The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 3, 2024

Episode Date: May 3, 2024

Show off your Lone Star spirit with a free "Remember the Alamo" hat with an annual subscription to The Texan: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/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? Be sure to visit The Texan and subscribe for complete access to our in-depth articles, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review!

Howdy folks, today is Friday, May 3rd, 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. To start, on Friday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Justice announced indictments against Congressman Henry Cuellar and his wife on bribery, foreign influence, and money laundering charges. Cuellar issued a statement earlier today denying the allegations. According to the DOJ, he, quote, allegedly accepted $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities in exchange for official acts as a member of Congress. Second, the Austin City Council has passed a resolution to make it a, quote, lowest priority

to enforce any state laws or regulations that impose penalties on transgender or non-binary individuals for seeking gender modification. The resolution does not specify an age range, but does add, quote, a majority of U.S. adults agree that transgender minors should have access to gender-affirming care. The resolution to protect the health, welfare, and safety of transgender residents was passed by a vote of 10-1, with Councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly as the sole no vote. Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately issued a statement following the city council vote stating that the resolution is no more than an empty political statement and that his office would consider every possible response to ensure compliance.

Up next, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Monday from a lawyer representing a group of West Texas A&M University students who were denied their request to host a banned on-campus drag show. The West Texas A&M student group, Spectrum WT, originally scheduled a drag show to take place on March 31, 2023, to raise money for a non-profit focusing on transgender suicide prevention. In response, all drag shows were banned by the university's president Walter Wendler, who issued an online statement on March 21, 2023, that read, Drag shows are derisive, divisive, and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression then filed a lawsuit against Wendler, requesting a preliminary injunction. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kaksmarik denied the request. FIRE filed an emergency application on March 4, 2024, asking the Supreme Court of the United States to overrule the university's ban. SCOTUS denied the application on March 15. In other news, under Texas and federal law, the recreational use of marijuana is still illegal, but recent reports could change the classification of cannabis at the same time as localities attempt to pass their own ordinances to decriminalize the drug. Currently, the Drug

Enforcement Administration classifies marijuana as a Scheduled 1 controlled substance, which is defined as, quote, drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The DEA has reportedly made moves in the past week to reclassify marijuana. The Associated Press confirmed that the DEA will need the White House Office of Management and Budget to review the proposal before the DEA takes public comment on the reclassification move. Also, Texas Land Commissioner Don Buckingham announced on Thursday that the Alamo Cenotaph is now owned by the Texas General Land Office. This landmark decision was determined at the San Antonio City Council meeting on Thursday morning, bringing an end to a years-long saga. In 2020, the city of San Antonio requested to have the Cenotaph moved and restored as a cornerstone step in the Alamo Project, due to the structure allegedly suffering from

corrosion and awkwardly standing out with its anachronistic look. The Texas Historical Commission voted against the proposition. Finally, from the moment State Senator John Whitmire announced his candidacy for Houston Mayor at an Uptown Hotel in late 2022, local politicians began jockeying for a chance to replace the longtime state senator. And this month, voters will have not one but two chances to weigh in who will now represent the urban-suburban district in the state's most populous city. Earlier this week, early voting wrapped up in a special election to fill Whitmire's unexpired term in Senate District 15 between activist and political organizer Molly Cook and Texas State Representative Jarvis Johnson.

Although the Texas legislature is not in session this year, lawmakers will continue to meet throughout 2024 to take up interim charges and hold hearings on a wide array of legislative issues. But regardless of the outcome of the special election that concludes on Saturday, voters will have a second chance to vote in a primary runoff election that begins just over two weeks later on May 20th. Thanks for listening. Be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.