The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 30, 2025

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

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Howdy folks, today is Monday, June 30th and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauschus and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, a third opening in the Texas Senate solidified on Monday when State Senator Brian Birdwell announced his retirement, declining to run for re-election next year. Birdwell wrote, quote, Today I inform you of my decision not to seek re-election for another term as your state senator. It has been the high honor of my life on par

with commanding United States soldiers to serve my fellow Texans for over 15 years. Birdwell was first elected to the seat in a 2010 special election and has maintained the seat without much of a competitive challenge ever since. While an army staffer, Birdwell was in the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001, when the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Defense Department building. While badly burned, he survived and was rescued from the blaze.

His Senate District 22 covers all or parts of 17 different counties spanning from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex down to Waco and over to Cisco. SD-22 is rated R66% by the Texans-Texas Partisan Index. Next, the United Methodist Church can move forward with its lawsuit against Southern Methodist University after the Supreme Court of Texas issued its ruling in the church's favor on Friday. The lawsuit originated in 2019 after the SMU governing board moved to change the university bylaws,

attempting to terminate the long-standing relationship between the church and university as the lawsuit describes it. The split was due in part to a disagreement over LGBT issues after the United Methodist Church approved its traditional plan in February 2019, which affirmed the ban on ordaining LGBT clergy and officiating same-sex marriages. SMU President R. Gerald Turner wrote in February 2019, before the suit was filed, that SMU is, quote, distinct from the Church and would, quote, "...continue to operate under the university's separate bylaws and policies,

including our non-discrimination statement, as approved by the Board of Trustees. A lawsuit was filed by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church, arguing that it, quote, seeks to preserve a 100-year relationship that it or its predecessors have held with SMU. In other news, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it will create designated defense areas along the U.S. southern border to bolster border security. The U.S. Air Force released details about the National Defense Area, or NDA, directive, explaining it will manage a 250-mile stretch of land along the Rio Grande River in Cameron and Hidalgo counties,

and work alongside another DoD installation, Joint Base San Antonio. Other responsibilities at the NDA will be handled by members of the Joint Task Force Southern Border in coordination with U.S. Northern Command to construct border enforcement duties such as, quote, temporarily detaining trespassers until they are transferred to the appropriate law enforcement authorities and the quote installation of temporary barriers and signage to secure the area. On May 1st, the Air Force press release mentions an additional Texas zone was established that will stretch approximately 63 non-contiguous miles connecting El Paso and Fort Hancock and will serve as an extension of Fort

Bliss. Also, legislation requiring that high school students be informed of all adoption-related resources available in Texas is now law after passage during the 89th regular legislative session and being signed by Governor Greg Abbott. Authored by Senator Phil King and carried by Representative Terry Leo Wilson in the lower chamber, Senate Bill 1207 aims to present students with an alternative solution for teen pregnancy by informing them of the quote, benefits of adoption and the different kinds of adoption available, end quote, as Leo Wilson described it to the Texan. The curriculum outlined by SB 1207 will be incorporated into the state's existing Parenting and Paternity Awareness, or PAPA, program, run by the Texas Office of the Attorney General.

Last but not least, two Dallas area residents were sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl. The two pleaded guilty last October and were sentenced on June 26. Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson said the fentanyl was valued at more than $600,000. The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration participated in the investigation, along with several other local law enforcement agencies. 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.