All posts tagged "texas"

Red state declares massive disaster as flesh-eating parasite arrives after Trump cuts

A red state governor declared a disaster in hundreds of counties as the spread of a flesh-eating parasite poses an "imminent threat," according to local reporting.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced "a state of disaster" for all 254 Texas counties as New World Screwworm threatens the state's wildlife and livestock industry, according to Texas political reporter Brandon Waltens.

For the first time in decades, screwworm was found in U.S. cattle livestock earlier this week. The parasite is mostly a threat to cattle and beef prices, not humans, according to national reporting.

However, Gov. Abbott's declaration warned that the parasite could lead to "widespread and severe property damage" across the state.

Critics have pointed to cuts made under the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, which reduced the USDA's workforce by roughly 15 percent — around 15,000 employees — and terminated a USAID screwworm monitoring project.

Red state official rips Trump admin's slow response to flesh-eating parasite invasion

A red state official ripped the Trump administration for how it mishandled a dangerous parasite now spreading fear.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said on CNN that he started talking to the White House and Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins "for the first time" recently about New World Screwworm, despite giving them information about how to mitigate it much sooner.

Miller was talking about killing the screwworm using fly bait and then sterile flies, and said that the Agriculture Department ignored his calls to deploy it sooner.

"At the USDA, they knew about it. It's not some trial. It's not some pilot program," Miller said. "They launched it, used it, I think six to eight different times. And it worked perfectly every time they used it in the '70s and '80s."

Screwworm can spread "pretty fast," Miller warned. The flesh-eating parasite is mostly a threat to cattle and the price of beef, CNN previously noted. The first U.S. livestock case in decades was detected on Wednesday, according to CNN reporting.

MAGA Senate candidate's messy divorce takes an unexpected turn: report

A GOP Senate candidate's divorce took a recent, unexpected turn as he squares off for a critical midterm race.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's divorce trial with his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, was canceled by a state district judge, according to reporting by The Hill.

In a statement to The Hill, Ken Paxton's attorneys explained, "the parties have made substantial progress towards an amicable resolution of all issues and remain engaged in productive discussions," adding that each side "jointly agreed that a trial setting is no longer necessary."

Ken Paxton is the Trump-endorsed candidate who beat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and will face off against state Rep. James Talarico in November.

Angela Paxton announced the divorce last year in a social media post, saying the split is happening for "biblical" reasons. Meanwhile, Ken Paxton said last year that he and his wife "decided to start a new chapter in our lives."

The divorce has provided fodder for Democrats against his character. Collin County Judge Lindsey Wynne canceled the divorce trial on the heels of Ken Paxton's resounding victory against Cornyn.

Ken Paxton's attorney said that "a final agreement will be reached in the near future," but his wife's lawyers didn't immediately respond to The Hill for comment.

'Something happening' in Texas as furious GOP voter says she will 'turncoat' against party

Texas Republicans have to deal with more than just being stuck with scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton as they hope to hang onto a US Senate seat sought by Democratic rising star James Talarico.

According to a report from MS NOW’s Josh Einiger, there is a massive groundswell of anger aimed at AI data centers and voters are blaming the Republican Party for turning a blind eye to their concerns.

As one Republican voter put it, she didn’t care if the Senate flipped to the Democrats because she feels betrayed.

After speaking with multiple Republican voters in Burlington, Texas, Einiger told host Chris Jansing, “They feel taken for granted and left behind by the very people they elected to represent them, whether it's at the local level, the state level, or in the White House. Of course, you know, this is an area where people are very conservative, Christian conservatives, and they blame the president, their governor, for creating a world where a lot of these AI data centers are able to come in there.”

“There's not a lot of regulation,” he elaborated. “These are unincorporated parts of central Texas. And, you know, these large tech companies come in there, they're able to negotiate tax incentives, tax abatements. They spend less in tax than they would perhaps otherwise. And in exchange, people are getting higher, you know, electricity rates because the point of these facilities is they just they just swallow up so much power because what they're doing is they have just millions of computers. They have to keep them cool. Cooling them takes power — it takes water. And so just the natural resources. And it's really, really upsetting a lot of the people who live nearby.”

Conservative voter Rena Schroeder told him, “Conservative Republicans feel like they're not being heard anymore. That was a big voice that I heard through the whole campaign. They're not being heard by Republican candidates and officials, elected officials. I'm very disappointed and I'm hurt, and I do not like to be lied to.”

Self-identified GOP voter Linda Polley agreed and added, “I'm just heartbroken. I mean, I am absolutely heartbroken. The public is now seeing through the illusion. They are now realizing that left and right has been nothing more than to keep us divided.”

GOP voter Cheryl Shadden was even more vehement when asked if she is going to vote for Democrat Talarico.

“Oh, absolutely. I will turncoat and vote for any Democrat that is championing the cause of the community,” she snapped.

Einiger told host Jansing, “Fascinating, right? And I asked that woman, I asked her in a different way. I said, so, you know, this is obviously the Senate race. It's a race [for a seat] been held by Republicans in 1993. You know, Ken Paxton just won the nomination. And and James Talarico is the Democrat in the race. And I said to her, I said, if you vote for Talarico and you want this Texas seat to flip to blue — that means you're willing to flip the Senate to the Democrats. And you have all these issues that you're conservative on that you believe in, you've been voting on for your whole life. You're willing to let them all, leave them all behind. She said ‘yes.’”

“And she knows a lot of people who feel the same way,” he added. “So look, Chris, this is anecdotal. This is a small number of people, it's not scientific, but there's something happening on the ground in this very ruby red area of a red state that is definitely worth watching.”

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ICE agent arrested in Texas for shooting migrant and lying about it: report

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been arrested in Texas on charges related to his actions during President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

ICE agent Christian Castro was apprehended Friday by law enforcement officials from both states after the Hennepin County attorney’s office charged him with four counts of second-degree assault this month and another charge of filing a false police report, reported The New York Times.

The 52-year-old federal agent is accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant on Jan. 14 and lying about it.

Castro scuffled with migrant Alfredo Aljorna during an arrest attempt following a car chase, according to court documents, and prosecutors said he fired into the man's house after he broke loose and ran inside.

The gunshot wounded Aljorna's roommate Julio C. Sosa-Celis in the leg, but the officer told police after violent protests erupted in response to the shooting that three men had bludgeoned him with a shovel and broom, and he claimed to have fired his gun in fear for his life.

However, prosecutors reviewed police surveillance video that showed Castro was lying about the incident, and investigators dropped charges against Aljorna and Sosa-Celis.

Trump slip-up reveals he's willing to drag GOP down in latest 'delusion': columnist

President Donald Trump blurted out an "extraordinary quote" this week that was a stunning admission, a political columnist said on Thursday.

In a new episode of "The Daily Blast" podcast from The New Republic, Greg Sargent described why Trump's statement during the Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday — "I don't care about the midterms" — was so revealing, especially as the Republican Party has started to signal panic about the fall elections.

"In discussing what just happened in Texas, where the MAGA extremist will now be the GOP nominee in the Senate race, Trump accidentally revealed that he’s still under the delusion that he and MAGA are popular," Sargent said.

"Meanwhile, three different indicators in the polling contain terrible news for Trump and the GOP. And new reports say that Republicans are growing more alarmed about the midterms. Some of them are plainly afraid to say so. So how much longer can they stand by while Trump drags them down?"

Sargent described what Trump might actually think, despite fears among GOP leaders.

"I think this is quite literally true," Sargent said. "He doesn’t care what happens to Republicans, really. He really doesn’t give a s---. And it’s also true that Trump’s war is absolutely tanking their chances."

Sargent's guest on the podcast, The New Republic contributing editor Felipe De La Hoz, viewed Trump's comments as equivalent to throwing his allies under the bus.

"I think it could be interpreted as him saying that this is an indication of the strength of his brand, which I think is mistaken," De La Hoz said.

"We saw something similar play out in 2018 and 2022 with his MAGA candidates winning primaries and then getting slaughtered in the general," De La Hoz added.

Trump's endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to challenge longtime Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn might have left him feeling more confident after Paxton's victory in the runoff in Texas on Tuesday. But it also gives Democrats a path to potentially flip the deep red state's Senate seat blue with candidate Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), which De La Hoz argued could be possible.

"I think in my lifetime — presuming that we maintain the same sort of electoral political system — I think that it’s entirely conceivable, and I would say even likely, that at some stage a Democrat will win a statewide race in Texas, just given the demographics, given what we’ve seen," De La Hoz said. "I don’t know if it’ll be Talarico, but it could be. I don’t think that this is a crazy pie-in-the-sky idea."

But it won't be easy for Democrats, Sargent argued.

"It’s going to be a big lift for Talarico to get there," Sargent said.

"It’s not impossible though. And even if he loses, he’s probably going to end up forcing Republicans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to save Texas, which could impact the rest of the map. Just want to clarify though — Talarico could win. It’s possible, just very hard," Sargent added.

Trump's latest bet is 'poor decision' that may unravel GOP's Senate majority: analyst

President Donald Trump's decision to endorse Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas primary runoff could help Democrats secure a win in the red state with James Talarico and show how "the president weakened his hold over the GOP," an analyst reported on Wednesday.

Salon's Amanda Marcotte described how Trump's move could backfire on him as he tries to complete his pricey ballroom project and as outrage rises over his $1.8 billion slush fund. Now, longtime Republicans like Cornyn, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who have been pushed out by Trump-backed candidates, could ultimately impact Trump's policies.

"Cornyn now joins a group of sitting Republican senators dubbed the 'YOLO caucus,' because they are leaving at the end of this year and so they no longer have to worry about angering Trump," Marcotte wrote. "Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his primary race in Louisiana earlier this month after Trump deemed him 'disloyal' for his vote to impeach after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Like Cornyn, Cassidy has been a rubber stamp for Trump’s agenda this term, even providing the decisive vote in favor of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but the famously narcissistic president didn’t care."

And other Republicans have plans to exit. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) "is retiring after being abused by Trump for years for occasional votes against his agenda," as former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) "who protected Trump through two impeachment trials" and "many high-profile conflicts," Marcotte wrote.

"Trump’s inadvertent creation of a YOLO (You Only Live Once) caucus is looking to be a poor decision on his part," Marcotte explained. "Free from having to placate the infamous bully in chief, these Republicans are causing far more problems for him than they ever did when they were trying to stay in his good graces. They are trying to derail his slush fund, attacking and helping push out members of his Cabinet, and it looks like they may even kill the ballroom funding. With only 53 senators in the caucus, adding one more Republican to the list of people who are angry at Trump could make it very hard for the president to will a majority on anything he wants to do, especially if it’s already unpopular."

These outgoing GOP lawmakers have nothing left to lose. And as Marcotte described, they are now "visibly outraged."

"What’s more certain is that Trump did himself no favors by destroying Cornyn’s career over a grudge that is over five years old," Marcotte added. "The move signaled to Republicans the futility of bending over backwards to help Trump, which is all Cornyn has done since then. Trump is destroying their personal hold on power, and that the one thing members of his party can’t abide. Even Republicans have their limits."

'You can just smell the fear!' CNN analyst comes unglued at GOP pundit over Paxton's win

A CNN analyst laughed off attacks on a Texas Democrat's chances of winning a Senate seat.

Pundit Paul Begala sniffed the air as CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings listed off the problems with Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), who will challenge Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for a Senate seat in November.

"You know what I'm smelling, Scott?" Begala said, as Jennings blasted Talarico's views on transgender identity, theology, and eating meat.

Jennings's attack on Talarico's chances in Texas irked Begala, who became stirred in his seat. Begala could smell "fear, panic, your stinking panic," he told Jennings.

"You guys fear this guy," Begala said about Talarico. "He's more popular than Trump in Texas, brother!"

Jennings demanded of Begala, "Can you explain his position?"

"You know what I'm not for?" Begala said. "I'm not for $6.89 hamburgers, okay? James actually eats beef, but he can afford to. Most Texans can't anymore."

Begala accused Paxton of becoming "a millionaire" despite having "a government salary."

"How does that happen?" Begala demanded. "He can afford a hamburger. This is what it's going to be about. You want it to be about woke. I want it to be about broke."

Jennings tried to ask Begala, "Are you a normal person?"

Begala repeated, "I can smell the fear," while waving his hands in the air as if to soak in the aroma.

GOP lawmaker delivers a brutal snub of her Trump-backed ex-husband: report

Even though a Texas GOP candidate has the president's support, he doesn't have an official endorsement from his wife, according to a new report.

Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, a Republican, shared her list of endorsements on Tuesday, and her husband, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, noticeably did not make the cut, according to reporting by The Hill.

Trump backed Ken Paxton for the GOP primary, favoring him over Sen. John Cornyn just a week before the election. GOP lawmakers have shaken their heads and rebuffed the endorsement, which caught them off guard.

According to The Hill, Angela Paxton "remained neutral" in the Texas GOP Senate primary and didn't endorse Cornyn either. However, she did announce her support for Mayes Middleton, a state senator who's running to replace her husband as the Texas AG.

Meanwhile, The Hill noted that the Paxtons' marriage is "estranged," as Angela Paxton filed for divorce from Ken last year, citing "biblical grounds."

“I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” Angela Paxton wrote on X. “But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.”

James Carville calls for 'aggressive party-switching operation' to crack the solid South

Democratic political strategist James Carville said that now is the time for Democrats to launch an "aggressive party-switching operation" that could crack the solidly Republican South.

"I'm calling for a new Democratic Southern strategy," Carville said on the latest episode of his Politicon podcast. "Southern Democrats, particularly in places like Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, probably Texas, should go after party switchers."

Carville said the latest polling numbers he had seen estimate that between 15 and 20 percent of Republicans oppose Trump, and about 95 percent of Democrats do.

Democrats should have an easy sales pitch because "20 percent of Republicans in the deep south are Republicans of convenience. They don't seem really into it that much," Carville said.

"You go find a highly competent DA ... pick out a guy or her or whatever, and say, 'Look, if you're in the Republican Party, you're never going to have a chance to get anything,'" Carville laid out. "'You'll be lucky if you get to run for state registrar of lands after you're sixty years old.'"

Once Democrats spell out the doom facing them in the GOP, Carville said that they should offer to build around these potential ex-Republicans.

He said Democrats should tell them, "'You come in now, we're going to give you the keys to the car. You're going to have a base vote of 45 percent. You're going to be able to rebuild it in your name. We're going to raise money for you."

Democrats can promise to "give you a lot more than Republicans can give you right now," Carville said. "We got to start doing what they did back in the '70s, '80s, and we need to start going after party switchers."

He's already hearing from "a lot of people" who "will tell me, even Republicans in Louisiana, 'I don't like this sh—, James. If I don't run as a Republican, I'm doomed,'" Carville said. "Well, start changing that part."