The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 21, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, January 21st, 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, one of the first acts of President Donald Trump's second term in the White House amid a flurry of executive orders was to declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump said during his inaugural address, quote, all illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. He also said that previous strategies under his first administration, such as remain in Mexico, will be reinstated and catch and release will be ended. Trump added, quote, and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our

Starting point is 00:00:57 country. When a president declares a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, they gain access to special powers from over 100 statutory provisions to address a crisis. The declaration must specify the emergency powers being invoked, be published in the Federal Register, and transmitted to Congress, with annual renewals required to extend it beyond one year. Next, Trump issued and signed an executive order declaring all cartels and other gangs, including the Venezuelan gang Trende Aragua, or TDA, as foreign terrorist organizations. This comes among a plethora of immigration and border security-related orders issued hours after taking his presidential oath of office. Alongside the White House's written declaration of a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Trump

Starting point is 00:01:50 administration wrote of the cartels and gangs such as TDA, quote, their campaigns of violence and terror in the United States and internationally are extraordinarily violent, vicious, and similarly threaten the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere. Within two weeks of this executive order, the Secretary of State shall take all appropriate action coordinating with other federal agencies to determine other potential cartels or gangs that ought to be added to the list of foreign terrorist organizations. In other news, many of Trump's executive orders pertain to federal agencies and diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, policies. An order titled Ending Radical

Starting point is 00:02:32 and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing will eliminate DEI and related programs across the federal government. It mandates a comprehensive review and termination of DEI-related offices, positions, and policies, requiring federal agencies to reassess employment practices, contracts, and grants to ensure alignment with principles of skills, performance, and hard work. The order also establishes oversight mechanisms, including monthly reports to the president to monitor compliance, evaluate the impact of these changes, and recommend further actions to reinforce the policy. The order will also direct the termination of DEI positions related to environmental justice offices and

Starting point is 00:03:17 all equity action plans. Also, Trump has issued a handful of executive orders related to American energy, one of which is titled Declaring a National Energy Emergency. leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy sources, including but not limited to, on federal lands, tasks the Environmental Protection Agency head to approve emergency waivers for the 365-day sale of gasoline anywhere its supply is currently limited, expedites the permitting, construction, and completion of energy infrastructure projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline that have received previous approval, restricts the application of the Endangered Species Act in areas deemed to be unnecessarily burdening energy-related projects, and creates an Endangered Species Act committee tasked with reviewing designations under the law. Last but not least, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District,

Starting point is 00:04:27 the state's third largest, has adopted a new policy that will require school staff to notify parents if a student requests accommodations related to gender dysphoria. Approved in a five-to-one vote last Thursday, the Parent Rights and Responsibilities Policy states that parents have a right to information

Starting point is 00:04:45 about their children and that, quote, parents have the ultimate responsibility and role to guide the beliefs and protect the health and well-being of their children. Accordingly, except in cases of suspected abuse, district staff must notify the parent if a student requests the use of a different name or use of pronouns that differ from the student's biological sex. CFISD Board President Scott Henry said the policy reaffirmed parental rights already enshrined in the Texas Education Code. 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 21, 2025

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