law Enforcement Officials at every level to crack down on dangerous repeat offenders," said Gov. Abbott, announcing a new collaboration with the Houston Police Department & Federal Law Enforcement.
“To stop the New World screwworm quickly, we can’t just depend on sterile fly production. With the latest case popping up only 70 miles from our Texas border, we’re running out of time. It’s time to think outside the box. That’s why I’m excited to see the FDA give conditional approval to Zoetis’s Dectomax-CA1, the very first drug to both prevent and treat screwworm infestations in cattle."
So when Chuck Schumer & Hakeem Jeffries – those self-styled “defenders of democracy” known as "Muchacho" Schumer and "Congress-Hombre" Jeffries – shut down the Federal Government the other day, maybe they’re doing us a favor. Maybe the "Upside Hombres" have given America an accidental gift. When Washington, D.C. shutters its bloated bureaucracies for a few days, turns out there may even be some upsides.
