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
Texas Pro-Life Law Prompts Judges to Weigh Health Risks of Abortion to Women
In the latest challenge to Texas’ so-called “pro-life law of the century” (passed as H.B. 2), last week a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case Whole Woman’s Health v. Lakey. Abortion providers, including Whole Woman’s Health Clinic in McAllen, Texas, sued the state to keep key provisions of…Josh Shepherd -
- News
Did Unqualified Students Get Favorable Treatment at University of Texas?
Supporters of University of Texas President Bill Powers have for months worked mightily to deny or to marginalize evidence lawmakers were pulling strings to get unqualified students admitted to the university. A new trove of public records demonstrates that many of Powers’ most vocal defenders — key alumni association members, an education coalition, politicians and…Jon Cassidy -
- News
Meet Bill Flores, the Texas Congressman Who Wants to Be ‘Consensus Leader’ for Conservatives
Bill Flores could be one of the friendliest faces in Congress. True to his Aggie roots, his Capitol Hill office parades pride for both his country and home state of Texas. Talk to Flores for five minutes, and you’ll feel a special allegiance to the Lone Star state. Flores touts himself as a congressman who…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Texas Race-Based College Admissions Case May be Heading Back to Supreme Court
Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced that the full court will not rehear an appeal brought by Abigail Fisher challenging the University of Texas at Austin’s admissions policy that uses racial and ethnic preferences to achieve “diversity” on campus. Students who graduate in the top 10 percent of Texas high schools are automatically…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
Fracking Has Amazing Benefits. So Why Did This Texas Town Just Ban It?
Conservatives tend to champion state and local government over big federal government. But that doesn’t always mean state and local governments protect American freedoms. Such is the case with Denton, Texas, and its recent ban on fracking. Last week, residents of Denton passed a ballot measure to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the process used to…Nicolas Loris -
- News
Jimmy Carter: ‘If Texas Doesn’t Want to Have Gay Marriage, Then That’s a Right for Texas People to Have’
Jimmy Carter doesn’t think marriage laws should be decided at the federal level. “I’m kind of inclined to let the states decide individually,” the former president told WFAA, an ABC affiliate, in an interview that aired Sunday. “As you see, more and more states are deciding on gay marriage every year,” Carter said. “If Texas…Daily Signal Staff -
- Opinion
A Big Win for Voter ID Laws in Texas
The Texas voter ID law, which was effective in November 2013 statewide constitutional elections, will be in place for the Nov. 4 mid-term election, representing a big win for voters and election integrity in Texas. On Saturday, the Supreme Court rejected an emergency petition filed by the NAACP and refused to overrule the Fifth Circuit…Hans von Spakovsky -
- News
Big Texas Health Care Provider Can Handle Only 6 Cases of Ebola
One of the largest health care providers in Texas can handle only about six Ebola cases at any given time using current medical protocols. "What if, God forbid, we saw 8,000, as in West Africa? They had no answer," says @SenTedCruz. The startling figure was revealed by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in a Texas Tribune…Rob Bluey -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Blocks Part of Texas Abortion Law. But That Doesn’t Mean the Court Would Strike Down Law Itself.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted an application to block parts of H.B. 2, Texas’s abortion law made famous by State Sen. Wendy Davis’ 11-hour filibuster from going into effect while the case is pending. In Whole Women’s Health v. Lakey, a federal district court struck down as unconstitutional H.B. 2’s requirements that doctors…Elizabeth Slattery -
- News
Second US Ebola Patient Identified as Young Texas Nurse
A 26-year-old nurse named Nina Pham is the health care worker at a Dallas hospital who tested positive for the Ebola virus after helping to treat a man who later died of the disease, her family told a Dallas radio station. WFAA reported that Pham, a 2010 graduate of Texas Christian University’s nursing program, is the first person known to contract the…Ken McIntyre -
- Opinion
Not So Fast: ISIS Crossing Texas-Mexico Border Not a Serious Concern
Today Texas Sheriff Gary Painter warned about the possibility that ISIS terrorists could cross the Texas-Mexico border. Painter told Fox News that close to the border people had found “Muslim clothing” and copies of the Qu’ran. “So we know that there are Muslims that have come across and been smuggled in the United States,” he…Katrina Trinko -
- News
Bishop Who Led Prayer After Cruz Heckling Says Texas Senator ‘Came Out Slugging’
After Sen. Ted Cruz was booed off the stage at a gathering of Middle Eastern Christians for making pro-Israel comments, a New York bishop stood before the frantic audience to lead a prayer for him. In an interview with The Daily Signal today, Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn said he…Josh Siegel -
- Opinion
Texas District Attorney Gins Up Charges Against Rick Perry
As a character noted in Tom Wolfe’s “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” a prosecutor could convince a grand jury to indict anything, even a ham sandwich. And while Texas Gov. Rick Perry isn’t a ham sandwich, he might as well be. Last Friday, a Texas grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Perry that even…Andrew Kloster -
- News
Rick Perry Responds to Indictment: ‘I Stood Up for the Rule of Law in Texas’
Gov. Rick Perry said today on “Fox News Sunday” that he would “make exactly the same decision” that led to a grand jury indictment Friday. Speaking to the felony charges and potential 100 years in prison he could face, the Texas Republican said he’s “certainly taking it very seriously,” but added, “I stood up for the…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
One Year After Texas Enacted Abortion Law, Half of State’s Clinics Have Closed
In Texas, the stage is set for a sequel to last summer’s political drama, a battle that engulfed the state and brought abortion into the national spotlight. As pro-life groups celebrate the one-year anniversary of the state’s passage of abortion regulations, pro-choice groups are preparing to make up for lost ground in November. Since Gov….Philip Wegmann -
- News
Q&A: Texas Commissioner Explains How the Lone Star State Became ‘Ground Zero’ for Border Crisis
More than three years ago, Todd Staples, Texas commissioner of agriculture, officially put his stamp on an issue seemingly unrelated to agriculture: illegal immigration. After rural landowners reached out to him over the years, sharing stories of how illegal immigrants — specifically, drug cartels and other criminals — trespass farms and ranches, Staples spearheaded the…Josh Siegel -
- News
Border Crossings Stop After Texas Man Takes Security Into His Own Hands
City of Hidalgo, Texas—Othal E. Brand Jr. is a man in control, and as such, when drug cartels began exploiting the stretch of river at the water pump station he runs, he built a Border Patrol-friendly boat ramp, watchtower and helicopter pad to beef security there. In the Rio Grande Valley, Brand wields more power…Josh Siegel -
- Opinion
Texas Sending National Guard to Border Is Good First Step, But a Long-Term Solution Still Needed
Gov. Rick Perry, R-Tex., will send around 1,000 National Guard troops to the Texas border under his gubernatorial authorities to help the Texas Department of Public Safety deal with the illegal immigration crisis. Before anyone screams that this is unprecedented or the radical militarization of the border, be assured it is not. In 2006–2008, all four…Steven Bucci -
- News
Brooks County, Texas: Ranchers Help Secure Border-Crossers Who Skirt Checkpoint
FALFURRIAS, Texas — Far from the crisis along the border with Mexico in the Rio Grande Valley, the checkpoint here exists to deter those who made it this far but want to get away. To an American, the three-lane checkpoint some 70 miles from the border seems far from threatening. A Border Patrol agent asks if…Josh Siegel -
- News
This Is Exactly How Central Americans Illegally Cross the Mexico-Texas Border
“Welcome to America,” Border Patrol agent Albert Spratte says. As politicians in Washington debate how to best deal with the influx of illegal immigrants from Central America along the southwest border, smugglers continue to transport women, children, and entire families into the country. The Daily Signal went on a tour of the border near McAllen,…Josh Siegel