Governor Greg Abbott today announced nine (JET) grants totaling $2,524,300 have been awarded to nine schools in East Texas by then (TWC). The JET grants will support (CTE) training programs by helping the schools purchase and install equipment to initially train 700 students for high-demand occupations such as automotive service technicians, registered nurses, HVAC mechanics and installers, and more.
National Police Week is a time to honor the brave men and women who put on the badge every day knowing the dangers that come with the job. Across Texas and throughout our nation, law enforcement officers run toward danger so American families can live in safety and peace. Last week, we also remembered the officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Their courage and service will never be forgotten, and we continue to lift up their families and loved ones in prayer.
From foreign adversaries to cartels, bad actors around the world are increasingly using drones to target infrastructure and harm innocent civilians. As the U.S. prepares to host millions of visitors for the FIFA World Cup and America250 celebrations, we must be prepared to neutralize this evolving threat. That's why I introduced the Guard the Skies Act, which would enable the National Guard to conduct counter-drone operations.
On Saturday, incumbent U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) finished in a distant third place in the Louisiana Republican primary with only 24 percent of the vote. He missed the runoff, likely ending his political career. It was a stinging defeat for the longtime politician and two-term U.S. Senator. Of course, a motivating factor for Republicans was his vote to convict President Donald Trump of impeachment charges following the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol protests.
Governor Greg Abbott today announced that a Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF) grant of $13 million has been extended to Texas A&M University for an expansion of their Cyclotron Institute in College Station, which has provided high-energy heavy-ion particle testing for more than 30 years. The project will establish new beam lines and develop a state-of-the-art spectrometer, enabling cutting-edge research in nuclear science and semiconductor testing.
The Founders were great believers in capitalism and the free market. They were not fighting "the billionaires of their time" over their wealth. Many of the Founders were themselves quite wealthy, including banker Robert Morris Jr., who was known as the "Financier of the Revolution." They fought against the taking or occupation of property by the government. At the very top of their stated purpose for the American Revolution was "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
The United States relies heavily on imports for critical minerals, with limited domestic mining and processing capacity, creating a strategic vulnerability. The Red River Army Depot – located on over 15,000 acres within the lithium rich Smackover Formation – presents an opportunity to strengthen domestic supply. Each of the U.S. Army’s organic Industrial Base Sites has the potential to become mineral hubs for the military. Let's get after it.
Texas oil and gas regulator Wayne Christian today highlighted the critical role Texas’ energy industry and the Permian Basin have played in maintaining America’s position as the world’s largest oil and energy producer. Christian also pointed to new federal data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing continued U.S. production strength fueled by Texas energy.
So why and how did millions of Americans begin to express hatred for Israel – and the Jews who support it? There are four converging fronts in this perfect storm. In the Middle East, free speech is found only in Israel – where criticism of one's own country, gender equity, and tolerance of gays are guaranteed – in marked contrast to all its neighbors. Yet today, for a Democrat or liberal to challenge hatred of Israel – and by extension, the Jews – is a career-ending death wish.
The House and Senate are at loggerheads over the Senate passed housing bill and its controversial provisions that restrict building single-family homes for rental purposes. Whether that bill advances or not, there is another bill we like better: Senator John Cornyn's "More Homes on the Market Act," which would double the Capital Gains Tax Exemption for primary residences and index it for inflation moving forward. The current exemption has not been updated since 1997, and is not indexed for inflation.
Governor Greg Abbott today announced that a Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF) grant of $14,177,600 has been extended to USA Rare Earth, Inc. (USARE) to accelerate rare earth mineral production at their Round Top Mountain project in Hudspeth County. The facility is expected to create 260 jobs and represents more than $1.4 billion in capital investment. USARE will develop its Round Top Mountain deposit as a domestic source of heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) and select technology metals
Wayne Christian today warned of growing threats to America’s economic stability, citing record federal debt exceeding U.S. GDP, persistent inflation squeezing working families, and rising geopolitical tensions in key global energy corridors such as the Strait of Hormuz. Efforts by Iran and other actors to shift oil transactions away from the U.S. dollar toward the Chinese yuan, represent a direct challenge to U.S. financial strength and global influence.
Senators Ted Cruz and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have ushered through passage of their bipartisan resolution urging President Trump to prioritize securing the release of political prisoners during his visit to China, including Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Jimmy Lai. In 2019, Sen. Cruz traveled to Hong Kong to stand in solidarity with protesters, where he met Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy dissidents.
It's the time when Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) releases its annual "Congressional Pig Book Summary," exposing some of the most outrageous, ridiculous and in many cases unconstitutional spending one can imagine. I guarantee you won't be able to imagine most of it. According to CAGW, the number of earmarks, which is spending that avoids going through the normal appropriations process, "totaled 140,826, costing $484 billion."
"We're announcing that the federal government is deferring $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements from the State of California – and the simple reason is because California has not taken fraud very seriously," said Vice President JD Vance Wednesday. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, recent enforcement efforts tied to Vance's Anti-Fraud Task Force have already suspended payments to 773 hospice providers and 23 home health agencies in the Los Angeles area alone.
When it comes to the past decade of price hikes, consolidation within the fertilizer industry is largely to blame and still presents a problem that needs both short- and long-term solutions. While President Trump has achieved unprecedented collaboration between government and the private sector on a host of agricultural issues, expensive fertilizer has been a longstanding challenge. The Biden White House did little to address the issue, and at one point prices even shot up by 99%.
Senators Cornyn and Ted Cruz (R-TX) recommended Angela Colmenero to President Trump following an extensive review and interview process of the candidate pool by the bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee (FJEC). Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Cruz established the FJEC, a bipartisan panel of leading attorneys in Texas, to help identify the most qualified candidates to fill judicial vacancies.
It was a privilege to welcome U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to Midland last week! As the crown jewel of American energy production, the Permian Basin is the cornerstone of American jobs, national security, and economic prosperity. Secretary Burgum has been a strong leader in advancing commonsense deregulatory efforts and fostering a more predictable regulatory environment that allows businesses to thrive.
