The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 30, 2026

Episode Date: June 30, 2026

The Texan’s Daily Rundown brings you a quick recap of the latest stories in Texas politics so you can stay informed with news you can trust.Want more resources? Visit The Texan for complete access to our in-depth articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to follow us and leave a review!

Well, howdy folks. Today is Tuesday, June 30th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texan senior editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the Texas Democratic Party's 2026 state convention took place in Corpus Christi over the weekend, with delegates from across the state gathering to hear from elected officials from Texas and around the country as they head into the November general election. The Democrats, just weeks after Republicans met for their own state convention in Houston. Keynote speakers included Governor's J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders. Attendees also heard from state elected officials,

including state representatives Gene Wu, John Busey, Mihaila Plesa, and Johnson and Vicki Goodwin, who is running for lieutenant governor in November. State senators Carol Alvarado and Nathan Johnson, the latter of whom is the party's nominee for Attorney General, also spoke. Visit the Texan. News to read the top lines from the convention. Next, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously on Tuesday that states may prohibit biological males from competing in women's sports in public schools at no risk to their Title IX funding. However, three justices partially dissented, arguing that due to unresolved questions surrounding transgender male to female person's

athletic advantages over biological women, the constitutionality of the laws should not yet have been determined. The ruling addressed two consolidated cases, Little v. Hecox and West Virginia versus BPJ. Title IX was passed in 1972 to prohibit sex discrimination and education programs and activities that receive federal funding. Both cases were brought forward by biological males seeking to compete in their respective states on girls' sports teams, but were hindered by state legislation prohibiting them from participating in female athletic competitions. In other news, SCOTUS issued a six to three decision to uphold birthright citizenship, going against a January 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump that placed limits

on birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens and so-called anchor babies. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, quote, all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. Trump's executive order states, however, that the 14th Amendment has, quote, always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States, but not subject to the jurisdiction thereof. Trump became the first U.S. president to attend oral arguments before the Supreme Court in April. On June 30th, justices John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney-Barritt, Katanji

Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh ruled against the executive order. Justice's Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito dissented. Also, Governor Greg Abbott announced the state of Texas submission of required documents in order to pursue federal reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over border security. The anticipated reimbursement will cover, quote, costs incurred by the state of Texas to secure the border, end quote, according to a press release from Abbott's office. The governor stated that the state spent more than $10 billion of taxpayer money in order to close the, quote, dangerous gaps created by the Biden administration's refusal to close the border. Texas Operation Lone Star, launched by Abbott in 2021, has served as the state's border

security enforcement apparatus. Its state admission is to combat the smuggling of both people and drugs across the Texas-Mexico border. Last but not least, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that police use of cell phone location data to solve crimes constitutes a search and therefore requires a warrant under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, with implications for Americans' expectations of privacy in relation to technology. The six to three decision regards an armed robbery at a bank in Midlothian, Virginia, after which police served Google with a geofenced warrant that required Google to scan through the location data of 500 million users. In writing the majority opinion released Monday, Justice Elena Kagan noted that, quote, whatever the form of

an attempted incursion, the Fourth Amendment protects Americans long-held conviction that no government official should have free access to the most closely kept aspects of their lives. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the texan. News to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.