The Great 2021 Texas Thaw Out Continues
Texans are still shaking in their cowboy boots and thawing out after that historic and crippling winter storm that exposed the state’s lacking electrical grid.
Now, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) has announced seven priority bills to help fix the state’s ailing electric infrastructure. READ MORE
NO MAS AMIGOS!
President Joe Biden’s illegal immigration agenda is about to blow up in his administration's face as the thousands of immigrants are expected to amass and try to cross over the border with Mexico in the coming days and weeks.
When President Biden stopped the construction of former President Trump’s border security wall, it galvanized Texas legislators to file legislation to ensure the wall gets completed. Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton has done just that. READ MORE
“Texas Senators Vote Against Coronavirus Relief Bill” by Texas Politics’ Isabel Webb Carey – After a lengthy debate session, the Senate approved the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill which will head to the House on Tuesday. Both Texas Senators voted against the measure, calling it a waste. The senate bill includes a $300 per week boost to unemployment benefits through September, rental assistance, COVID-19 vaccination funds and direct payments of up to $1,400. President Joe Biden has pledged to get aid to Americans as early as this month. The number of people receiving direct payments in the Senate bill was, however, capped for individuals receiving $80,000 and joint filers with $160,000 in income. The $300 jobless benefit supplement was also reduced in the Senate from the $400 initially proposed by the House. The bill was passed in the evenly split Senate without Republican any votes through the budget reconciliation process which expedited procedures and reduced votes required to a simple majority. The legislation is not expected to attract Republican support from House Republicans. Both Texas senators joined their Republican colleagues in voting against the measure.
“Texas House Unveils Priority Electricity Reforms” by Texas Politics’ Isabel Webb Carey – In response to the devastating winter storm that hit the state last month, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (TX-R) announced seven priority bills after last week’s hearings that examined the collapse of the electric infrastructure. “I am proud the Texas House is leading the charge in protecting consumers, fortifying our grid, and creating clear lines of communication and authority during extreme weather events,” stated Speaker Phelan in a press release. “We must take accountability, close critical gaps in our system, and prevent these breakdowns from ever happening again.” Phelan’s legislative proposals were outlined in a press release and are set to include: ERCOT reform, consumer protection and facilities hardening, a statewide disaster alert system, improved response coordination, ‘weatherizing’ natural gas infrastructure, defending ratepayers and protecting homeowner rights. The House Speaker had previously called for a review of what led millions of Texans to lose their power amid last month’s winter storm. “We must cut through the finger-pointing and hear directly from stakeholders about the factors that contributed to generation staying down at a time when families needed it most, what our state can do to correct these issues, and what steps regulators and grid operators are taking to safeguard our electric grid.”
“Gov. Abbott Announces Bill Prohibiting Social Media from ‘Censoring Texans’” by Texas Politics’ Isabel Webb Carey – Gov. Greg Abbott (TX-R) joined Senator Bryan Hughes (TX-R) in a news conference today in Tyler, Texas to discuss Senate Bill 12 which would “prohibit social media companies from censoring Texans based on the viewpoints they express.” Since the November elections, there has been a rising wave of frustration among conservatives towards social media companies. The events of Jan 6 and subsequent social media bans on individuals who attempted to cast doubt on the 2020 presidential election exacerbated tensions. Free speech on social media has since been listed as a legislative priority for many prominent Republicans. “They are common carriers and they cannot discriminate against people…it’s a violation of the first amendment,” Hughes said. “This is going to protect Texas’ free speech and get them back online.” “Too many social media sites silence conservative speech and ideas and trample free speech,” Abbott wrote on Twitter Thursday night. “It’s un-American, Un-Texan, & soon to be illegal.” Senate State Affairs Committee Chair Hughes is sponsoring the bill after filing a similar piece of legislation in 2019 that was blocked by the state House. This recent bill would prohibit social media companies — including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — from blocking, banning, demonetizing or otherwise discriminating against a user based on their viewpoint or their location within Texas.
“Bryan Slaton Files Bill to Finish Trump’s Border Wall” by Texas Politics’ Isabel Webb Carey – Rep. Bryan Slaton (TX-R) filed legislation on Thursday directing the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to finish former President Trump’s border wall project. Built with the intent to curb immigration at the southern border, the border wall was a signature policy of President Trump who made strict immigration policies a cornerstone of his administration. On January 5, Chad Wolf, then acting DHS secretary, announced the completion of 450 miles. Soon after taking office, President Biden halted the construction and ordered a review of its contracts and funding in one of the first executive orders aimed at reversing the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. Slaton’s bill demands the wall’s completion using a “border security enhancement fund” and includes a requirement that Gov. Greg Abbott seeks reimbursement from the federal government for construction costs. The legislation also requires that the wall be memorialized as the “President Donald J. Trump Wall.” The East Texas Republican contended that President Biden should not stop Texans from finishing what the last administration started. “President Trump fought to bring real border security and was opposed by Republicans and Democrats in congress. While hundreds of miles of new wall were built under his leadership, the Biden administration has already ceased border wall construction,” Slaton commented in a press statement. “It is time for Texas to stand up and finish the work that President Trump started. Let’s finish building the border wall now.”
“Ted Cruz A Favorite For The 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination” by Texas Politics’ Javier Manjarres – One of President Donald Trump’s political pollsters, Tony Fabrizio, has conducted a poll of potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates, and the overwhelming choice for president is President Trump,. The poll of 1,264 national Republicans surveyed shows that Trump is still king of the GOP. CPAC Poll Q: If the Republican primary or caucus for president was held today in your state, for whom would you vote for? Trump got 51 percent of the vote and in the second came candidate “Undecided” with 12 percent. The rest of the field as you see is in single digits. When asked if Trump wasn’t on the ballot, who would they vote for. Former Vice President Mike Pence topped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, but not by much. Sen. Cruz is walking tall in his Lucchese boots, and not his Cancun sandals. Again, without Trump on the ballot, and among Trump supporters only, the three men are neck-and-neck, with Gov. DeSantis and VP Pence tied with 22 percent of the vote. Sen. Cruz is lurking just behind them.
“NRA Moving to Texas. Welcome To The ‘Great State of Texas’” by Texas Politics’ Javier Manjarres – Shortly after the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed the ominous H.R. 1 election bill that would dramatically overhaul national election laws, the National Rifle Association (NRA) announced that they were leaving New York State and “reincorporating” in the “great state of Texas.” In a video released by the NRA about the move, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) joined Reps. Jim Jordan (R) and Burgess Owens (R), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, in welcoming the 5 million-strong gun rights organization to the Lone Star state. “Welcome to Texas,” said Sen. Cruz. “We are thrilled to have the great NRA coming to the great state of Texas” In response to Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s H.R. 1 election bill, NRA member and Texas GOP Chairman Allen West told Texas Politics that Texas would disavow and challenge the legislation if it got through the U.S. Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden. “Texans will respond the same as we did on October 2, 1835 in the town of Gonzales…”Come and Take It,” stated Chairman West. Last week, West stated that Texas would not lay down and surrender its state’s rights to the “progressive socialists of the Democrat Party” and would “invoke the 10th Amendment and constitutional nullification.”
“Democrats Respond to Abbott’s Decision to Reopen the State” by Texas Politics’ Isabel Webb Carey – Following the announcement of Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to fully reopen the state in coming days, including a rescinding of its mask mandate, prominent legislators across Texas have spoken out against the state governor. “It is now time to open Texas 100%,” Abbott said earlier this week. “People and businesses don’t need the state telling them how to operate.” Texas Democrat Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa called Abbott’s announcement as “extraordinarily dangerous” and saying they “will kill Texans.” Beto O’Rourke, former presidential candidate and potential Abbott challenger in 2022, echoed Hinojosa’s dismay. “Abbott is killing the people of Texas,” he said, describing the repeal as “a death warrant for Texans.” Democrats have accused the governor of attempting to mollify his Republican base. “He wants to get himself in position to be competitive in the Republican primary,” stated Hinojosa. “The only way you can do that is if you take extreme measures along the lines of what Allen West and the far right of the Republican Party has been demanding he do in Texas.” Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-D) joined his colleagues, noting that the announcement was coming in the wake of the devastating winter storm crisis: “This decision is reckless and dangerous and a desperate distraction from the Governor’s dereliction of duty during the power outages.”
“George Floyd Justice in Policing Act Passes the House” by Texas Politics’ Isabel Webb Carey – The US House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act for the second time on Wednesday which would ban chokeholds and “qualified immunity” for law enforcement and create national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability. The legislation comes nine after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police which triggered waves of protests across the nation. Lawmakers voted to approve the measure through a party line vote of 220-212. As Chair of the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Committee of the House Judiciary Committee, Texas representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D) presented the Act to the House Rules Committee on Monday. Yesterday, Jackson Lee hosted the Floyd family from Houston for the debate and vote. “This George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a crucial overhaul of community-police relationships,” Jackson Lee said. “It will reinforce justice and fairness for all parties involved, and families will get justice, and we will be able to have an American police community that will be a living example of their oath to protect and serve.” The House had passed an earlier version of the bill last year, but was blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate. Senate Democrats currently hold a slim majority in the Senate and have the support of the White House, but would require the support of at least 10 Republican senators to overcome a filibuster and pass the measure.
“House Democrats Pass Massive Partisan Election Reform Bill” by Texas Politics’ Mona Salama – The House on Wednesday evening passed a sweeping ethics and massive partisan elections reform bill designed to fit their partisan agenda by seeking to dramatically overhaul the nation’s election law that counters Republican efforts aimed at strengthening election integrity that was weakened during the 2020 election amid the pandemic. The bill, H.R. 1, passed 220 to 210 with one Democrat joining all Republican House members in voting against it. However, it is likely to hit a roadblock in the Senate with the majority of Republican Senators opposing the measure, thus it is unlikely for the upper chamber to obtain the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. House Democrats passed a nearly identical bill, led by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD), shortly after they seized back control of the lower chamber in 2019. But the House bill never came up for a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate. Prior to the vote. Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) tweeted his opposition to the bill, calling it a “Democratic power grab disguised as election reform that would change elections in America forever.” “Ballot trafficking, universal mail-in voting, no voter ID, and taxpayer funds for political campaigns,” said Rep. Arrington. ” They take us for fools.” Dubbed “For the People Act,” it is considered the first of multiple federal voting bills House Democrats plan to bring up for a vote ahead of the once-a-decade process to redraw legislative districts that will shape which party controls Congress. The 791-page bill aims to impose a slew of new national requirements, including mandate same-day voter registration on Election Day, expand early and mail-in voting by allowing one to vote two weeks early ahead of Election Day, restore voting rights to former felons and prevent states from cleaning their voter roll database.
“House Democrats Pass Defund Police Bill, Gooden The Lone Republican Vote” by Texas Politics’ Javier Manjarres – As expected, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. The vote came down along party lines, with Texas Rep. Lance Gooden (R) being the only Republican to vote in favor of the measure anti-police measure. Rep. Gooden, who says he “accidentally” pressed the wrong button, can expect to be primary challenged in 2022 for backing a bill that former President Donald Trump urged legislators to vote against. The worst components of the measure are that it opens up police officers to civil litigation as it would make limitations to “qualified immunity” when used as a defense to liability and that it defunds police agencies. The bill also does the following:
· lowers the criminal intent standard—from willful to knowing or reckless—to convict a law enforcement officer for misconduct in a federal prosecution,
· limits qualified immunity as a defense to liability in a private civil action against a law enforcement officer or state correctional officer, and
· authorizes the Department of Justice to issue subpoenas in investigations of police departments for a pattern or practice of discrimination.
A visibly emotional Rep. Chip Roy (R) spoke on the floor of the House blistering the bill as a measure that strips police officers of the protection or “qualified immunity” they currently have.
“‘Embarrassed’ Cuomo In First Appearance Addresses Sexual Harassment Allegations But Refuses To Resign” by Texas Politics’ Mona Salama – After over a week in hiding, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) reemerged in his first public appearance to address the allegations of sexual harassment brought against him by three women while rebuffing the loud calls from lawmakers on both sides in refusing to resign. “I’m sorry for whatever pain I caused anyone,” Cuomo said 20 minutes into his Coronavirus press briefing Wednesday, addressing the elephant in the room despite his lawyers advising him not to do so. “I feel awful about it and frankly I am embarrassed by it and that’s not easy to say – but that’s the truth,” he added. Cuomo said that he wanted New Yorkers to hear from him “directly on this” issue, begging for patience and to “wait for the facts,” before jumping to any conclusion. “I ask the people of this state to wait for the facts from the attorney general’s report before forming an opinion,” Cuomo said during the 45-minute presser, the shortest briefing he has ever held in over a year. Cuomo’s office on Monday officially granted New York Attorney General Letitia James a formal referral for her office to move forward with an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment made against the governor. The referral allows James to select private attorneys to conduct the review and will not provide weekly updates to the governor, given the nature of the investigation.
“Texas Democrats urge Abbott to accept federal funds to help border communities” by CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez – Democratic lawmakers from Texas are urging the state's governor to accept federal funds to help with the testing and quarantining of migrants released from Border Patrol custody, according to a letter obtained by CNN. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has blamed migrants for spreading Covid-19, without evidence, while blocking federal plans to support border communities. The Department of Homeland Security had set plans in motion to use Federal Emergency Management Agency money to support community efforts to test, isolate and quarantine migrants, but the governor said the onus was on the federal government. In a letter to the Republican governor Monday, lawmakers asked him to reconsider, stressing the financial burden on border communities without federal help. "Your recent comments about asylum-seekers carrying COVID-19 into Texas ring hollow when you are the one standing in the way of sorely needed federal resources and ultimately is the same dangerous rhetoric fueling white supremacist attacks on immigrant and minority communities," the letter reads.
“Twitter sues Texas attorney general over investigation into content moderation practices” by Politico’s Benjamin Din – Twitter on Monday filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, seeking to stop the state’s investigation into its content moderation practices. The social media giant said in its filing that the investigation requested by Paxton was an abuse of his power and a retaliatory action over Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Donald Trump from the platform, which was the former president’s preferred method of communication with his supporters. “Twitter seeks to stop AG Paxton from unlawfully abusing his authority as the highest law-enforcement officer of the State of Texas to intimidate, harass, and target Twitter in retaliation for Twitter’s exercise of its First Amendment rights,” the company wrote. On Jan. 13, five days after the company suspended Trump in light of the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol, Paxton announced he was launching an investigation into the content moderation policies at Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Apple. “First Amendment rights and transparency must be maintained for a free online community to operate and thrive,” he said in a statement at the time. “However, the seemingly coordinated de-platforming of the President of the United States and several leading voices not only chills free speech, it wholly silences those whose speech and political beliefs do not align with leaders of Big Tech companies.”
“Tesla to boost Texas energy grid with secret mega-battery, report says” by WFAA’s Briny Eubank – Tesla, Inc. is getting into the Texas power market, a report from Bloomberg states. A Tesla subsidiary has reportedly been quietly building a mega-battery in Angleton, Texas, located 40 miles south of Houston. Gambit Energy Storage LLC has been building the 100-megawatt energy storage project in Angleton. Bloomberg reports that a battery of that size would have the capability to power about 20,000 homes on a hot summer day. Workers at the construction site have reportedly kept equipment undercover and discouraged onlookers, but a Tesla logo could be seen on a worker's hard hat. Public documents also helped confirm the company's role in the project, Bloomberg reported. Among those documents were property records on file with Brazoria County showing Gambit shares the same address as a Tesla facility near the company's plant in Fremont, California. A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also lists Gambit as a Tesla subsidiary, according to the Bloomberg report. The construction of this mega-battery marks Tesla Inc.'s first major foray into the "epicenter of the U.S. energy economy," according to Bloomberg, and it comes at a tense time for Texas' energy market. During February's major winter storms, millions of Texans lost power for days and the state's energy grid came within minutes of total collapse. The days since the storms have been filled with legislative hearings and resignations and terminations among energy leaders.
“State of Texas: New questions as Gov. Greg Abbott ends mask mandate” by Kxan/Nexstar – Hannah Falcon, john Thomas, Wes Rapaport, Avery Travis, and Jody Barr – Gov. Greg Abbott went to Lubbock on Tuesday to announce his plan to end the state’s mask mandate and allow businesses to fully reopen in Texas. The order will take effect on March 10. “It is clear from the recoveries, from the vaccinations, from the reduced hospitalizations and from the safe practices that Texans are using, that state mandates are no longer needed,” Abbott said. The audience of business owners and community leaders applauded as he made the announcement. The governor says that although it won’t be required at the state level, it is still good practice to wear a mask. “Removing state mandates does not end personal responsibility when it comes to caring for family, friends and the community,” read a statement from the governor’s press secretary. If COVID-19 hospitalizations in the 22 hospital regions of Texas rise above 15% for seven consecutive days, then county judges may implement a mask mandate for their area. But, county judges cannot penalize anyone for not following a county mask mandate. Abbott cited the availability of vaccines as one reason for ending the mask mandate. However, Texas is one of the states with the lowest vaccinations per capita rate. Imelda Garcia, associate commissioner of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), says part of the blame falls on the Centers for Disease Control.
“OPINION: Analysis: After the blackouts, a whiff of the 2022 elections in Texas” by Texas Tribune’s Ross Ramsey – Maybe the latest announcement from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller was just the sound of a political gnat hitting the windshield. If that turns out to be the case, let’s at least consider the last thought that went through the poor bug’s brain. Miller was unveiling his response to the blackouts that knocked Texas off its feet last month. He has a legitimate hook here: Agriculture was walloped by the polar vortex, and some of that damage might have been avoided if the lights had stayed on. But Miller’s proposals go far beyond the ag department’s scope of practice: Although it came from his state office and there’s nothing overtly political about it, it’s the kind of policy paper you’d see in a campaign for a less specialized statewide office. Like the one Gov. Greg Abbott occupies. We are not in an election year, but the public rumpus over the biggest issues of the moment — COVID-19 and the shortcomings of the state’s electricity grid — have taken the shape of election-year arguments. They’re about fundamental government services, well or poorly administered, and about the performance of the incumbent at the top of government. Abbott has said he’ll seek a third term as governor in 2022. Some of his supporters think he’d be a good presidential candidate, though that’s a little further down the political calendar. Miller hasn’t said what he’ll do in 2022, but it was notable when he joined Texas GOP Chair Allen West in a demonstration outside the Governor’s Mansion before last year’s elections.
“Texas city-run and rural electric firms face bailout over storm crisis” by Reuters’
Jennifer Hiller and David French and Karen Pierog – Financial strains on Texas city-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives and the grid operator has spurred calls for state aid and lured private equity firms into plans to fix multi-billion-dollar charges. The state's power costs jumped by roughly 10 times the usual, to about $47 billion, during a week-long cold snap that took down nearly half of its power plants. The charges have driven one co-op into bankruptcy and left two dozen others facing bills they will be hard-pressed to cover without outside help. Several private equity firms have been in talks with the operator of the Texas electric grid to provide it financial support, four people familiar with the talks told Reuters. The grid acts as a clearing house, collecting from electric marketers including municipals and co-ops and paying generators usually within four days. When defaults occur, it spreads the shortfall to other grid users, adding pressure to those able to pay their own bills. It remains unclear what form this funding would take and whether Texas officials would agree to an offer from private equity firms. The buyout firms would likely provide a loan or bond which would cover the near-term cash needs of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the people said.
“Federal Insurance Office must be scrapped – Texas PIA” by Insurance Business America’s Ryan Smith – The Texas Professional Insurance Agents (Texas PIA) is throwing its weight behind an effort to scrap the Federal Insurance Office, announcing its support for the Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). The Federal Insurance Office was created in 2010 as part of the reforms enacted under the Dodd-Frank Act. However, many insurance industry bodies want the FIO scrapped, saying many of its powers are duplicative of those of other government agencies and its regulation of the industry is onerous. “Since the Federal Insurance Office was created in 2010, it has continuously tried to increase its duties and expand the role of the federal government in insurance,” said David Gorman, president of the Texas PIA and Texas national director for PIA National. “Simply put, its very existence is a threat to the successful state insurance regulatory system. The Texas PIA firmly believes the insurance industry must throw its weight behind repealing the Federal Insurance Office once and for all.” Since its inception, the FIO has called for federal regulation of mortgage insurance, inclusion in supervisory colleges with state legislators, and uniform national standards for state guaranty associations – proposals which were opposed by industry bodies. The office is now seeking to administer the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, which the Texas PIA says is “well outside” of the agency’s mandate.
“More Texas Colleges Say Mask Mandates Will Stay in Place” by Inside Higher Ed’s Elizabeth Redden – More Texas colleges are saying they won’t relax their rules requiring face masks and social distancing on their campuses after Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order last week ending a statewide mask mandate and allowing businesses and facilities in the state to operate at full capacity. Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, the University of Houston, the University of Texas at Austin and the Alamo Colleges District all announced Friday they would keep their COVID-19 protocols in place despite the lifting of the statewide restrictions by Abbott, a Republican. A number of other Texas colleges have also said they will not be loosening their rules.
“Texas energy grid crisis affected Mexico, trade” by ABQ Journal / Business Across the Border’s Jerry Pacheco – The recent winter storm that brought freezing temperatures to most of Texas not only caused deaths and a lot of human suffering, but it also revealed the vulnerability of cross-border trade to the power system. El Paso, Texas, is on a different grid than the rest of the state and did not suffer the severe outages that struck most of Texas. However, even though they are not supplied by the Texas electricity grid, residents in northern Mexican states such as Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon also suffered power outages and rolling blackouts. These anomalies cut off power to Mexican maquiladoras (production plants) and forced them to shut down. A substantial portion of Mexican electricity generation plants use natural gas as a fuel. While Mexico is a major petroleum-producing country, much of the natural gas it generates contains excessive sulfur. In most cases, purer natural gas can be produced more efficiently and economically in the U.S. Of the total gas the U.S. exported to other countries in 2019, 66% went to Mexico. It is no surprise that Mexico imports a tremendous amount from its northern neighbor, Texas. During the crisis, sectors and institutions fell like dominos in northern Mexico. First fell the supply of natural gas, due to its dependency on this commodity’s import from Texas. When Texas slipped into the crisis, its first response was to protect its citizens by stopping natural gas exports to Mexico to fire up its own plants. Next, the electricity plants could not operate due to diminishing natural gas supplies that were cut off from large users. The next domino to fall were the water systems, which are powered by electricity.
“Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas visited South Texas migrant tent city, child detention facilities” by KGET’s Sandra Sanchez – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas led a contingency of White House officials to South Texas to visit the U.S./Mexico border this weekend, a congressman confirmed Sunday night to Border Report. Mayorkas, along with 13 others on Saturday traveled to deep South Texas on the Southwest border and visited a tent facility in the town of Donna, Texas, about 20 miles east of McAllen, where undocumented migrants are processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They then flew to Laredo and drove to a detention facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, where undocumented teen migrants are held, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told Border Report. Cuellar is vice chairman of the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee and his hometown is Laredo. He represents a large swath of South Texas, but he said that no local leaders were part of the White House tour. Earlier Sunday, the White House issued a statement acknowledging that Mayorkas on Saturday led a delegation of White House officials and leaders from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Southwest border “as part of the administration’s commitment to restoring order and humanity to our immigration system,” the statement read.
“Biden administration converting Texas migrant centers to rapidly release detained families in 72 hours or less” by Fox News’ Danielle Wallace – The Biden administration will transform two Texas facilities where detained migrant families are held into Ellis Island-style rapid processing centers, meaning adults and children who cross the border will be housed for a maximum of 72 hours before being released into the U.S. In a court filing Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said families will continue to be detained at a 2,400-bed detention center in Karnes City and an 839-bed detention center in Dilley in Texas, but the U.S. government intends to hold adults and children at those sites for three days or less. Migrant families previously held at a third facility, the 96-bed Berks County family detention center in Leesport, Pa., have all been released, according the ICE disclosure made Friday in the decades-old Flores lawsuit filed on behalf of migrant children. That detention center will instead be used by ICE to hold adults. All three family detention centers opened when now-President Biden was vice president to President Barack Obama. While running for president, Biden pledged to release detained families. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has preliminary plans to transform the two facilities in southern Texas into rapid processing centers aimed at screening 100 families per day, The Washington Post first reported, citing internal emails outlining the previously unpublicized changes.
“Texas senators vote against $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill” by KSAT’s Jakob Rodriguez and Cody King – After laboring through a plethora of amendments, the Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on Saturday. The vote finalized at 50-49 and not a single Republican backed the bill, according to a report from The Associated Press. Among those who voted against the bill’s passage are two Texas senators — Republican Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Sen. Cruz issued a statement and labeled the relief bill as “wasteful” and “a liberal wish list.” “This bill – nine percent of the bill is focused on health care needs and COVID. So, 91 percent of the bill is not about fighting the pandemic. The money for schools – a lot of the money for schools in that bill is four years in the future. It’s not even for right now. We have a crisis now. But what this bill is, is a liberal wish list. It’s every priority the Democrats have of paying off their political cronies. […] And I get that their priority is bring home the bacon and buy votes. But this is irresponsible and it’s wrong. And it’s important to note, in the last year we passed five bipartisan COVID relief bills. Republicans are eager to work together on getting vaccines out on fighting the virus, on getting people back to work, on helping small businesses. And we’ve demonstrated we’ll roll up our sleeves and work with Democrats. Joe Biden and the Democrats have said to Republicans, ‘Go jump in a lake.’ They don’t want to work with us. They don’t want to talk with us. They are going to try to ram through a partisan list completely unrelated to the pandemic because they got power and they don’t want to waste the power. And I think that’s really cynical and it’s unfortunate,” said Cruz in a release.
“Texas grid operator made $16 billion price error during winter storm, watchdog says” by Reuters’ Kanishka Singh – Power grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) made a $16 billion pricing error in the week of the winter storm that led to power outages across Texas, Potomac Economics, which monitors the state’s power market, said. ERCOT kept market prices for power too high for more than a day after widespread outages ended late on Feb. 17, Potomac Economics, the independent market monitor for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which oversees ERCOT, said in a filing. “In order to comply with the Commission Order, the pricing intervention that raised prices to VOLL (value of lost load) should have ended immediately at that time (late on Feb. 17),” Potomac Economics said. “However, ERCOT continued to hold prices at VOLL by inflating the Real-Time On-Line Reliability Deployment Price Adder for an additional 32 hours through the morning of February 19,” it said, adding the decision resulted in $16 billion in additional costs to ERCOT’s markets. The findings of Potomac Economics were reported first Thursday by Bloomberg and the Texas Tribune. The Public Utility Commission, the Texas power regulator, on Friday unanimously vetoed a request to cut about $16 billion from state power charges during the final day of the February cold snap, saying even a partial repricing could have unintended effects.
National:
“Trump says he'll work to unseat Alaska's Murkowski, calling her 'disloyal'” by Fox News’ Evie Fordham – Former President Donald Trump said he would campaign against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and blasted her as a "disloyal and very bad Senator" in a statement this weekend. "I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski," Trump said in a statement. "She represents her state badly and her country even worse. I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be – in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad Senator." "Her vote to advance radical left Democrat Deb Haaland for Secretary of the Interior is yet another example of Murkowski not standing up for Alaska," he continued. Trump's statement isn't exactly shocking – he said the same thing in June after Murkowski told reporters she was "struggling" to support the president in his reelection because of how he handled the George Floyd protests. More recently, Murkowski was among seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump on the charge of inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in the Senate impeachment trial in February.
“Cuomo won't quit despite demanding others do so: GOP lawmaker” by Fox News’ Dom Calicchio – One of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s harshest critics blasted the governor again Sunday, implying he was a hypocrite for refusing to resign after facing more accusations of sexual harassment that brought Cuomo’s list of accusers to at least five women. Republican U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis noted in a Twitter post that Cuomo referred to calls for his departure "anti-democratic," despite having called for other New York officials to step down following their own alleged transgressions. The sexual harassment scandals Malliotakis cited in her tweet involved the following officials: Vito Lopez, who resigned from the New York state Assembly in 2013; Dennis Gabryszak, who resigned from the state Assembly in January 2014; and Micah Kellner, a New York state Assembly member and onetime aide to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer who declined to seek reelection in 2014 after allegations against him. In 2018, Cuomo also called for then-New York Attornery General Eric Schneiderman to resign after Schneiderman faced sexual harassment allegations that were detailed in a New Yorker magazine article.
“Georgia district attorney investigating Trump hires lawyer with expertise in racketeering cases” by CNN’s Sara Murray and Zachary Cohen – A lawyer with deep expertise in racketeering cases has been retained by the Atlanta-area district attorney's office investigating former President Donald Trump. John Floyd is expected to assist the district attorney's office on multiple cases in the white collar, gang and public corruption units, said Jeff DiSantis, a spokesman for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Two people familiar with his hiring said he was not retained specifically for the investigation into Trump's post-election call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. "He was retained for his racketeering expertise generally — not for any specific case," said DiSantis. Floyd declined to comment. His hiring was first reported by Reuters. Floyd would be an asset if Willis decided to pursue a complicated racketeering case against Trump. It is one of the potential charges she is investigating, according to document preservation requests Willis sent out last month.
“Biden signs executive order expanding voting access” by CNN’s Donald Judd and Devan Cole – President Joe Biden signed an executive order Sunday expanding voting access in what the White House calls "an initial step" in its efforts to "protect the right to vote and ensure all eligible citizens can freely participate in the electoral process." The move comes as Republicans in statehouses around the country work to advance voter suppression legislation, including a bill in Georgia that voting rights groups say targets Black voters. Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, have pushed measures in recent days to increase voting rights, including HR1 -- a sweeping ethics and election package that contains provisions expanding early and mail-in voting, restoring voting rights to former felons, and easing voter registration for eligible Americans. Sunday's order directs the heads of all federal agencies to submit proposals for their respective agencies to promote voter registration and participation within 200 days, while assisting states in voter registration under the National Voter Registration Act. In addition, the order instructs the General Services Administration to modernize the federal government's Vote.gov portal. Ahead of the signing, Biden spoke about the order during virtual remarks at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast, an annual event commemorating "Bloody Sunday," where African American demonstrators demanding the right to vote were brutally beaten by police while crossing Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
“US and South Korea reach agreement on cost sharing for American troops” by CNN’s Nicole Goauette and Paul LeBlanc – Washington and Seoul have agreed to a cost-sharing agreement for US forces based in South Korea, a US State Department spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Sunday. Negotiations over the Special Measures Agreement, or SMA, had badly strained the US alliance with South Korea during the Trump administration after former President Donald Trump demanded Seoul pay up to 400% more for the presence of the 28,500 troops on the peninsula. News of the agreement comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to make his first international trip as the top US diplomat to South Korea and Japan next week.
CNN previously reported that the agreement would likely be a multi-year deal that increased Seoul's contribution to cover the presence of US troops at around the 13% increase South Korea had suggested in 2020 as its best possible offer, according to two sources familiar with the talks. The final agreement could also include mandated increases in South Korea's defense budget, as well as an understanding that Seoul will make certain military equipment purchases, one of the sources said. The Wall Street Journal first reported an agreement had been reached. "We are pleased that U.S. and Republic of Korea negotiators have reached consensus on a proposed text of a Special Measures Agreement that will strengthen our Alliance and our shared defense," the spokesperson said. "America's alliances are a tremendous source of our strength. This development reflects the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to reinvigorating and modernizing our democratic alliances around the word to advance our shared security and prosperity."
“Covid-19 Aid Bill Heads Back to House After Tense Senate Vote” by WSJ’s Ted Mann and Kristina Peterson – The $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill faces what is expected to be a very close vote in the House as early as Tuesday after the Senate narrowly approved the aid package over the weekend with concessions to accommodate centrist Democrats. The Senate changes to the bill, which first passed the House Feb. 27 with more generous unemployment provisions, mean House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must hold together her slim majority caucus for a second House vote to send President Biden’s top legislative priority to his desk. The House is expected to hold a procedural vote on the bill Monday night, with final passage slated for Tuesday. There were positive signals for Mrs. Pelosi and her leadership team over the weekend, when key progressives in the House appeared poised to support the relief bill a second time even as many expressed frustration at the changes that curtailed the extension of unemployment benefits and blocked an effort to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. “Despite the fact that we believe any weakening of the House provisions were bad policy and bad politics, the reality is that the final amendments were relatively minor concessions,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.), who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
“Iran-Backed Houthi Rebels Say They Targeted Saudi Oil Port” by WSJ’s Summer Said and Stephen Kalin – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they attacked a major Saudi Arabian oil port on the Persian Gulf with drones and missiles on Sunday. Saudi authorities said the strike caused no casualties or damage. The Saudi Energy Ministry said an assault “coming from the sea” had targeted petroleum tanks at the Ras Tanura port. It condemned what it called “repeated acts of sabotage and hostility” targeting energy supplies to the world. “All indications point to Iran,” said an adviser to the Saudi royal court who said he was briefed on the matter. He said it wasn’t clear whether the origin was Iran or Iraq but that it hadn’t come from the direction of Yemen. Iranian officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. An Iraqi official said he was unaware of any connection between his country and the attack. Oil prices rose after the market opened Sunday evening in New York following the attack. Brent crude, the global gauge of oil prices, added more than 2.5% and rose above $71 a barrel. Prices have surged to their highest level since May 2019, lifted by rising demand as the global economy reopens from shutdowns designed to stop the coronavirus and supply curtailments around the world. In 2019, a drone and missile attack on the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry temporarily shut down half the kingdom’s crude production. At the time, the Houthis claimed responsibility, but the U.S. said the attack was launched from Iraq or Iran, which denied the accusations.
“U.S. Set to Power Global Economic Recovery From Covid-19” by WSJ’s Tom Fairless – The U.S. could help drive a powerful global economic recovery this year, as it plays a more central role in the comeback than after the financial crisis, reflecting the unusual nature of the Covid-19 shock and the flexibility of the American economy. The world economy is likely to grow by around 6% this year, according to Oxford Economics, the fastest rate in almost half a century, as vaccine campaigns allow pandemic restrictions to be lifted and businesses to snap back. For the first time since 2005, the U.S. is expected this year to make a bigger contribution to global growth than China, said the research firm. After the 2008 financial crisis, the global economic recovery was powered by China, as the U.S. experienced the weakest revival since the Great Depression. Since the U.S. economy is about one-third larger than China’s, its contribution to global growth will be larger than China’s if, as expected, both grow roughly at the same rate this year. “The U.S. is going to play the role of the global locomotive again in 2021,” said Catherine Mann, global chief economist at Citibank. She added though that the international situation would temper the country’s economic growth. The U.S. economy contracted 3.5% last year and is expected to grow about 7% this year, according to Goldman Sachs. China grew 2.3% last year and is expected to grow 8% this year, the bank said.
“Cuomo leans on crisis management playbook as walls close in” by Politico’s David Siders and Anna Gronewold – From all appearances, the implosion of Andrew Cuomo is near complete. Top aides are leaving his office, and new revelations about his nursing home scandal continue to drip out. Over the weekend, the newspaper of record in his adopted hometown called for his resignation, while two more former aides came forward with accusations of inappropriate conduct. On Sunday, Democrats at the helm of the state Legislature broke ranks, with the Senate majority leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, saying Cuomo “must resign” and the Assembly speaker, Carl Heastie, suggesting that, for the good of the state, Cuomo should “seriously consider” whether to remain in office. Yet if Cuomo’s reign as “America’s governor” has come to an end, it’s far less certain that his actual governorship is end-stage. Ralph Northam, the Virginia governor who was on a political death watch following his blackface scandal, survived. So did an on-the-ropes President Bill Clinton, in whose administration Cuomo served during impeachment, giving him an up-close look at how to survive the seemingly unsurvivable. One thing we’ve learned from watching Northam and several of these others is if you just don’t go anywhere, it’s hard to get rid of you,” said David Doak, a retired longtime Democratic strategist and ad maker. “The question is, can you withstand the pressure?” Cuomo is confronting the dual crises with a spartan circle of weary advisers, with some of his more tenured staffers moving in recent days to close ranks, appealing to wavering aides that “we’re in this together, this administration has done great work and will continue to do so,” according to a former administration official.
“‘It is a trap!’: Inside the QAnon attack that never happened” by Politico’s Tina Nguyen – In a joint intelligence bulletin earlier this week, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security delivered a jarring warning to state and local law enforcement: violent domestic extremists “motivated by the QAnon conspiracy theory” might be mobilized to action because they believed Donald Trump would be inaugurated on March 4. But the date came and went without serious incident. It wasn’t that the false and sprawling conspiracy theory that accuses “Deep State elites” of running a secret pedophile ring was losing steam. Rather, it was at least in part because QAnon followers smelled a trap. In the weeks leading up to March 4 — the day in QAnon lore when Trump was actually supposed to be inaugurated for a second term, thus taking the country back from the Joe Biden — QAnon influencers had been discouraging their massive audience to avoid attending any event on that day, suggesting that any planned gatherings would be “false flag operations” designed by the government to make them look bad. “FOR ALL YOU SHILLS, MSM LURKERS AND NORMIES VISITING TODAY - Q HAS TOLD US MARCH 4 IS A TRAP,” a user posted Thursday on GreatAwakening.win, one of the larger QAnon web forums. “THEREFORE ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IS NOT US!!” A week earlier, the message was the same on another large private QAnon channel on Telegram, an app that has increasingly become the home of right-wing extremists kicked off of Twitter and Facebook.
“Manchin wants to make filibuster 'painful' to use” by Politico’s Nick Niedzwiadek – Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he is open to altering the Senate filibuster to make it more “painful” for the minority party to wield, while reiterating his opposition to ending the procedural hurdle altogether. “The filibuster should be painful, it really should be painful and we've made it more comfortable over the years,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Maybe it has to be more painful.” Manchin (D-W.Va.) has previously supported efforts to require senators to filibuster by talking on the chamber floor in order to hold up a bill, an idea he raised on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “If you want to make it a little bit more painful, make him stand there and talk,” Manchin said. “I'm willing to look at any way we can, but I'm not willing to take away the involvement of the minority.” However, Manchin did not rule out using the budget reconciliation process to pass a voting rights bill with a simple majority, keeping the door open to a potential workaround for Democrats to push through a voting overhaul while preserving the filibuster. The House on Wednesday narrowly passed a sweeping package of election-related reforms, a proposal they've given the symbolically important designation of H.R. 1. It's not clear how Manchin envisioned that H.R. 1 could potentially be passed through reconciliation, as it is not budget-related, and Democrats' proposed minimum wage increase was tripped up by the process' strict rules and left on the cutting-room floor. But Manchin said Democrats need to meaningfully engage with Republicans before going down that path, which they utilized late last week to pass a $1.9 trillion Covid relief package without a single GOP Senate vote.
“U.S. House set to vote on bills to expand gun background checks” by Reuters’ David Shepardson – The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday on a pair of bills to expand background checks before gun purchases, two years after a similar House effort failed to make it through the Senate. The House Rules Committee on Monday will take up the two bills that Democrats, who control the chamber, say are aimed at closing loopholes in the background check system. The Rules Committee action is a procedural step before the full House votes. A congressional aide said the chamber was poised to vote on the bills on Wednesday. The House passed two bills in 2019 to expand background checks but they were never taken up by the then-Republican-controlled Senate. Nearly all legislation in the 100-member Senate requires 60 votes and the prospects of overcoming that hurdle are uphill at best in the evenly divided chamber. The issue of gun rights is contentious in the United States, where numerous mass shootings in recent decades prompted calls from many Americans for stricter regulation of firearms and ammunition. The U.S. Constitution protects the right of Americans to bear arms. Republicans generally oppose measures to tighten gun restrictions. One of the bills under consideration would make it illegal for anyone who is not a licensed firearms importer, manufacturer or dealer to transfer a firearm to any unlicensed person without a background check. The bill has exemptions, including gifts from relatives and transfers for hunting, target shooting and self-defense. A version was introduced in the Senate last week.
