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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- News
14 GOP Governors Sending National Guard Troops and Resources to Texas to Secure Southern Border
Republican governors are sending National Guard troops to the southern border. Governors of Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia announced this week they will send troops and resources to Texas to support the work of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Operation Lone Star to secure the…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Texas Bill Prohibiting Sexually Explicit Content in Public Schools Heads to Governor’s Desk
A bipartisan bill banning sexually explicit content in public school libraries has passed the Texas Senate and is on its way to the governor’s desk. HB 900, dubbed The READER Act, specifies what “sexual content” is and prescribes actions by Texas public schools to ensure that children aren’t given access to pornographic, sexually explicit, or…Tony Kinnett -
- Opinion
Texas Set to Give Boot to Leftist DEI Offices at Public College Campuses
Texas may soon become the second state to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from public colleges. In early May, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation to prevent colleges and universities there from using federal or state funds on DEI programs. Like on many other issues, Florida and DeSantis have demonstrated that just a few…Jarrett Stepman -
- News
Pornographic Books Found in Texas School Libraries Result in Bipartisan Action to Remove Them
Warning: This report contains sexually graphic images from commonly available books in school libraries, which The Daily Signal has obscured in part. A bill that has passed the Texas House with bipartisan support could become the model for ensuring public school libraries don’t provide sexual content to children. HB 900, sponsored by four Republicans and…Tony Kinnett -
- News
Texas on the Verge of Allowing Chaplains in Public Schools
A bill allowing chaplains in schools passed the Texas Legislature Tuesday evening after the state’s House of Representatives voted largely along party lines, according to Religion News Service. House Bill 3614 was introduced by Republican state Rep. Cole Hefner in March and if signed into law would allow schools to “employ or accept as volunteers chaplains,” according…Kate Anderson -
- News
Smirnoff Drag Queen Partner Flashes Bystanders at Texas Capitol
After Bud Light’s “ill-fated marketing campaign” that featured a transgender woman, it appears that Smirnoff, a brand of vodka produced by the British company Diageo, has made a failed attempt to keep its partnership with Texan drag queen and transgender-identifying woman Maxine St. James LaQueene quiet. In September 2022, LaQueene expressed his excitement in joining Smirnoff’s “Show…Abigail Olsson -
- News
Bracing for Post-Title 42 Surge: Biden Sends 1,500 Troops to Border, Texas Cities Issue Emergency Declarations
Republicans and Democrats agree on one thing at least: Encounters with illegal aliens at the southern border will increase when Title 42 expires on May 11. President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security “expects that encounters at the southwest border will increase as smugglers spread disinformation, which will place a strain on our immigration system,…Virginia Allen -
- 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…Virginia Allen -
- 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…Fred Lucas -
- 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,…Peter Parisi -
- 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…Tony Kinnett -
- 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…Virginia Allen -
- 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…Sarah Parshall Perry -
- 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…Erin Dwinell -
- 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…Virginia Allen -
- 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…Tony Kinnett -
- 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,…Samantha Aschieris -
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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…Jillian Schneider -
- 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…Virginia Allen -
- 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.”Tony Kinnett