Texas Politics & News
The Daily Signal highlights Texas as a leader in conservative policy and governance, covering Lone Star State legislation, elections, border enforcement, and energy dominance.
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opinion
Americans Will Rally in Texas, Demand Lawmakers Act to Secure Southern Border
Thousands of Americans are expected to gather April 29 in Austin, Texas, for a rally calling on state lawmakers to secure the southern border. “I actually expect this to be the biggest border event in the history of the country,” Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States and a founder of the tea party… -
news
How 2 Texas Lawmakers Propose to Solve Problem of Ammo Shortage Amid Crime Surge
Two Republican state lawmakers in Texas propose establishing a Texas Ammunition Manufacturing Facility as an office within the state’s Department of Public Safety. Noting a shortage in the supply of ammunition and soaring prices amid growing crime, state Sen. Pete Flores sponsored a bill in the Texas Senate (SB 1851) and state Rep. Ellen Troxclair sponsored… -
opinion
Democrats’ Boycotts of Texas, Arizona Field Hearings on Illegal Immigration Inexcusable
All 15 of the Democrats on a House committee last week boycotted a field hearing on the crisis at our southern border, aptly held in Texas for the express purpose of focusing lawmakers’—and national—attention on the out-of-control problem of illegal immigration. Worse, the March 15 hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee in Pharr,… -
opinion
In Texas, Democrats Struggle to Fight School Choice Bill as Support Booms
A Texas bill that would offer families an education savings account of $8,000 per child caused an extraordinary stir Wednesday at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. For the bill’s first hearing by a Texas Senate committee, advocates and critics flooded the hearing room to argue about the effects on students, families, and schools of… -
news
‘We Are Under Siege,’ Texas Sheriff Says of Border Crisis
Kinney County, Texas, is “under siege by illegal aliens and smugglers,” Sheriff Brad Coe testified Wednesday during a House committee hearing. “The number of migrants seen on game cameras … , we’re averaging between 160 and 180 people per night that are going through the county unchallenged,” Coe said during the Homeland Security Committee’s hearing in… -
opinion
Texas Abortion Ban Viewed as Virtually Untouchable. A Lawsuit Aiming to Change That Has Problems.
In an era of increasing litigation over state abortion bans since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, one ban in Texas so far has avoided a post-Roe legal challenge. Texas’ Heartbeat Act, also known as SB 8, bans abortions performed after a fetal heartbeat can be detected (at around six weeks’ gestation). The… -
opinion
Toll of Border Crisis on States: Texas
As the border crisis rages, each state feels its own financial and human toll from the influx of illegal aliens who get help from the Biden administration to make their way into the interior of the United States and into every congressional district in the country. This is Part 2 in a series about the… -
opinion
Cartels’ Influence Over Border Is ‘Really Frightening,’ Texas Land Commissioner Says
Drug running and human smuggling by Mexican cartels have become tragically commonplace for many Texas communities. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says Texans are deeply frustrated with the situation at their southern border, a situation she describes as “frightening.” There is a “tremendous loss of life with the increase in crime” at the southern border, Buckingham… -
opinion
Texas Universities Demand That Job Applicants Pledge Woke Allegiance
There never has been a better time to combat the publicly funded racist advocacy that has become prevalent in Texas universities. Entire departments at Texas Tech University and the University of Texas spend millions of taxpayer dollars each year on pseudoscientific nonsense—setting divisive standards that are stoking racial tension instead of easing it. One bill… -
news
Texas to Ban Use of Chinese-Owned TikTok by State Workers
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced that state agencies will ban the popular, Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on both state-issued and personal devices used by state employees. “The security risks associated with the use of TikTok on devices used to conduct the important business of our state must not be underestimated or ignored,” Abbott,… -
news
Biden Education Department Targets Texas Superintendent for Removing Explicit Books From School Libraries
A Texas superintendent is under investigation for trying to protect students from sexually explicit books in public school libraries. The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation based on the American Civil Liberties Union’s complaint against the Granbury Independent School District and Superintendent Jeremy Glenn, which centers on the removal of controversial books, as well as related comments… -
news
Abbott Says Texas Will Secure Its Border in ‘Federal Government’s Absence’
Razor wire, an expanded border wall, and law enforcement—welcome to 2023 and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plans to further secure the southern border. Abbott wrote on Twitter earlier this week, “Texas National Guard are installing additional layers of razor wire in high-traffic areas for illegal crossings at the Texas-Mexico border. They’re working around the… -
opinion
Texas Legislation Strikes Back Against University-Backed Discrimination
“A lot of tax dollars are flowing into these universities, and with tuition skyrocketing—dollars should go to operating costs and education, not woke activism.” -
opinion
Texas Governor, Attorney General to Investigate Private Organizations Facilitating Border Crisis
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is asking his state’s attorney general to investigate how a network of private organizations is colluding with the Biden administration to facilitate the worst border crisis in American history. Abbott’s request comes just days after The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project documented the outsized role of non-governmental organizations. Those groups, operating more… -
opinion
Texas Public School District Mocks Concerned Mother, Then Charges Her $7,000
Chumchal told The Daily Signal, “If I had this many incidents that the district didn’t consider ‘bullying’, how many other parents or students have submitted bullying reports left unanswered or ill-attended to?” -
news
Texas City May Bar Christians From Sponsoring Christmas Parades, Conservative Group Warns
A small Texas city near Austin is about to vote on a policy that may prevent Christian groups from sponsoring Christmas parades, according to the conservative group Texas Values. The policy, listed as Agenda Item #13 on the agenda for the Dec. 8, 2022, meeting of the city council in Taylor, Texas, stipulates what kind… -
news
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Declares ‘Invasion’ at Southern Border
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, on Tuesday declared an invasion at the southern border, invoking state powers to provide enhanced security and to return illegal migrants to Mexico. Abbott invoked the invasion clause of the Texas Constitution, allowing him to deploy National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety personnel to turn illegal migrants… -
news
Monica De La Cruz to Become First Republican to Represent South Texas District
Monica De La Cruz is a first-generation Texan, her grandmother having arrived from Mexico to escape political strife. Now she will become the first Republican to represent residents of the Rio Grande Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives. With 74% of the vote counted, The Associated Press reported, De La Cruz was well… -
news
Texas Superintendent’s Former Mistress Speaks Out, Claims School Board Members Targeted Her
Disclaimer: Neither The Daily Signal nor The Heritage Foundation endorses or opposes any candidates in the Round Rock, Texas, Independent School District elections. This story reports on claims from the superintendent's former mistress, and quotes her election-related statements. It does not endorse or oppose those claims. The woman at the center of a scandal involving… -
news
Texas Lawmaker Predicts Election Audits Will Become as Popular as Voter ID
A Texas state senator who championed legislation to establish election audits in the Lone Star State says he anticipates such audits will become as commonplace and accepted as voter ID. When he traveled to Washington in 2006 to testify in support of voter ID before the House Administration Committee, the hearing room filled up “because…