The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 19, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Friday, April 19th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. Following a historic action by the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Senate dismissed the charges on Wednesday, saying they did not meet the standard for impeachment set by the Constitution. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was able to get both articles rejected. The first was voted down as unconstitutional along party lines by a vote of 51 to 48 and the second 51 to 49. Schumer said on the Senate floor on Thursday that this was, quote, a policy dispute, frankly, to help Donald Trump on the campaign trail.

Starting point is 00:00:52 Following the vote, Schumer said to reporters that, quote, as suspected, the Republicans proved this afternoon that this whole impeachment was nothing more than a political show. Both Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn voted against rejecting both articles of impeachment. The U.S. Senate race in Texas is shaping up to be an expensive bout between Cruz and Congressman Colin Allred, with both candidates posting high fundraising totals and the challenger burning through most of his hall. Both candidates announced close to $10 million raised in the April quarterly report last week. The two touted the fact that their contributions came from every, or in Allred's case, almost every, county in Texas.

Starting point is 00:01:32 The pair's average donations were both around $35. Cruz reported $15.1 million cash on hand at the end of this period, which includes monies raised into the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Texas GOP itemized for his race, to Allred's $10.5 million left on hand. Cruz's number is $2.7 million more than he raised in the first two quarters of 2018 combined. Allred's haul exceeded 2018 candidate Beto O'Rourke's first quarter number by close to $3 million. Both Cruz and Allred have raised around half of their money in 2024 from within Texas, with big money figures and organizations on both sides of this fight salivating for another high-profile clash. The latest poll on the race

Starting point is 00:02:17 from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation, which pegged Allred down five points to Cruz, showed the challenger with a plus 24 net favorability rating to Cruz's plus 3. However, Allred's undecided total was 40 points, showing that there are loads of movable voters who could go either way on him. Cruz's undecided number was 1%. The city of Kerrville is being sued in federal district court by two residents who say a new ordinance violates their First Amendment rights to be civically engaged, alleging it serves as an incumbent protection scheme designed to make grassroots challenges more difficult. The city said the ordinance is to prevent, quote, petty annoyances, unquote, and preserve the ability of neighborhoods to enjoy quiet and privacy. It passed on March 12th in a four-to-1 vote, with Councilmember Roman Garcia as the lone vote against it, citing concerns that it would violate First Amendment rights.

Starting point is 00:03:10 The litigants say the ordinance requires those interested in electioneering to obtain a permit from the city, which requires them to submit an application, pay a fee, be fingerprinted, and undergo a background check. It also allows the city manager to revoke a permit, and the decision will not be appealable. Mandiant, a company that specializes in cyber defense and threat intelligence, has released a report detailing suspicions that a Russian hacking team was responsible for a cyber attack that caused a Texas water tank to overflow. The overflow incident in Muleshoe occurred on January 18th, and the alleged hack was discovered in a system malfunction of the facility. The city of Muleshoe occurred on January 18th, and the alleged hack was discovered in a system malfunction of the facility. The city of Muleshoe water facility went offline and reported the incident to the off-site software vendor, who said other cities were experiencing similar issues. Mandiant's report asserts that the Russian government-sponsored hacking group Sandworm is likely behind the attack. They describe the group as, quote, a uniquely dynamic threat

Starting point is 00:04:05 actor that is actively engaged in the full spectrum of cyber espionage, attack, and influence operations. Sandworm, also known as APT-44, has carried out activities for the GRU, the Russian Military Intelligence Service. APT-44 is also alleged by Mandiant to be employing a, quote, aggressive use of network attack capabilities across political and military context during Russia's conflict with Ukraine. Thanks for listening. Be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 19, 2024

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