The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 31, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Friday, May 31st, 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, former President Donald Trump has been found guilty by a New York jury in The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump on all 34 felony counts. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on 34 felony counts of first-degree falsifying business records. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. The charges against Trump in New York are related to alleged payments made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to buy the silence when combined, New York law restricts the sentence for this category of crime to a maximum of 20 years. Trump could also face fines, restitution, probation, or other conditions. Next, a majority of the 2025 Republican House caucus opposes Democratic committee chairs and effectively Will Not Support Another Term for Speaker Dade Phelan,

Starting point is 00:01:28 the group said in a letter released on Friday. The brief letter and joint statement reads, In a collective effort to respond to Republican voters and reform the Texas House, we will only vote for a candidate for Speaker pursuant to the platform and the caucus bylaws, who will only appoint Republicans as committee chairs. 46 current or presumptive members signed the letter, including 23 members who voted for Phelan's speakership last year. Phelan already faces two opponents for Speaker, State Representatives Tom Oliverson and Shelby Slauson, the latter

Starting point is 00:02:03 having jumped in on Thursday, both of whom signed this latest letter. Also, the Supreme Court of Texas has issued an opinion in a long-debated case involving the constitutionality of when abortion is permitted in the case of a life-threatening physical condition. Zorowski v. State of Texas was filed in March 2023 after a group of women claimed that Texas pro-life laws have, quote, caused and threatened to cause irreparable injury. The Center for Reproductive Rights, representing the group of physicians and women who claim they faced severe pregnancy complications, sought to stop the enforcement of Texas laws restricting abortion. They argued these laws should allow doctors to

Starting point is 00:02:45 perform abortions for unsafe pregnancies or when the unborn child is unlikely to survive after birth. The Center for Reproductive Rights claimed that without this interpretation, the laws violate the Texas Constitution's due course and equal protection provisions. In other news, although the race has not yet been officially called, Molly Cook seems poised to narrowly win the Democratic nomination to represent the Texas Senate District 15 seat vacated by John Whitmire when he was elected mayor of Houston last November. According to unofficial election results posted by Harris County, Cook has won 50.2% of the vote over her opponent, State Representative Jarvis Johnson, holding on to a slim 74-vote lead in the Democratic primary runoff election

Starting point is 00:03:33 for the Houston-area Senate District. Cook defeated Johnson in a special election to fill Whitmire's unexpired term earlier this month, taking 57% of the just over 16,000 votes cast, but also had to win the Democratic primary election to continue to represent the district beginning in 2025. Next up, a bipartisan group of Texas senators has authorized subpoenas to multiple big tech companies in an effort to investigate their role in election interference. Alphabet, Google's parent company, Meta, TikTok, and X were all listed in the subpoena document that was approved unanimously in the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs on Wednesday.

Starting point is 00:04:15 The subpoena will compel individuals from those tech companies to appear before the committee to testify and produce documents. Last but not least, in the continuing effort to pass an ordinance declaring Amarillo a sanctuary city for the unborn, a citizen petition containing the requisite number of citizen signatures was submitted to the Amarillo City Council on Tuesday, May 28. The council must take action on the item within 30 days. Dozens of speakers gave their opinions of the ordinance, both favorable

Starting point is 00:04:46 and unfavorable. Mayor Cole Stanley asked members of the petition-initiating committee if they were open to any amendments of the proposed ordinance that might garner the support of a majority of the city council members. Stanley indicated his doubt that the ordinance as presented would pass the city council, instead requiring a citizen election in November to be adopted. 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.

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 31, 2024

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