The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 28, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, January 28th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Managing Editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in a special election runoff to fill the seat in Texas Senate District 9, after former state senator Kelly Hancock left to become the acting Texas comptroller of public accounts. Election Day is Saturday, January 31st. Democrat Taylor Remit garnered the most votes in November in the three-way race but did not get a majority, leading to a runoff with Republican-lay Wamsgans. Wamsgans battled another Republican, John Huffman, in the November race for the GOP vote. The seat leans Republican with a Texas partisan index score of R-60%. Next, Governor Greg Abbott is demanding the Texas Office of the Attorney General use existing

Starting point is 00:01:01 tools to strip the Council on American Islamic Relations or CARE of its non-profit status and eliminate the organization's ability to operate in Texas. On November 18th, Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CARE as foreign terrorist organizations. In a January 28th letter to the OAG, Abbott said Care presents a facade in press releases, using its non-profit status as a, quote, shield for sponsoring terror, advancing radical Islamism in Texas or fronting for the Muslim Brotherhood. Abbott detailed how President Donald Trump has acted to combat threats posed by groups supporting terror by issuing an executive order, quote, beginning the process to designate and deprive Muslim Brotherhood chapters of resources and thereby

Starting point is 00:01:49 end any threat they pose to United States nationals or the national security of the United States. In other news, the state of Texas is suing an out-of-state nurse practitioner for allegedly providing chemical abortion pills to women in the state via telemedicine company Her Safe Harbor. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against defendant Deborah Lynch, Delaware Community Care LLC, and Her Safe Harbor in a Jefferson County District Court on the basis that Lynch was, quote, knowingly and willfully violating Texas law, end quote, by distributing abortion-inducing drugs to Texans. Paxton describes within court documents that, among other statutes, Lynch has potentially breached the Human Life Protection Act, the near total ban on abortions in the state, with exceptions for cases when a medical professional deems an abortion medically necessary to save the mother's life.

Starting point is 00:02:43 Also, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has closed an investigation and rescinded the Biden administration's finding that the Texas General Land Office used racial discrimination in the distribution of Hurricane Harvey recovery funds. HUD's secretary Scott Turner said in a statement to the Texan, quote, President Trump is ending weaponization of the federal government against the American people. He continued, quote, But the Biden administration politicized enforcement of federal civil rights law and deprived rural communities of essential disaster mitigation funds. This was an affront to all Americans. At HUD, we have a duty to provide all communities, whether urban, rural, or tribal, with timely support in times of need. I am proud to remedy a grievous wrong against the great people of Texas." End quote.

Starting point is 00:03:31 In 2021, GLO's scoring metric, approved by HUD, for $1 billion in HUD Community Development Block Grant mitigation funds, resulted in distributions within the southeastern Texas area, including several cities within Harris County, but no direct awards for the city of Houston and Harris County itself. Last but not least, according to the American redistricting project, Texas is forecasted, to have four seats added to its congressional delegation in the 2030 reapportionment. Between 2010 and 2020, Texas added four million residents and two congressional seats. By comparison, California is projected to lose four seats in the 2030 apportionment. The data reflects findings by the U.S. Census Bureau reported on January 27 that U.S. population

Starting point is 00:04:19 growth has slowed this past year due to a, quote, historic decline in net international migration. The population data was mentioned between July 24 and July 2025, with a delay in published results due to the government shutdown late last year. The general population grew by 0.5% in the last year, following an uptick in 24 in which it grew by 1%. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the texan.News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 28, 2026

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