May 22, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

The latest Paxton-Cornyn ad dustup is an ominous sign for the Texas

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he wants to end his campaign on a “positive” note. Sen. John Cornyn, however, is prepared to go down fighting. Paxton said Thursday he’s pulling his negative ads against Cornyn in the final days ahead of their bruising GOP primary for Texas’ Senate seat. The move reveals that the MAGA warrior, bolstered by President Donald Trump’s endorsement, is confident in his ability to clinch the Republican nomination. But Cornyn, who’s facing an uphill battle to keep his seat, responded that he will keep his own attacks coming, leaning into Paxton’s long trail of personal and political scandals. In a race that’s been defined by personal shots, the latest online dustup between the two underscores the difficult path forward for the Texas GOP after next week’s runoff election.

click here for more

In a race that’s been defined by personal shots, the latest online dustup between the two underscores the difficult path forward for the Texas GOP after next week’s runoff election. The Paxton-Cornyn matchup has deepened divisions between the MAGA and establishment wings of the GOP, and the fighting between the two camps has gotten so ugly that some Republicans are fearful it will dampen turnout in the midterms, hurt down-ticket Republicans — and possibly cost them the seat. Paxton’s announcement came after Texas GOP Chair Abraham George, a fellow conservative hardliner, asked the candidates to move beyond their feud out of consideration of the fight ahead to keep the seat red. The attorney general, who has gone after Cornyn for being too old to continue serving in Congress, wrote on X that his campaign has “already changed our TV ad traffic starting today to ensure our campaign ends on a positive note and that we can focus on beating the leftist lunatic in the fall,” referring to Democratic nominee James Talarico. He called on Cornyn “to do the same for the good of our party. A Super PAC supporting Paxton, Lone Star Liberty, also announced Tuesday it was pulling its own negative ads.

Republicans revolt over Trump’s $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

The Trump administration’s push for a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund derailed Senate Republicans’ plans to pass the president’s priority immigration enforcement package Thursday. Senators left Washington for their Memorial Day recess with Republicans saying they were blindsided by the Justice Department’s announcement of the fund and at odds over how to rein it in. The issue had become so toxic for the Senate GOP that there were doubts they could muster 50 votes needed to pass the broader bill that would provide tens of billions of dollars to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border patrol. President Donald Trump had demanded the package land on his desk by June 1, but GOP lawmakers will now almost certainly miss that deadline.

click here for more

It was just the latest example of the party’s revolt against Trump, whose separate request for $1 billion in US Secret Service funding and East Wing ballroom security also seemed likely to be stripped from the package in part because of GOP opposition. The White House had put a full-court press on lawmakers to push the president’s priorities and even rerouted acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from a planned press conference on fraud in Minnesota to salvage the fund’s chances on Capitol Hill, where Republicans were weighing guardrails to the program. But Blanche met the full force of Republican angst that had been brewing after Trump issued what many saw as an ill-timed endorsement against another one of their own in a critical midterm election year. “I think it’s hard to divorce anything that happens here from what’s happening in the political atmosphere around us. This is a place that operates, and there’s a political component to everything we do around here, so yeah, you can’t disconnect those things,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of Trump’s political retribution tour against Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Cornyn of Texas that had roiled the party in recent days.

How Texas landed SpaceX as company files for largest IPO ever

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the initial public offerings. Gov. Greg Abbott touted his relationship with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and the role of Texas in what is on track to be the largest IPO in history during a May 21 visit to Dallas for the 2026 Texas Bankers Association Annual Convention. The event took place a day after SpaceX's registration statement for its IPO filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission became public. The rocket maker is looking to raise as much as $80 billion or more in its initial public offering, making it the biggest ever in terms of funds raised, according to The Wall Street Journal. SpaceX’s valuation after the IPO is expected to reach $1.5 trillion or more, according to the Journal. "I text with Elon Musk all the time," Abbott said during the fireside chat with TBA CEO Chris Furlow.

click here for more

Abbott described Musk as a case study in how Texas courts major corporations, arguing that the state’s willingness to move quickly and work directly with executives has set it apart from competitors. “[Musk] has an urgent need to get things done very rapidly, and so he realized that the state where he was going to be able to achieve that more than any other state was the state of Texas,” Abbott said. He outlined how Texas wooed Musk and his companies — including SpaceX and electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc. — as part of a broader push to attract businesses from across the country. State officials worked directly with Musk on Tesla’s gigafactory in 2020, Abbott said. Texas officials worked with Musk to streamline permitting and address logistical hurdles, ultimately allowing the company to meet its aggressive timeline, much to chagrin of some of his companies' local neighbors in Bastrop County. The experience, Abbott said, helped demonstrate the state’s ability to execute large-scale projects more quickly than competitors and played a role in Musk’s decision to expand further in Texas.

DNC report on Harris' 2024 loss omits Biden's run, party's Gaza rift

It’s never a good sign when a report comes with a big red disclaimer at the top of each page, but that’s what happened on Thursday when the Democratic National Committee belatedly released its controversial autopsy report on the 2024 election. “This document reflects the views of the author, not the DNC,” the disclaimer said. “The DNC was not provided with the underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many of the assertions contained herein and therefore cannot independently verify the claims presented.” It’s an inauspicious label on a document that has caused so much heartburn. Ken Martin, the DNC chair, originally promised to release the autopsy, then decided to keep it under wraps because he said he didn’t want to cause a distraction ahead of the midterms. After months of handwringing, Martin released the report on Thursday, saying it was only withheld because it was so shoddily done.

click here for more

The report is far from comprehensive, and it avoids some of the most critical factors in the 2024 race. For example, it doesn’t address President Joe Biden’s decision to run for a second term at 81, despite widespread concerns about his age. Biden dropped out after a faltering debate performance, and Harris was quickly anointed to replace him at the top of the ticket. After serving as Biden’s vice president, Harris was viewed in some corners as the natural choice for a new nominee. But the report does not address lingering concerns that the process was rushed or should have been handled in a more deliberative manner. Perhaps most notably, the words “Gaza” and “Israel” do not appear anywhere in the text. Democrats suffered from internal disagreements over the conflict, which sapped enthusiasm for Harris among voters who were upset by the Biden administration’s support for Israel. The report found that the Biden White House did not “position or prepare the vice president” in a way that would allow her to lead a successful campaign.

State Stories

Arrington wants third reconciliation bill by August recess

House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) told us on Fly Out Day this week that a third Republican reconciliation package would be centered around sending more money to the Pentagon. Arrington hopes to mark up a budget resolution in the coming weeks and pass the reconciliation package before the August recess. Arrington said he has no idea how much money the Pentagon needs, but he’s met with Defense Department officials several times over the last few weeks. “We have six legislative weeks, we have about 25 legislative days left,” Arrington told us on Fly Out Day. In addition to defense spending, Arrington said he wants to cut “fraud” and include provisions to make housing and health care more affordable.

click here for more

Of course, fraud is in the eyes of the beholder. Democrats will say Republicans are looking to slash spending from social safety net programs. Arrington sees these cuts as an “80-20” issue in Republicans’ favor. “I don’t know of anything that will motivate and energize voters more right now than the affordability paid for by the war on fraud,” Arrington said. The West Texas Republican is retiring at the end of this Congress. But we asked Arrington two key political questions anyway. First, Arrington said that he understood why President Donald Trump endorsed Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the Texas Senate GOP runoff. “Obviously, John Cornyn is a friend and we [worked] well together over the years. Paxton, I think, has a lot of Trump, Trumpian style, and in that he’s broken conventional political norms,” Arrington replied. Paxton has been accused of various forms of corruption. Also, Arrington said that he plans to run for office again. “You know, God willing, I’ll get another shot at it,” Arrington said. Arrington added: “I’m going to keep that door open … but to be very direct about it, not false humility, I pray God gives me another opportunity to come back in some form, not obviously in Congress.”

San Antonio mayor accuses rival’s chief-of-staff of leaking info about her security detail to KSAT

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has called one of her most vocal City Council opponents’ chief-of-staff an “insider threat” and accused the person of conspiring to leak specifics about her security detail to the press. The allegations, which Jones aired in a Wednesday memo, stem from a KSAT report in October that detailed the unprecedented security detail she demanded after a disgruntled Spurs fan in an online group allegedly threatened her life over her opposition to Project Marvel. Although KSAT disclosed in its reporting that the information came from sources inside the San Antonio Police Department, Jones maintained in her memo that the true source was District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito’s chief of staff, James Branch.

click here for more

Jones’ allegations against Branch are outlined in the memo she addressed to the City of San Antonio Council Aides Corp. Personnel Committee. In the message, the mayor demands the City of San Antonio’s Administrative Directives (ADs), or code of ethics, apply to council aides. “At present, the inapplicability of those [Administrative Directives] to [council staffers] creates the ability for one to escape accountability, which runs contrary to the Code of Conduct we signed committing to ‘fostering a safe and productive work environment,’” Jones wrote. Jones’ office was unavailable for immediate comment on the memo. Following KSAT’s October report, San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus ordered a sweeping investigation into the alleged leak, interviewing 115 officers, according to Jones’ memo. During those inquiries, one SAPD officer disclosed that Branch “had access to the security information,” the memo states.

In test of state abortion laws, Montgomery County prosecutors charge man with illegally inducing abortion

In something of a test of Texas’ abortion laws, a grand jury in Montgomery County has indicted a man for allegedly slipping an abortion-inducing medication to a pregnant woman, resulting in a stillbirth. Jon Rueben Demeter, 25, was arrested in February after allegedly crushing a mifepristone pill, mixing it in a water bottle with electrolyte mix and providing it to a pregnant woman. She then gave birth to a stillborn child at what was estimated to be 14 weeks into pregnancy, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle. During a news conference Wednesday in Montgomery County, livestreamed by Hello Woodlands, District Attorney Mike Holley stated the victim and her family would not be providing a comment but called her "brave and strong and did nothing wrong, except perhaps to be associated with this gentleman."

click here for more

When a Houston Public Media reporter attempted to contact Demeter's attorney, Aaron Holt, a representative for his law firm said they would not provide a comment. On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Demeter on charges of injury to a child and, notably, a criminal count of providing an abortion. Prosecutors indicated the case was a watershed moment, potentially the first time a person has been criminally charged in Texas with providing an abortion. "I would like to say, though, that although the legality of abortion has changed, even within my lifetime, in this country," Holley said, "it has never been lawful for someone to perform an abortion in the manner against the woman and against her consent, of this nature. It has never been the law. It has always been illegal." In 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that abortion law should be decided by the states, Texas' own bans on abortion took effect. Among them was a law passed by the Texas legislature in 2021 which created a criminal penalty for providing an abortion.

Cornyn, Paxton make dueling campaign stops in Houston area during GOP primary runoff for Senate

Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made their final Houston-area campaign swings this week during early voting for their Republican primary runoff election for the U.S. Senate, with Election Day scheduled for next Tuesday, May 26. Both visits followed swiftly on President Donald Trump's endorsement of Paxton over Cornyn on Tuesday. Cornyn told the Houston Association of Realtors on Thursday morning that he remains the Republicans' best chance to beat Austin state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, in November’s general election.

click here for more

"If Ken Paxton, with the incredible baggage that he brings into this election were to somehow end up being the nominee, he could well lose that race to James Talarico," Cornyn said. Cornyn stressed that a Paxton nomination could have consequences well beyond Democrats potentially notching their first statewide victory in Texas since 1994. "The money that would have to be spent here in Texas to salvage a flawed candidate like Ken Paxton has to come from somewhere, and where it would likely come from is other key Senate races around the country, like Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire,” Cornyn said. “It would be hundreds of millions of dollars, and there's still a good chance that he would lose." Cornyn's visit to the Houston area followed Paxton’s by less than a day. Paxton spoke at events in Magnolia and Katy on Wednesday.

North Texas Muslim civil rights group calls for end of anti-Muslim rhetoric after mosque shooting

Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called on Texas politicians to halt anti-Muslim rhetoric, especially in light of a recent deadly shooting at a San Diego mosque. “There’s been a rise in anti-Muslim policies and rhetoric by politicians at the local, state and federal levels using Islam and Muslims as a political football,” Carroll said Thursday. Carroll said the rhetoric is leading the harassment of Muslims in North Texas. Authorities in California said two teenagers opened fire at a mosque Monday, killing three men. The three men are being heralded as heroes for protecting 140 children who were attending school at the campus. Officials have said the perpetrators authored writings expressing hatred toward Muslims and Islam, Jewish people, the LGBTQ community, Black people, women, and both the political left and right, the Associated Press reported.

click here for more

Republican politicians in Texas have increased engagement with anti-Muslim policies and politics. A “Sharia Free” caucus has formed in the Texas statehouse. A similar caucus in Congress was founded by Texas congressional Republicans Chip Roy and Keith Self. Shariah is a moral and spiritual framework of belief that guides many Muslims. In recent years, the term “shariah law” has been used, in particular, by U.S. conservative officials to suggest Muslims are imposing a system of laws on American communities. Carroll said the rhetoric is being used energize the Republican base ahead of the upcoming midterm elections in November. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott designated the council, often referred to as CAIR, as a terrorist organization last year. CAIR has strongly denied and condemned the designation and is suing Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton over the proclamation. In Texas, only about 2% of adults identify as Muslim, according to the PEW Research Religious Landscape Study. In Dallas-Fort Worth, that number is 1%.

In South Texas House runoff, it’s a progressive insurgent versus the establishment

A close and contentious Democratic runoff is coming to a head this week in South Texas, pitting young progressive Julio Salinas, a former legislative staffer who hails from Mission, against moderate Victor “Seby” Haddad, a local banker and McAllen city commissioner. The MAGA wave that washed through the Rio Grande Valley in 2024 has both candidates vying to recapture public trust, fight President Donald Trump’s agenda, and maintain the historically blue Texas House District 41. The 13-year incumbent state Representative Bobby Guerra—a prototypical moderate Valley Democrat—is stepping down, and has given his endorsement to Haddad. In the March primary, progressive voters split between Salinas and Eric Holguín, the Texas director of the Latino civil rights group UnidosUS. Salinas not only ousted Holguín from the race but earned the most votes overall, jolting the political system and putting him just above Haddad. “The fact that he sort of emerged as the front-runner was genuinely surprising, given the sort of disparity in funding and disparity in endorsements,” said Álvaro Corral, a political science professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

click here for more

House District 41 sits in the heart of Hidalgo County and encompasses parts of McAllen, Mission, Edinburg, and Pharr; Trump won the border district, which is predominantly Hispanic, by 1.6 percent in 2024. Though conservative prosecutor Sergio Sanchez and MAGA candidate Gary Groves are also battling for the Republican nomination in a runoff, GOP voter turnout in this historically blue stronghold was notably half that of Democrats in the primary. Given Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdowns and failure to address inflation, Corral believes it’s a good year to run as a progressive Democrat. Salinas’ colorful campaign and strong social media presence are reminiscent of Zohran Mamdani’s insurgent mayoral run—or more close to home, Michelle Vallejo’s prior congressional runs. His platform focuses on improving public transportation, expanding Medicaid, and establishing paid family leave. His plan to strengthen public schools includes rolling back the state’s newly enacted private school vouchers and raising teacher salaries by $15,000. Salinas, who is 26 years old, has embraced the identity of a young anti-establishment candidate going up against corruption and the “political machine,” vowing to fight against the oligarchs on behalf of working families.

Texas attorney general sues San Antonio solar company

After years of mounting complaints about Texas’ once largely unregulated residential solar industry, Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a San Antonio-based solar company over allegedly misleading homeowners about energy savings, tax credits, warranties and financing agreements. The lawsuit against CAM Solar Inc. follows a broader state investigation into rooftop solar companies that the attorney general’s office says was prompted by more than 100 consumer complaints statewide. The allegations mirror findings from a 2024 San Antonio Express-News investigation into the industry that documented widespread reports of defective systems, aggressive sales tactics and homeowners stuck paying long-term loans for systems that failed to work as promised.

click here for more

The series was built on an analysis of more than 1,000 consumer complaints filed with the attorney general’s office. CAM Solar Inc. was involved in an asset sale in September and is no longer in business, according to Tania Garcia, owner of CAM Solar 2.0 LLC. She said she purchased CAM Solar Inc.’s assets — including the company name, the gocamsolar.com website, customer database and phone number — but did not assume liabilities. Garcia’s LinkedIn profile shows she held office management and other roles at CAM Solar Inc. beginning in 2014. The company voluntarily terminated in November, according to state corporate records. CAM Solar 2.0 LLC was formed months earlier, in July. “It’s already become a headache,” Garcia said of calls from media outlets about the lawsuit. “I’m looking at possibly changing the name.” In a statement, Paxton said CAM Solar Inc. employed “fraudulent and deceptive sales tactics.” “Far too many Texans have been misled into purchasing expensive and complex solar systems,” Paxton added. “That ends now. I will aggressively pursue any bad actor in the solar panel industry that attempts to cheat Texans.” As part of its lawsuit, filed Wednesday in state District Court in San Antonio, the attorney general sought an ex parte temporary restraining order — meaning one requested before CAM Solar Inc. could formally respond — arguing there was a risk that company records could be destroyed or made unavailable if the business was alerted in advance. It’s unclear from court records whether a TRO has been granted.

Bigger price tag, smaller footprint: How Austin’s Project Connect went off the rails

Before landing in Austin, Cathy Cocco lived in both New York City and Tokyo, where she enjoyed the convenience of robust public transit. So given the chance, she was happy to cast a vote in 2020 for a state-of-the-art, 20-mile light rail system, running through the heart of Austin all the way to the airport — even though the plan didn’t directly serve her neighborhood in northwest Austin. “You have to vote for what’s good for the city,” Cocco said. Some 242,000 Austinites agreed with her. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Austin voters made a bet on the capital city’s future, indefinitely raising their own city property taxes by 20% to fund Project Connect, a $7.1 billion proposal for an electric, urban rail system along with a bevy of other public transit improvements, including new high-frequency bus routes and expanded shuttle pickup service. Construction was slated to begin in late 2024.

click here for more

Nearly four years after Cocco cast her vote for the rail, she sued the city to stop it. Today, not a single foot of light-rail track has been laid. The total cost of the light rail alone is now $8.2 billion — up from the initial cost of $5.8 billion — but its footprint has been slashed to less than 10 total miles. The new plan no longer reaches Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the number of stops was cut from 26 to 15. At less than half the original proposed length, the light rail now costs almost $840 million per mile, three times more than it did in 2020. Project Connect is now the costliest public transit project per mile in Texas history. It’s also the seventh most expensive light rail project per mile in the U.S., out of 34 compiled by the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University and adjusted for inflation. The massive jumps in cost and shrunken scale left Cocco disenchanted with the project. She and a group of taxpayers sued the city in 2024 to stop it from collecting property taxes to fund the project, arguing that it wasn’t what voters had been promised.

They spent weeks housing the homeless, then police showed up

The officers arrived by 6 a.m. last Thursday, parking their squad cars and white vans on each side of Clarence Street, off Cesar Chavez Boulevard. The Dallas Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team walked into a clearing under Interstate 45 with zip ties looped around their duty belts and radios. They woke about two dozen people who had congregated in tents, then clasped their hands behind their backs. Before sunrise, 23 people were placed under arrest at this South Dallas homeless camp two miles from downtown. Housing Forward, the agency responsible for coordinating the homelessness response in Dallas and Collin counties, didn’t expect the day to begin like this. Thursday, May 14, marked the conclusion of a six-week services blitz that resulted in providing apartments or medical treatment to 47 people who had been living in tents beneath the highway.

click here for more

As part of the encampment’s closure, police were expected to arrive with the city of Dallas’ Emergency Management and Crisis Response team and keep watch as people were instructed to leave the location. Instead, officers got here hours before service providers and immediately placed under arrest all 23 people who were present. “Housing Forward does not support this approach, which merely cycles people between our overcrowded jail and back onto the streets,” read a statement provided by the nonprofit. “Law enforcement is an essential partner in maintaining the vibrancy and safety of our public spaces. But an overly aggressive enforcement response to individuals experiencing homelessness undermines our shared goal of eliminating street sleeping.” For months, about 60 people had taken shelter in tents that extended the distance of roughly three football fields between Al Lipscomb Way and Coombs Street beneath the highway bridge. This site — informally called “Coombs” by police and service providers, named for the nearby street — became the first Dallas homeless camp outside of downtown decommissioned through a new, weekslong approach that paired service organizations, city clean-up crews, and the police department. Housing Forward hoped to build rapport with the people living here by helping them secure vital documents and offering housing or treatment.

Austin ISD needs to pass a budget by the end of June. It still hasn’t released a plan

The Austin Independent School District expects a $181 million deficit in its next budget. But officials still haven’t released a proposal for what cuts will be made. The district originally said it would release a plan for the next budget by Thursday. Now, it won’t be released until June 4, adding to the uncertainty teachers and parents have been feeling for the last few weeks. At Thursday's board meeting, Superintendent Matias Segura said district officials have identified $130 million in potential cuts. He said they pushed the date to share the recommended budget while they work to find close to $50 million in additional cuts.

click here for more

"This isn't an opportunity for me to take things off the list,” Segura said. "There's refinement, there's adjustments, but $180 million is not something that can be covered by going backwards.” Board members have asked the superintendent to reconsider cuts that would impact teachers. Trustee Kathryn Whitley Chu asked if the district has considered any feedback given by the board and questioned the current timeline, raising concerns about the changes that could impact teachers. "It feels like the community and the trustees didn't get to be a part of the planning process,” Whitley Chu said. "We're in a position now where it looks like the administration is planning to move forward with something that the community and the trustees aren't comfortable with.” District officials had previously announced more than 200 positions could be affected by the budget cuts. May 15 was the deadline for principals to meet with potentially impacted staff, but some teachers didn't hear those updates until this week. Some positions would be fully eliminated, others would move from full-time to part-time.

A 222-bed homeless services hub is set to open in Houston in the coming weeks

Just a few blocks from 419 Emancipation Ave. — the site of an upcoming service hub for homeless people in Houston — dozens of people sleep on the streets, including Jerry Wayne Griffin. He said he hasn't had housing for about a year-and-a-half. He described his time on the streets as "hell." "I’ve seen some of my best friends pass away," Griffin said. "I’ve seen people get robbed. I’ve seen people get raped. These streets ain’t for nobody." He said he's looking forward to the service hub, where he hopes to "reconstruct my way of thinking" so he "can be an adult." "I’m going to be the first one at the door," he said. "They’re going to help you with shelter. They're going to help you with a job. They’re going to help you get your life together — and that’s what I want."

click here for more

He won't have to wait long. According to the city's housing department, officials expect to open the facility — which the city purchased last year for $16 million — before mid-June. Through the doors at 419 Emancipation, people will pass a security station and then enter a triage area. "Their care will begin almost immediately because you’ll have professionals engaging them right here," said Houston public safety director Larry Satterwhite. A large cafeteria is flanked by what will be "a busy kitchen," serving three meals to more than 220 people per day, as well as two stories of residential rooms. Seventy-four rooms are ready for occupants. Each one has three beds, a set of lockers and a bathroom. There's space for extra beds, so the capacity could expand from 222 to 320. The building has been used as a shelter for women and children in the past. More recently, it was used as a facility for unaccompanied migrant children. For homeless people, the accommodations are "not what they have right now on the streets," Satterwhite said.

Amid backlash in Texas, progressive justice reform groups go dark in Bexar County DA race

Justice reform groups once spent big electing progressive district attorneys across the nation — including a roughly $1 million campaign to help Democrat Joe Gonzales defeat incumbent Nico LaHood in the primary in 2018. Eight years later, progressive DAs are under intense scrutiny from Texas GOP leaders trying to strip their power, and the groups that helped elect them have largely vanished from the scene. The Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC that spent roughly $3.6 million helping Gonzales and Travis County District Attorney José Garza has been dissolved, according to campaign filings.

click here for more

Meanwhile, the bail reform-focused Texas Organizing Project reemerged briefly in this year’s race to replace the retiring Gonzales, but their candidate Jim Bethke finished last in a field of eight Democratic primary contenders, and the group hasn’t been involved since. Democrats are now down to two candidates in the race to replace Gonzales — both of whom support some nuanced justice reform measures, but have largely relied on personal funds to make their case to voters. Bail reform groups gained unusual access to the office under Gonzales, and neither candidate believes that should continue. Former Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Luz Elena Chapa has gone much further in criticizing Gonzales’ record as DA, earning a nod from the San Antonio Police Officers Association and finishing first in the March primary “We do have a big issue with repeat offenders, especially habitual repeat offenders,” Chapa declared on a debate stage full of progressive Democrats ahead of that race. “We do have a crisis because we haven’t been tough on crime in our community, and we need to make serious changes to improve public safety.”

UT System expands reasons presidents can close academic departments

Presidents of University of Texas System universities can more easily eliminate academic programs and cut faculty positions in “extraordinary” circumstances, after UT System Regents approved a policy change Thursday. Programs should only be closed on an accelerated timeline due to time-sensitive, exceptional circumstances, such as needing to comply with new regulations or laws, the policy states. But a separate change approved Thursday expands the reasons a program can be closed on academic grounds, including for institutional strategy or program quality, as determined by the president. Tenured faculty whose positions are cut within closed programs can no longer appeal those terminations and will only be reassigned to different jobs if there is an “institutional need” for them elsewhere. That decision is up to the university president, who no longer needs to give faculty a reason for declining a reassignment request.

click here for more

Archie Holmes, the UT System’s executive vice chancellor of academic affairs, said the board has been working to update their policies for years. Faculty will still have advance notice, due process and a chance to participate in discussions around program closures before an institution’s president makes a final decision, he said. Holmes must approve closures made under “extraordinary” circumstances. Low enrollment in a program would not make it eligible for an accelerated closure, according to the policy. “It’s really designed to try to streamline the process, in terms of making sure that folks have adequate opportunities to be able to have input, but decisions can be made quickly as necessary by the institution,” Holmes said after the vote. UT System Chairman Kevin Eltife also pitched the changes as a means to improve “efficiency.” But some faculty were concerned the changes will make it easier for universities to fire professors and close departments for political reasons without recourse.

City Stories

Pardoned Jan. 6er Jake Lang threatens Frisco City Council ahead of mosque, temple vote

A notorious Jan. 6 rioter and conservative influencer appeared at the Frisco City Council Tuesday evening, dialing up the heat on what has become a contentious fight over the city’s growing Indian and Muslim communities. Edward “Jake” Lang spent four years in prison awaiting trial for charges related to his role in the 2021 Capitol insurrection; among the charges, Lang was accused of assaulting a law enforcement officer with a baseball bat. Pardoned on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, Lang has spent the last few years circling the country and promoting far-right ideologies and conspiracy theories. Tuesday marked Lang’s latest appearance in North Texas when he spoke against multiple rezoning applications that would allow for two Hindu temples and one mosque to be built in Frisco during the city council’s open microphone period.

click here for more

For months, a contingent of Frisco residents and some outsiders have swarmed the council meetings to decry what they see as an “Indian takeover” affecting the community. Much of the rhetoric has also incorporated an anti-Muslim message. Lang was warned several times by Mayor Jeff Cheney before his comments that he would be removed from the meeting if he did not stop making outbursts. He delivered remarks citing the far-right “great replacement” conspiracy theory that warns a cabal is organizing mass immigration as a means to replace white populations. While debunked, a 2022 AP-NORC poll found that one in three American adults believes “that a group of people is trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.” “You saw the children who were brought up on this stage,” Lang said, referring to children with the Frisco Boys and Girls Club who led the meeting’s pledge of allegiance. Of the six children recognized by Cheney, none appeared to be white. “Not one of [those children] is a heritage American. Not one of them was a Texan. Your replacement is here, Americans, and it is coming faster and faster. The Hindus and the Muslims are teaming up to take over Texans,” Lang yelled during his speech. “They are here to eradicate the Christians.” Lang ended his remarks with a threat, asking the council, “What the fuck is wrong with you, inviting these people into our country? This is a Christian country … you all deserve to be strung.”

National Stories

Trump picked Warsh to cut rates. Markets are bracing for the opposite.

President Trump chose Kevin Warsh to run the Federal Reserve to secure the lower interest rates he has demanded for the past year. A suddenly pressing question is whether Warsh would have political cover to do the opposite and raise them. Warsh is set to be sworn in as the nation’s top central banker at the White House on Friday, the first Fed chair to take the oath there since Alan Greenspan in 1987. It is also his first public appearance with Trump since the president chose him in January after a monthslong public contest. He takes over at a moment fraught with risk. Inflation is rising, long-term bond yields are climbing, and a growing number of investors say the Fed’s next move could be a rate increase—not the cut Trump wanted and Warsh was hired to deliver.

click here for more

The war in Iran, launched a month after Trump chose Warsh for the job as Fed chair, has scrambled the agenda: The conditions that would support cuts, such as falling inflation or a cooling labor market, have moved out of reach. Compounding the problem, the artificial-intelligence boom is looking like an engine of demand and growth, adding to near-term price pressures rather than easing them. In recent weeks, the administration has settled on a way to manage the gap between what Trump wants and what the market will allow. Its argument, advanced this month by Trump’s two most senior economic officials, is that the inflation now keeping rates high is a passing supply shock the Fed can look through—so the cuts Trump wants are still coming, just later. “Nothing is more transient than a supply shock,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC last week, predicting a substantial easing in price pressures after “one or two more hot inflation numbers.”

Stephen Colbert delivers sentimental final monologue: ‘We were here to feel the news with you’

On Thursday, Stephen Colbert, dressed up in a sharp blue suit and tie, stepped before The Late Show audience to deliver his final show. He started the show speaking directly to the audience, both those who were in the audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater and those watching at home. He said he and the crew called the show “The Joy Machine,” because a show of that size must be a machine — but every night, they chose to make it with joy. “On night one of the Colbert Report,” he said, referring to his long-running Comedy Central talk show, “I said, ‘Anyone can read the news to you. I promise to feel the news at you.’ And I realized pretty soon that our job over here was different. We were here to feel the news with you, and I don’t know about you, but I sure have felt it.”

click here for more

After a clip that stitched together moments of historic talk shows that together bid farewell to the host, Colbert launched into his monologue, but was interrupted by several A-list guests — Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, and Tim Meadows — who each stormed out when Colbert admitted they weren’t going to be his final guests. Throughout the monologue itself, Colbert played it straight, like a normal episode of the Late Show — doing a First Draft bit where he joked about starting an OnlyFans account, while taking shots at Dr. Brian Christine, a penile implant specialist who’s in charge of the Hantavirus (“[He] hosted a YouTube series on erectile dysfunction called Erection Connection, also the name of a very popular category on Craigslist”); a scandal over the Catholic Church’s “sexy priest” calendar (“I’m getting word that this is the worst scandal to ever hit the Catholic Church”); and how he’s grateful that he won’t have to cover “the inevitable rise of our machine overlords.” The show marks a sad end to an institution. Last year, in a decision that reverberated across the entertainment world, CBS announced plans to end its late-night talk show, which Colbert had hosted over the past decade. While the network cited financial issues, there was much speculation about political pressure as CBS’ parent company, Paramount, was seeking to complete a merger with Skydance Media that needed government approval at the time.

RFK Jr. announces 'the largest autism fraud bust in American history' and it’s in Minnesota

The Department of Justice said Thursday it has arrested and indicted 15 people in Minnesota for fraud schemes involving $90 million in Medicaid funds. Mehmet Oz, who oversees Medicaid and Medicare, said at a press conference that Minnesota’s government, led by Democratic 2024 vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, had not done enough to prevent it. It’s the latest salvo in a battle between the Trump administration and Walz this year over Medicaid fraud. Medicaid is the state-federal health insurance program for low-income and disabled people. Minnesota was also at the center of Democratic resistance to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Federal agents killed two protesters in the state earlier this year, prompting Democrats in Congress to withhold funding starting in February for the Homeland Security Department.

click here for more

Lawmakers agreed to fund much of the department three weeks ago after a record-long shutdown. Republican lawmakers plan to pass a party-line bill soon providing funds for the department’s immigration unit. In a statement to POLITICO, Walz said people who commit fraud in Minnesota “get caught and go to prison.” James Clark, inspector general at Minnesota’s Department of Human Services, said his department has been cooperating with “career federal and state partners for months to help them build criminal cases” against most of the individuals indicted today. In an emailed statement, Clark said his department stopped payments to some of the businesses connected to today’s charges more than a year ago and has already opened investigations and withheld payment to 11 of the 15 people charged. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who appeared at the press conference alongside Oz and Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, said the arrests were “the largest autism fraud bust in American history.”

As voters prioritize cost of living, focus on abortion evolves in midterm elections

In the last two federal elections since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Democrats have made reproductive rights a key part of their pitch to voters. That messaging dominated the airwaves. During the 2022 and 2024 elections, Democrats in House and Senate races spent more on campaign ads mentioning abortion than on any other issue, according to data from AdImpact. But, in 2026, that focus may be changing. Since January, candidates have spent almost four times less on campaign ads about abortion, compared to the same period in 2024.

click here for more

It underscores a broader shift in attention within the party ahead of the midterm elections this fall, as voters consistently rank cost-of-living concerns as their top issue, raising questions about what an evolving Democratic message on reproductive rights looks like in 2026. Abortion rights advocates acknowledge it's been a challenge to break through on messaging this year, citing a crowded news cycle, but argue that calls to protect reproductive access and care need to be part of the political conversation around affordability. "When you talk about reproductive freedom in the context of the larger crisis in this country around the economy, it resonates," said Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All. "Most voters who care about reproductive freedom also understand the interconnection between the rising cost of health care, the rising costs of child care, the lack of maternal health care in their communities," she added. "And they need to hear about these issues together."

Inside the next phase of OpenAI’s political strategy

The artificial intelligence industry’s push for tech-friendly federal legislation is foundering in Washington. So OpenAI’s top lobbyist and political strategist is pursuing a backup strategy — setting national AI policy by waging a state-by-state campaign. Chris Lehane calls the plan “reverse federalism”: With Capitol Hill deadlocked, the company behind ChatGPT is increasingly spending its time lobbying for state legislatures to pass laws on AI safety that the industry can live with. OpenAI’s quest to shape policies in a “critical mass” of states has already found success in California and New York, he said — with Illinois as its next target. “What we’re basically trying to do here is use a bunch of the big states to come together and mirror each other to de facto create a national standard,” Lehane — a former longtime Democratic political strategist now serving as OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer — said in an exclusive interview with POLITICO.

click here for more

OpenAI’s effort comes after nearly a year in which the tech lobby has pressured Congress to block states from passing AI laws, warning it would create a conflicting “patchwork” of rules. In state capitals, meanwhile, legislators have introduced hundreds of new AI bills and signed dozens into law. Now Lehane is pursuing a deceptively simple play: If you can’t beat the state AI “patchwork,” co-opt it. Lehane said his state-by-state push seeks to cobble together a single national standard to address catastrophic AI risks. Worries about those risks are escalating as OpenAI, Anthropic and other leading tech companies release cutting-edge models capable of fueling destructive cyberattacks. The state laws favored by Lehane and OpenAI are generally more permissive than the ideal set of rules that AI safety advocates support. Centered on a slate of transparency and reporting requirements for developers of advanced AI, they would lock in a stable legal framework for OpenAI while exposing the tech giant to relatively few regulatory teeth and little in the way of new liability for catastrophic harms. The burgeoning effort comes as PACs funded by the AI industry pour millions of dollars into state-level political races across the country.

Court showdown set over Alabama Republicans’ congressional map

A court showdown will unfold Friday to determine the fate of Alabama’s congressional map for the midterms. Alabama Republicans want to restore a map that would remove the state’s second majority-Black district and give the party a potential pickup. Republicans say the restoration should be allowed following the Supreme Court’s recent decision narrowing the Voting Rights Act. A coalition of organizations and Black voters want to keep Republicans’ map blocked. “Plaintiffs undersell the scope of the task they ask this Court to perform on the eve of Alabama’s elections,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s (R) office pushed in court filings. Alabama is one of several states making redistricting moves following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision last month, which narrowed a central plank of the Voting Rights Act that groups have used for decades to force additional majority-minority districts.

click here for more

Alabama Republicans’ design was previously invalidated under the landmark law, and the courts took over redistricting. But in the wake of the high court’s decision, the justices lifted the block in Alabama. That means Alabama Republicans’ 2023 map is technically restored, as of now. On Friday, a three-judge panel in Birmingham, Ala., will hear a request to block it again from the challengers who’ve been fighting in court for years. “The Court should reject Alabama’s heated rhetoric and sweeping assertions in favor of the record and evidence this Court knows all too well,” one group of challengers wrote in court filings. At stake is a potential GOP pickup opportunity. Republicans want to redraw the Black-majority district currently held by Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.) “I’m not so sure it’s going to go through. I haven’t looked at it that much,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told reporters earlier this week. “It’s all back in the courts and we’ll let them handle it the way they see fit. They’re like the referees at the football game. They’re the ones who are supposed to keep it fair,” he added.

Republicans call off vote on Iran war resolution that was on the verge of passing

Republicans struggled Thursday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June. The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in Trump’s military campaign. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders declined to hold a vote on it. It was the latest sign of the slipping support in Congress for a war that Trump launched more than two months ago without congressional approval. “We had the votes without question and they knew it, and as a result they’re playing a political game,” said Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, who sponsored the bill.

click here for more

Republicans in the Senate are also working to ensure they have the votes to dismiss another war powers resolution that advanced to a final vote earlier this week, when four GOP senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote. The actions by congressional leaders showed Republicans are struggling to maintain political backing for Trump’s handling of the war. Rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly willing to defy the president over the conflict. House Republican Leader Steve Scalise told reporters that the vote was delayed to give lawmakers who were absent a chance to vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson did not answer questions from reporters as he exited the House chamber. On Capitol Hill, patience with the war has worn thin as the stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global shipping and elevates gas prices in the U.S. Another House war powers resolution nearly passed last week, falling on a tie vote as three Republicans voted in favor. Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he had the votes “locked in” this time around.

Trump champions bid to nix clock changes by adopting permanent daylight saving time

President Donald Trump is championing the prospect of putting the kibosh on twice-annual clock changes by making daylight saving time permanent. A bill to make daylight saving time permanent has been folded into a larger measure that the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced in a 48-1 vote on Thursday. "Big Vote today (48-1!) in the Energy and Commerce Committee on a Bill including The Sunshine Protection Act, which will be making Daylight Saving Time Permanent! This is so important in that Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year by people, Cities, and States, being forced to change their Clocks. Many of these Clocks are located in Towers, and the cost of renting, or using, Heavy Equipment to do this twice a year is prohibitive!" Trump wrote in a Thursday Truth Social post.

click here for more

"It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice yearly production. It will also be a very nice WIN for the Republican Party. Take it! We are going with the far more popular alternative, Saving Daylight, which gives you a longer, brighter Day — And who can be against that — This is an easy one!" the president declared. Rep. Vern Buchanan's, R-Fla., office noted in a Thursday press release that "The Sunshine Protection Act was included as a provision within an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (AINS) to the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which was marked up and sent to the House floor by the House Energy and Commerce Committee today." The push is actually bipartisan. "The legislation has 32 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, and Senate companion legislation (S. 29) introduced by Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has 18 bipartisan cosponsors," Buchanan's release noted. The proposal would not compel a state that is not observing daylight saving time to start observing it. In a Truth Social post last year, Trump called for Congress to address the issue.

Copyright May 22, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved