The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 20, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Monday, January 20th, 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. First up, in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to President Donald Trump to become the 47th President of the United States. Trump said after taking the oath, quote, The golden age of America begins. Vice President J.D. Vance also took his oath of office, which was administered by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Trump won the Electoral College vote 312 to 226, and also won the popular vote over former Vice President Kamala Harris by a margin of 1.5%. Next, Trump praised Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton in a speech immediately following his inauguration ceremony, telling Abbott he is going to have a partner that's going to work with him now on securing the southern border. Trump said in a speech following the presidential inauguration ceremony to an overflow audience, quote, he's done a good job, the governor of Texas. Trump spoke to Abbott, who was in the crowd, saying, quote, now you're going to have a partner that's going to work with you, because not only did he not have a partner, he had people selling you a wall. Trump then spoke about former President Joe Biden's administration's attempt to sell off border wall materials.

Starting point is 00:01:30 In other news, security actions along the southern border have already ramped up in the hour after President Trump's inauguration, with ports of entry being shut down and immigration appointments canceled. According to an El Paso Fox News affiliate, the port of entry in El Paso was quote, temporarily closed, end quote, on the day of the inauguration. The words, crossing beyond this point will result in arrest, prosecution, and possible application of force, can be heard from the loudspeakers. In addition to the closed port of entry in El Paso, Customs and Border Protection has shut down the use of the CBP-1 smartphone application used to schedule immigration appointments. Also, State Senator

Starting point is 00:02:11 Angela Paxton introduced two bills related to the protection of sexual abuse victims, one focused on increased confidentiality during litigation for cases involving sexual abuse evidence, and the other with measures to ensure confidentiality disclosures cannot be used to silence childhood sexual abuse victims. Senate Bill 835 defines the enforceability related to, quote, certain non-disclosure or confidentiality provisions with respect to an act of sexual abuse committed against a child. The bill states that any confidentiality agreements, including employee non-disclosure agreements, are void in cases where it would limit the party's ability to notify a local or state law enforcement agency of any act of sexual abuse victims from being used to, quote, investigate or prosecute a misdemeanor offense or an offense alleged to have been committed by the victim from whom the evidence was collected. The bill clarifies that no such evidence may be made

Starting point is 00:03:15 available to the public, including a visual image or a recording made as part of the examination. On top of that, the city of Fort Worth has spent $40 million less than was budgeted for fiscal year 2024, according to a presentation by retiring City Manager David Cook during a City Council work session on January 14th. Cook discussed a number of different financial topics during his presentation, including revenue and tax collection projects, spending projections, the condition of the overall fund balance, unassigned money in the general fund, and future bond debt availability. The city missed its tax collection projections in its two largest funding sources. The property tax projections were off as

Starting point is 00:03:56 the city collected $6 million less than projections indicated, and sales tax projections were also off because the city collected $12 million less than projected. As a whole, the total revenue projection was high as the city collected $11 million less than was expected. Last but not least, in the latest episode of Smoke-Filled Room, the Texans' senior editor Mackenzie DeLulo and senior reporter Brad Johnson break down the top players, behind-the-scenes deals, and political drama that shape the contest for the most powerful position in the Texans' house. Visit thetexan.news or wherever you get podcasts to listen now.

Starting point is 00:04:36 Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please 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 - January 20, 2025

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