The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 16, 2026

Episode Date: September 16, 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 Wednesday, September 16th, 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, Texas Land Commissioner Don Buckingham announced on Tuesday a new effort to begin production of geothermal energy, natural gas, and small modular nuclear reactors on Texas public lands, of which her office administers over 13 million acres. In a press release shared exclusively with the Texan, Buckingham said that, quote, Texas built its economy by putting our natural resources to work,

and we cannot afford to stop innovation now. Visit the Texan.News to read the Texan's interview with Buckingham about the general land office's new initiative. Next, a social media post by a down-ballot Republican candidate it is testing the Texas GOP's effort to maintain unity in an already challenging election cycle. Beau French, this year's Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commission, posted a picture on September 13th of the University of Texas at Austin students section during its Saturday football game against Ohio State University, in which most of the students in the foreground appeared to be

of Indian descent. French wrote in the caption, quote, I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined, end quote. French defeated outgoing Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright for the Republican nomination after the March primary election went into a razor-thin runoff. Officials including U.S. Senator John Cornyn, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burroughs, and several Texas House representatives have criticized French for the Post, while others, like State Representative Andy Hopper have come to his defense on social media. In other news, the absence of a particular gaming platform at a Texas House committee hearing, whose content simulating the Robb Elementary

School shooting in Yuvalde sparked a new interim charge, was repeatedly highlighted by lawmakers studying the issue of children's safety online. The Roblox Corporation was repeatedly criticized for its failure to attend a Texas House State Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday, as as the topic at hand dealt with a game that was discovered on its platform simulating the shooting, House Speaker Burroughs issued a supplemental interim charge for lawmakers to analyze before the 90th legislative session, titled Protecting Miners on Gaming Platforms in late April. In a statement shared with the Texan on Tuesday afternoon, a Roblox spokesperson responded to an inquiry about their absence from the hearing,

saying they have, quote, a robust multi-layered safety system and share, quote, Texas lawmakers' deep commitment to keeping kids safe online. Burroughs pointedly addressed Roblox in an ex-post the morning of the hearing, saying they refused to testify and that, quote, one must assume it's because what is happening on their platform is indefensible. Also, a new development in the Big Bend border construction conflict unfolded on Monday when the group conserve Big Bend and a group of regional landowners filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. A group of plaintiffs, coalition members, and others stood side by side in front of Marfa's Presidio County Courthouse holding signs that read Landowners Against Border Wall as a press conference

played out in the county seat. The lawsuit, filed on September 14th, focuses on the government's determination that a specified area of the Big Bend region is a high illegal entry zone and therefore or subject to the administration's border construction efforts. Plaintiffs claim the high illegal entry determination is, quote, legally and factually unsound and unsupported, end quote, also arguing that DHS's own data reflects these claims. Last but not least, a federal appeals court has ruled that U.S. District Court Judge Jeff Brown of the Southern District of Texas abused the discretion of the court

when he denied a jury trial to a property owner who sued Texas City for demolished. his house without proper notice. In an opinion issued earlier this month, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals also throughout Brown's determination that homeowner Michael Ramirez was only entitled to $1 in nominal damages for the destruction of his house. But the court's ruling hinged on the right to a jury trial guaranteed in the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ramirez's clash with Texas City began after a fire in April 2022 damaged the home he bought for $90,000, which he planned to renovate and resell for an estimated $230,000. After the fire, the city labeled the building a clear and immediate danger and later demolished his home on May 9th, 2023, more than one year after the fire.

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