The Texan Podcast

Get an annual subscription to The Texan half off for Black Friday and Cyber Monday Weekend ONLY: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/black-friday-cyber-monday/

Get a gift subscription: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/gift/gift-purchase.html

The Texan’s Weekly Roundup brings you the latest news in Texas politics, breaking down the top stories of the week with our team of reporters who give you the facts so you can form your own opinion. 

Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! Got questions for the reporting team? Email [email protected] — they just might be answered on a future podcast. 

This week, the team discusses:

• Gov. Greg Abbott endorsing former President Donald Trump for 2024
• Abbott jumping in to Texas House primaries after school choice was defeated on the floor
• Texas State University in San Marcos hosting the first 2024 presidential debate
• The State Board of Education debating the presence of climate change and evolution in Texas textbooks
• Rep. Andrew Murr, leader of the Paxton impeachment, announcing he won’t run for re-election
• Texas DPS seizing firearms and ammunition from four suspected human smugglers arrested near El Paso
• ERCOT canceling its request for an additional 3,000 MW of power for the upcoming winter
• The Texas Office of the Attorney General suing Pfizer and Tris Pharma over the ADHD drug Quillivant
• The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963
• Texas claiming the title of first Thanksgiving for a Spanish colonist in 1598

Subscribe to The Texan: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/

For our special edition Thanksgiving podcast, The Texan is joined by Justice Ken Wise, the host of the Texas history podcast Wise About Texas.

Justice Wise serves on the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston, but also has a passion to preserve and promote the rich history of the Lone Star State.

This week, we dive into the claim that the first Thanksgiving was actually celebrated in Texas by a Spanish conquistador near present-day El Paso.

Read more about the background of the story here: https://thetexan.news/texas-history/texas-claims-the-first-thanksgiving-celebration-in-america/article_acee2e3e-8587-11ee-a63a-7fc3b26b1ec8.html

Listen to Wise About Texas: https://wiseabouttexas.com/episodes-list/

Show off your Lone Star spirit with a free Gonzales Flag t-shirt with an annual subscription to The Texan: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/

The Texan’s Weekly Roundup brings you the latest news in Texas politics, breaking down the top stories of the week with our team of reporters who give you the facts so you can form your own opinion. 

Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! Got questions for the reporting team? Email [email protected] — they just might be answered on a future podcast. 

This week, the team discusses:

• The Texas House passing two major border bills in the fourth special session
• Thousands of pro-Palestine activists gathering at the Texas Capitol to demand a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
• Major metropolitan mayors requesting the Biden administration help with illegal immigration
• State and local rewards offered for information relating to suspects in a Pearland shooting
• Eight Republicans helping to block the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
• Galveston County Treasurer succeeding in abolishing his own office
• Congressman Michael Burgess announcing he will not run for re-election in 2024
• A judge allowing the Attorney General Ken Paxton “whistleblowers” to seek new discovery and depositions
• A Montgomery County church suing its utility district for attempting to collect a “backdoor tax”
• A mistrial in the murder case against Austin police officer Christopher Taylor
• Congressman Pat Fallon reversing course on returning to the Texas Senate

And more.

Show off your Lone Star spirit with a free Gonzales Flag t-shirt with an annual subscription to The Texan: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/

The Texan’s Weekly Roundup brings you the latest news in Texas politics, breaking down the top stories of the week with our team of reporters who give you the facts so you can form your own opinion. 

Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! Got questions for the reporting team? Email [email protected] — they just might be answered on a future podcast. 

This week on The Texan’s Weekly Roundup, the team discusses: 

• The Texas Legislature convening for its fourth special session
• A bill to criminalize illegal immigration stalling out in the third special session
• House District 2 special election between Brent Money and Jill Dutton
• Texas Sen. Drew Springer not running for re-election in 2024
• 13 /14 Texas constitutional amendments passing on the 2023 ballot
• Midland-Odessa approving over $2 billion in school district bonds
• Smith County approving $179 million for a new county courthouse and parking garage
• The Austin City Council’s vote to remove mandatory minimum parking spaces for new construction
• Nate Paul indicted on four additional federal charges of wire fraud
• U.S. Supreme Court hearing a lawsuit challenging Trump-era federal bump stock ban
• The House Democrats' letter to the Texas Democratic chair requesting a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
• A human smuggling suspect crashing their car and killing eight people near Batesville
• A Veteran’s Day Remembrance of the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, Japan

Show off your Lone Star spirit with a free Gonzales Flag t-shirt with an annual subscription to The Texan: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/
 
The Texan’s Weekly Roundup brings you the latest news in Texas politics, breaking down the top stories of the week with our team of reporters who give you the facts so you can form your own opinion. Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! 
 
Got questions for the reporting team? Email [email protected] — they just might be answered on a future podcast. 
 
This week on The Texan’s Weekly Roundup, the team discusses: 

• Gov. Greg Abbott expanding his special session call to include teacher pay and school funding
• The upcoming special election to replace an expelled representative from the now-vacant House District 2
• A federal judge’s restraining order preventing the federal government from cutting Texas’ border concertina wire
• The Legislature passing a ban on employers mandating COVID-19 vaccines for employees and contractors
• Congresswoman Kay Granger announcing she will not run for re-election next year
• A poll showing how different political and racial groups across the state view school choice
• Attorney General Ken Paxton’s felony securities fraud trial set for April 15, 2024
• A trial set for April 2024 in the Texas Medicaid fraud case against Planned Parenthood
• Contenders coming out to challenge Texas lawmakers in next year’s primary elections
• A Texas senator opposed to a new Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife rule regarding captive deer
• Our interview with former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump

And more. 

Show off your Lone Star spirit with a free Gonzales Flag t-shirt with an annual subscription to The Texan: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/
 
The Texan’s Weekly Roundup brings you the latest news in Texas politics, breaking down the top stories of the week with our team of reporters who give you the facts so you can form your own opinion. Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! 
 
Got questions for the reporting team? Email [email protected] — they just might be answered on a future podcast. 
 
This week on The Texan’s Weekly Roundup, the team discusses: 

• Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson being elected as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
• The Texas House passing border security bills and a vaccine mandate ban
• Attorney General Ken Paxton suing to stop federal border agents from cutting concertina wire
• The 14 constitutional amendments on the ballot for Texas voters
• A new state law allowing religious chaplains to perform counseling services in public schools
• A Mexican illegal alien sentenced to 15 years in prison after shooting a Seminole police officer
• The Texas Department of Public Safety rescuing 14 sex trafficking victims
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick purchasing $3 million in Israeli bonds, the same amount he received from Defend Texas Liberty
• A speaker at a Texas Association of School Boards event advising teachers on how to teach the 1619 Project
• The Supreme Court of the United States hearing the First Amendment lawsuit of a former Castle Hills councilwoman
• The Texas Lottery setting a new sales record in Fiscal Year 2023

COME AND TAKE IT — buy a Gonzales Flag t-shirt here: https://store.thetexan.news/products/gonzales-flag-come-and-take-it-t-shirt

Show off your Lone Star spirit with a free Gonzales Flag t-shirt with an annual subscription to The Texan: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/
 
The Texan’s Weekly Roundup brings you the latest news in Texas politics, breaking down the top stories of the week with our team of reporters who give you the facts so you can form your own opinion. Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! 
 
Got questions for the reporting team? Email [email protected] — they just might be answered on a future podcast. 
 
This week on The Texan’s Weekly Roundup, the team discusses: 

• Rep. Jim Jordan losing the first vote for U.S. speaker, with three Texas Republicans voting against him
• The Texan’s tour of the Colony Ridge development in the Houston area
• Thousands of “special interest aliens” being apprehended at the southern border between 2021 and 2023
• The Texas Senate passing a ban on private employers issuing COVID-19 vaccine mandates
• Galveston County appealing a district judge’s ruling that its redistricting map violates federal civil rights law
• The fundraising numbers for Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2024 Democratic challengers
• Pro-life groups and San Antonio residents suing to restrict the city’s “Reproductive Justice Fund” from funding out-of-state abortion
• Texas comptroller purchases $20 million in in Israeli bonds to provide “financial liquidity” during Gaza war
• Attorney General Ken Paxton issuing guidance on ESG enforcement in Texas
• Forney ISD constructs a new “Keith Bell Opportunity Central” high school

And more.

COME AND TAKE IT — buy a Gonzales Flag t-shirt here: https://store.thetexan.news/products/gonzales-flag-come-and-take-it-t-shirt

Show off your Lone Star spirit with a free Gonzales Flag t-shirt with an annual subscription to The Texan: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/
 
The Texan’s Weekly Roundup brings you the latest news in Texas politics, breaking down the top stories of the week with our team of reporters who give you the facts so you can form your own opinion. Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review! 
 
Got questions for the reporting team? Email [email protected] — they just might be answered on a future podcast. 
 
This week on The Texan’s Weekly Roundup, the team discusses: 

• The Legislature’s third special session
• House Speaker Dade Phelan saying school choice must come with raises for teachers
• The special session’s expected focus on border security, including a proposed state Border Protection Unit
• Sen. Brandon Creighton’s education savings accounts school choice plan passing the Senate education committee
• Sen. Mayes Middleton’s ban on private COVID-19 vaccine mandates advancing through committee
• The meeting between a conservative political organization and an antisemitic commentator that sparked a fight on Texas’ right
• The U.S. Supreme Court preparing to hear a Texas farmer’s Fifth Amendments rights case
• Sen. Ted Cruz raising over $5 million in the third fundraising quarter this year
• A poll showing strong support in Republican districts for school choice
• Attorney General Ken Paxton endorsing four Collin County Republicans challenging House incumbents

Want to support reporting on Texas politics that doesn’t include the spin? Subscribe at https://thetexan.news/subscribe/ 

Sen. Brandon Creighton joined The Texan’s reporter Cameron Abrams to discuss the ongoing effort to send school choice legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

Creighton, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, is the author of Senate Bill (SB) 1, the centerpiece legislation for Abbott’s top priority for the current special session. 

He discussed the details of his legislation, including why the bill did not pass during the regular session earlier this year and the dynamics between the House and Senate when tensions are particularly high. 

“This is the emergency item,” said Creighton. “So I do believe we need to treat it as such and we need to expect that whether it’s in this third called special session or the seventh called special session, that we will be working in a way that at the end of the day, hopefully will help kids the most.” 

Creighton also responded to criticism from a Democratic colleague who claimed that the legislation would promote racism and resegregation in schools, and discussed differing views on the policy within the homeschool community.

Want to support reporting on Texas politics that doesn’t include the spin? Subscribe at https://thetexan.news/subscribe/ 

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, the chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, joined The Texan’s reporter Brad Johnson to discuss the start of the new special legislative session.

Martinez Fischer discussed his views on two of the top issues that Gov. Greg Abbott included on the special session call, efforts to pass school choice and border security legislation.

The caucus leader for Democrats also weighed in on the speculation that some members might attempt to oust Speaker Dade Phelan from his position amid the tensions between Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. 

“We have to remind everybody that the Speaker of the House is not the speaker of the Republican Party, it’s not the speaker for the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, it’s the Speaker of the House. He’s elected by House members, men and women, both sides, both parties” said Martinez Fischer. 

“The speaker has been a very fair presiding officer on how we administer and interpret our House rules,” said Martinez Fishcer. “That being said, there a lot of bad ideas that come across the floor — a lot of bad ideas, more bad ideas than good ideas.”