The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 30, 2025

Episode Date: September 30, 2025

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Howdy, folks. Today is Tuesday, September 30th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the federal government is on route to a shutdown after midnight in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, as Congress struggles to reach an agreement on what items will be included in the funding. deal, all the while pointing fingers at their political opponents. The funding deadline, when federal agencies run out of their store of allocated taxpayer dollars, is 11.59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 30th, 2025. Wednesday, October 1st, may usher in the first government shutdown in seven years, although Congress has teetered at such a brink frequently since then.

Republican members have a self-described clean continuing resolution which would fund the government until November 21st. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September, but is lacking the necessary support in the Senate to get it across the finish line. Next, Texas will cease issuing commercial driver's licenses or CDLs to certain non-citizens in America, following a federal audit that found the state to be in, quote, systematic noncompliance with protocol for issuing non-domiciled CDLs. CDLs are required for operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of over 26,000 pounds, or which were designed to carry 16 passengers or more, or any vehicles transporting hazardous materials requiring placarding, such as semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, buses, or dump trucks. An emergency rule change

was issued on Friday by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, citing, quote, a troubling series of fatal crashes caused by non-domiciled CDL holders, end quote, and calling for reform to the nation's processes for issuing such licenses to non-citizens. In other news, a suspected gunman is in custody after a shooting at Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass that killed two and injured five on Saturday night. Among the two individuals killed was Mark Antley, a retired U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent, who was recognized in a social media post by Eagle Pass Mayor Aaron Valdez on Sunday. The other fatality was a resident from Dimmett County,

as confirmed by Dimmett County Judge Martha Alicia Gomez-Ponce via a Facebook post on Sunday. Also, at least four Texas teachers have been fired over controversial social media comments about the assassination of leading conservative media figure Charlie Kirk. Klein Independent School District was the first to fire teacher and coach Derek Woods on September 12th, two days after the incident. State Representative Steve Toth posted screenshots of Wood's comments on social media, which read, quote, I don't know why anyone is sad, a horrible effing human, end quote, and quote, you reap what you sow, end quote. The district released a statement regarding an employee's termination, saying that the comments did not

reflect Klein ISD's values. It was reported that the district's executive director of of communications Justin Elbert, said that Woods was sent to HR upon arrival at school the following day and then immediately terminated. In addition, while Texas U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz support moving the space shuttle discovery from its current home in Virginia to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, some Democratic senators oppose such a plan. In a letter to U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins and Vice Chair Patty Murray on September 23rd, U.S. Senators Mark Kelly, Tim Cain, Mark Werner, and Dick Durbin urged the committee to, quote, include language in the final fiscal year 26 spending measures to pause any efforts,

end quote, to relocate the space shuttle. In July, the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment by U.S. Representative Joe Morelli to the fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related agencies Appropriations Act that would prohibit funds for the Smithsonian to move the space shuttle. Last but not least, a citizen redistricting committee has chosen potential new electoral maps for Fort Bend County, with the top proposals keeping two safe seats for Democrats on the commissioner's court while giving Republicans an edge in the two others. While Democrats currently wield an electoral advantage in three of the four commissioner precincts under the current boundaries, on Monday evening, a 10-member citizens redistricting advisory committee cast the most votes for a proposal

that favors Republicans in Precinct 1 by 60% and Precinct 3 by 53%. The committee based the partisan analysis on election results from 2020 through 2024. Precinct 2 favors Democrats by 68% and precinct 4 by 58%. All four precincts would be racially minority majority. Thanks for listening. To Support the Texan, please be sure to visit the texan. News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.