Texas citrus producers ship nationwide, fuel local economies, and help anchor the entire Gulf Coast fruit industry. When Texas growers are supported, it strengthens the entire national supply chain. Texas is one of the largest citrus-producing states in the nation, and Texas growers have weathered hurricanes, freezes, drought, price swings, and federal overreach, all while producing the sweetest, freshest citrus to be found anywhere in America.
After 43 days of a government shutdown, our Democrat colleagues joined Republicans in re-opening the federal government for the American people. The legislation passed earlier this month was nearly identical to the bill that House Republicans passed in September. Democrats opposed it — repeatedly — and chose partisan politics over paying our military and serving our veterans.
Under the rules, students enrolled in accredited private schools participating in the program, or certain at-risk pre-kindergarten students, may be eligible to receive more than $10,000 annually, or up to $30,000 for a student with a disability based on an Individualized Education Program (IEP). All other participating students, including homeschool students, may be eligible to receive $2,000 annually.
Republicans and the White House can’t convince people that things could be worse because what could be does not override what is, even if it’s true. Some form of affordability is the top issue in every poll; if they don’t address that, nothing else will matter. Then things will get exponentially worse, as reinstalling the people who caused a problem is never the key to fixing it and Democrats won’t care about making things worse, as that is a feature of their agenda, not a bug.
“Texas leads the nation in energy production, providing nearly one-fourth of the country's domestically produced energy,” said Gov. Greg Abbott. “This new 455 MW power plant investment by NRG in Harris County – the 5th largest Metropolitan Area in America – will add more power to Texas' energy infrastructure, and will ensure every Texas home has affordable, reliable power for decades to come.” It marks the 6th loan agreement approved.
As a recent Washington Post investigation found, “U.S. utilities haven’t been on top of replacing power poles and lines in the past, and are now trying to catch up.” That catch-up is proving expensive — and the costs are being passed directly onto consumers. In fact, over the past two decades, while the cost of power generation has fallen by about 35%, the costs of transmitting that electricity across an aging grid have nearly tripled, and distribution costs have more than doubled. These infrastructure shortfalls are what’s really driving up Electricity Bills.
As part of its continuing effort to engage with students and educators across Texas, the Texas Railroad Commission and UT's Dept. of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering participated at the Convention for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) held in Dallas November 13–15 to engage with educators and continue to build lasting partnerships that support classroom learning. The event provided the RRC with the opportunity to speak with over 3,000 STEM K-12 teachers from all over the Lone Star State.
We have a lot of problems in this country, as we always have. But just for a minute, imagine if we had a Political Class interested in addressing problems in a way that benefited as many Americans as chose to avail themselves of the opportunity to improve their lot in life? Republicans, at least, do try to get good things done every once in a while. Democrats, on the other hand, would be happy to bring the whole thing crashing down on anyone who refuses to bow to their will. But imagine if Democrats loved the country as much as they love illegal aliens or violent criminals.
Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) demand Mexico immediately address their failure to meet the minimum delivery obligations to the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty. Preliminary data indicates Mexico has a remaining delivery deficit of over 800,000 acre-feet of water—equivalent to roughly two and a half years of required deliveries.
Last week, the UN Security Council finally did something right: They endorsed President Trump's plan for Gaza. President Trump's 20-point plan offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance at peace in the Middle East. I'm encouraged so many other nations agree and hope their endorsement will put more pressure on Hamas to disarm, end its oppression of the Palestinian people, and allow peace to prevail.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is observing National Rural Health Day today by highlighting initiatives that strengthen health care in rural communities. Since its establishment in September 2023, the HHSC Office of Rural Hospital Finance has distributed $50 million in grant funding to rural hospitals to reduce debt and improve services, including labor and delivery. HHSC will announce new grant opportunities in early 2026.
When President Biden refused to enforce our immigration laws at the border, Texas bore the heaviest burden. In March 2021, Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star to help secure the border when the federal government would not – an operation that was vital to ensuring the safety and security of all Americans. Texas played its part in keeping this country safe, and it’s time for the Lone Star State to be paid back.
With new revelations coming out that the Biden administration coordinated with county and state prosecutors to target President Donald Trump and his associates for questioning the results of the 2020 election, Trump is not taking the news lightly. “Arctic Frost” targeted over 430 Republicans, including Trump campaign committees, the RNC and Turning Point USA, and secretly subpoenaed phone records and metadata from Trump and at least 10 Republican senators.
“The goal is to identify, disrupt, and eradicate Terrorist Organizations engaged in criminal activities in Texas. We will target threats of violence, intimidation, and harassment of our citizens – and we will also focus on individuals or groups who unlawfully impose Sharia law, which violates the Texas Constitution & State Statutes," said Gov. Abbott, announcing that Texas Dept. of Public Safety (DPS) agents will work alongside FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the state.
"It's a sad reality that our nation’s schools have become soft targets for violence. Across the nation, too many communities have witnessed tragedies in their backyards—including here in Texas,' said Cong. Tony Gonzales, after his "National Strategy for School Security Act" passed. The Act requires the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop best practices for schools to scale and implement in order to protect students and school faculty from acts of violence.
Attorney General Ken Paxton will file an appeal with the Supreme Court of the United States . The new map was passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by Governor Abbott in August, despite attempts by House Democrats to block the process by breaking quorum. Attorney General Paxton will continue to defend Texas’s Big Beautiful Map and the legitimate political considerations that warranted Texas’s redistricting efforts.
As I wrote recently, careful projections of the U.S. Illegal Population Estimate went from around 12 million in 2007 to 14.5 million during the Biden Administration. The impetus for Biden's policies came from something other than the usual elite economic argument that U.S. population growth is slowing. That something else can be summarized in the phrase "Orange Man Bad." If Trump wants to stop people at the border, then we shouldn't stop anyone there.
Governor Greg Abbott today announced the apprehension of 31 illegal immigrant drivers, mostly licensed out of California, along I-40 last week during a one-day, joint commercial vehicle enforcement (CVE) operation by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and federal law enforcement. A majority of the CDLs presented to DPS CVE troopers by those 31 illegal immigrants were issued out of California. None were issued in Texas.
