The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 6, 2025

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

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Howdy, y'all. Today is Monday, January 6th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Media and Marketing Manager, Maslin Jordan, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, President-elect Donald Trump's 2024 Electoral College victory has been certified by the 119th Congress. Trump defeated Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in November. He won the electoral college vote 312 to 226, and also won the popular vote over Harris by a margin of 1.5 percent. Harris, who as vice president also serves as the president of the Senate, presided over the process of certification. Congress passed new rules for how the process took place, including that the vice president's role is, quote, limited to

performing solely ministerial duties and that the president of the Senate shall have no power to solely determine, accept, reject, or otherwise adjudicate or resolve disputes over the proper certificate of assertion of appointment of electors, the validity of electors, or the votes Next, President Joe Biden issued a directive prohibiting new offshore oil and gas drilling on more than 670 million acres of federally owned land on Monday, just a couple of weeks before President-elect Donald Trump retakes the White House. Per a memorandum, Biden's action withdrew Oceanic and Gulf of Mexico acreage from consideration for leasing by fossil fuel drilling companies. It adds at the bottom, quote, nothing in this withdrawal affects rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas, end quote. This isn't the first time Biden has issued such a directive.

When he first took office in 2021, among his initial directives was to ban new drilling leases on all federal land. The order bounced around in court, but was eventually nixed. Included in the directive is the entire eastern coast of the continental U.S., the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico, the western coast of the U.S., running from California up to Washington, and remaining acreage in Alaska not already exempted. It is not clear how far the directive extends in the Gulf of Mexico, but it is unlikely to touch Texas-adjacent waters. In other news, an attempted lawsuit against an officer with the Houston Police Department, as well as the city of Houston itself, was dismissed

on appeal before the Supreme Court of Texas, in which the justices agreed the city and the officer enjoyed protection from liability under Texas law. The incident began when the officer, Richard Correll, was assisting in an HPD prosecuting sting operation when a red Mercedes-Benz pulled up and solicited an undercover HPD officer. Correll and his partner attempted to stop the car, which took off, leading to a chase that lasted just under 10 minutes. During the chase, officers learned that the car was stolen. Knowing the suspect had now committed multiple felonies and a misdemeanor, they continued their pursuit. The record shows that the suspect drove in an extremely dangerous

and erratic fashion. The officers took several precautions to ensure their pursuit was as safe as possible by running their lights and sirens and keeping a safe distance from the suspect. It was when the officers attempted to navigate a turn that the car hit a curb and then crashed into the back of the plaintiff's truck. Also, Canyon Independent School District has reversed course on an earlier move that removed, quote, the full text of the Bible, end quote, from school library shelves. Superintendent Daryl Fleshy, back in December, wrote in an email that because of Texas House Bill 900, otherwise known as the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources, or READER Act, the, quote,

standard for library content prohibits books that have one instance of sexual content. Therefore, HB 900 doesn't allow numerous books, including the full text of the Bible, to be available in the school library, end quote. The email sparked a reaction from HB 900 author, Representative Jared Patterson, who released a statement to clarify that, quote, the Bible and other religious texts are protected under HB 900, end quote. Last but, quote, the Bible and other religious texts are protected under HB 900, end quote. Last but not least, the search for new Dallas City Manager is reaching its conclusion. The three finalists were announced on January 3rd by Mayor Pro Tempore Tenell Atkins, who heads the Ad Hoc Committee for Administrative Affairs, William Johnson, Mario Lara, and Kimberly Tolbert.

Quote, each finalist brings exceptional qualifications, diverse experience, and a commitment to public service, end quote, the press statement said. 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.