The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 28, 2024

Episode Date: June 28, 2024

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Howdy folks, today is Friday, June 28th, 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, following the Thursday CNN presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Texas Congressman Chip Roy said he plans to bring forward a resolution to call on Vice President Kamala Harris to use her authority to enact procedures for Biden's removal. Roy wrote on social media, quote, of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution permits the Vice President and either the Cabinet or another body established by Congress to jointly determine that the President is, quote, unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Next, the

Supreme Court of the United States overruled a 40-year-old legal precedent known as Chevron Deference that empowered federal agencies by deferring to the agency's opinion on what their own regulation or rule implementing a statute says, as opposed to subjecting the statute and rule to direct judicial interpretation. Critics of the 1984 decision Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., argue it gave tremendous power to federal bureaucracies by immunizing their regulations from judicial review. The release of the decision prompted a quick reaction from a Permian Basin lawmaker, Congressman August Pfluger, who revealed his plans in a statement to the Texan to file legislation that will provide the public

with clarity from Congress regarding the thousands of federal regulations that relied on Chevron deference. In other news, the Supreme Court of Texas has reversed and vacated a lower court opinion regarding the state's child gender modification ban. Lowe v. Texas, whose plaintiffs include the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Transgender Law Center, was seeking to include the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Transgender Law Center, was seeking to block the implementation of Senate Bill 14, which bans gender modification treatments and procedures for Texans under 18 years of age. The 8-to-1 decision was delivered by Justice Rebecca Huddle, who wrote, "...we conclude the legislature made a permissible, rational policy choice to limit the types

of available medical procedures for children, particularly in light of the relative nascency of both gender dysphoria and its various modes of treatment, and the legislature's express constitutional authority to regulate the practice of medicine." Also, "...the arrest of two Venezuelan nationals for the murder of a 12-year-old Houston girl has reignited a national debate over border security and immigration, but has also drawn attention to Texas' criminal justice policies and prompted vows from state leaders to again attempt to reform state bail laws. Earlier this week, Harris County District Court Judge Josh Hill set bail for Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, age 22, and Franklin Jose Peñaramos, age 26, at $10 million each after the two were charged in the strangulation death of Jocelyn Nunguri. Following Nunguri's funeral Thursday afternoon, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick took to social media with a vow to pass new legislation

named after the young girl. In addition, Congressman Chip Roy has issued a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in response to the Department of Justice indicting a whistleblower who revealed child gender modification treatments were being provided at Texas Children's Hospital. Eton Haim is facing four felony counts of violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, after U.S. Marshals visited Haim's home. Haim wrote on social media that, quote, three heavily armed agents arrived at his door Tuesday morning to tell him he had been indicted for, quote, blowing the whistle about the largest children's hospital

in the world lying to the public about their transgender program. Last but not least, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza announced this week that 79 cases involving criminal trespass that occurred during pro-Palestine protests on the University of Texas at Austin campus would be dismissed. Garza explained that her office spent 90 hours evaluating the cases and determined that they, quote, cannot meet our legal burden to prove these 79 criminal trespass cases beyond a reasonable doubt. Garza added, I may not always agree with law enforcement tactics. They are important partners who we work with dually to ensure the safety of this community.

Just as they make discretionary decisions every day on whether to make an arrest or not, we make discretionary decisions every day on whether to proceed with prosecution. 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.