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Trump's executive orders, Texas school choice: TWITP

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Trump's executive orders, Texas school choice: TWITP


This Week in Texas Politics included the start of a new state and federal team that went beyond immigration. There was also movement under the capitol dome on school choice legislation, one of the hottest topics this session. 

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A longer discussion can be found on the FOX 7 YouTube page and on FOX LOCAL

Texas headlines

What they’re saying:

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RUDY KOSKI: Strokes from a presidential pen and a pen from the governor, as well as a beefed-up repackaged school choice plan dominated this cycle. This week in Texas politics. Let’s get our headlines from our panel. And we’ll start first with Patrick Svitek from The Washington Post. Patrick, your headline? 

PATRICK SVITEK: Well, you know, I’m coming to you from Washington where everyone’s been talking about the tragic plane crash that happened here. So, my headline is this, Tragedy on the Potomac. 

RUDY KOSKI: Political analyst Karina Kling, your headline for the week. 

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KARINA KLING: Yeah. No surprise here, but in Texas, Education Savings Accounts are on the fast track in the Texas Senate. 

RUDY KOSKI: Mark Jones from Rice University, your headline for the week. 

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MARK JONES: I’ll say, Shock and Awe. 

President Trump’s executive orders

Local perspective:

RUDY KOSKI: President Donald Trump went through a lot of ink this week, signing multiple executive orders. The orders range from deportations to dumping DEI. Patrick, several congressional members from Texas want to take those executive orders and make them law, codify them into law. Which ones are you tracking? 

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PATRICK SVITEK: Some of these executive orders reflect, you know, generally speaking, ideas that have already been implemented in Texas. And so, in some ways, Texas has taken the lead on some of these issues, particularly related to immigration. I know the state is constantly trying to push the envelope on that. 

RUDY KOSKI: Karina, the governor sure is talking a lot about border security, and that’s probably going to be a big issue Sunday during his State of the State address. Right. 

KARINA KLING: I think Governor Abbott is just really doubling down. He asked the federal government last week for reimbursement of the $11 billion for what the state has pumped into Operation Lone Star, the border security efforts here. But I think that this is just Governor Abbott saying we’re moving forward, we’re moving ahead. 

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MARK JONES: So, Texans have a nuanced view of immigration. If we’re talking about deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions, nine out of ten of them favor doing that. If, on the other hand, the Trump administration begins deporting Dreamers as well as undocumented immigrants who have U.S. citizen children and spouses, that’s where you start to sort of not go against majority opinion, but you have a much larger share of the Texas population that is not on board with that. 

Latest on school choice in Texas

Local perspective:

RUDY KOSKI: A Senate committee this week passed the latest attempt at school choice here in Texas. That was followed by President Trump on Thursday signing a school choice executive order. Patrick, it’s getting big and broader, right? 

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PATRICK SVITEK: So, Republicans in Texas are going to have much more political cover at the national level to pursue this agenda, this legislative session. 

KARINA KLING: And we’re hearing from the lieutenant governor saying this will get passed next week. We’re assuming that Governor Abbott will make school choice education savings account a priority item in a State of the State. 

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MARK JONES: Well, I think for school choice advocates, they view this as an imperfect plan, but far better than the current status quo, which is no school choice. 

Latest in Texas Legislative Session

Local perspective:

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RUDY KOSKI: Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick essentially backed a dump truck of bills into the Senate the other day and poured in 25 priority bills and then said, hey, I got a lot more that we’re going to total about 40 of them. Most of it is a collection of red meat. But there is one I think that could be substantial. That’s creating a Dementia Prevention and Research Institute in Texas. Mark, what’s on the list that you are watching? 

MARK JONES: What I think will be interesting is the Senate is likely to pass the large share, if not all of those. And then what will be fun to watch or at least, you know, intellectually interesting to watch is, what is Dustin Burrows do with this conservative avalanche of Bills that are going to arrive in the House sometime in mid, you know, late, late March and to mid-April. And what, it’ll be, it’ll be a good sort of test case for his alliance with Texas Democrats in terms of how much of that he effectively pushes through and how much of it he blocks. 

RUDY KOSKI: On Patrick’s list is an item establishing Texas as America’s film capital. Ironically, on Thursday, a coalition of Texas actors, including Matthew McConaughey, launched a campaign to tap into the budget surplus. For that, you know, I don’t know if state lawmakers will be starstruck over all this, but, you know, it could be interesting. Patrick, anything on the Lieutenant Governor’s list that has caught your attention. 

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PATRICK SVITEK: Yeah, two things. I mean, I saw some items on there that seemed to echo what Republicans are pursuing nationally. There was the state level effort to do a Department of Government Efficiency. I also saw one of the bill titles was Make America Healthy Again. And so, you know, clearly reflecting the moment we’re in that now Republicans control the White House. You’re going to see Texas Republicans continue to try to complement or augment policies that Republicans are pushing at the national level. 

Wrapping up This Week in Texas Politics

Local perspective:

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RUDY KOSKI: Let’s wrap it all up with one word for the week. And we’ll start first with Karina, your word for the week. 

KARINA KLING: It’s been a long week, so I’m going to say, Weekend. 

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MARK JONES: I’ll stick with the theme of, Blitzkrieg. 

PATRICK SVITEK: Yeah, I’m going to stretch it and do, Déjà vu. Because we have the Lt Governor releasing a long list of priorities early in the session. People are swearing there’s only going to be one session this year. It sounds a lot like what we’ve heard every two years in Texas. 

RUDY KOSKI: All right. And that is This Week in Texas Politics. 

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The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski

Texas PoliticsEducationDonald J. Trump



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Austin, TX

Governor Abbott reappoints TTU CIO Keith Halman to Dept. of Information Resources

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Governor Abbott reappoints TTU CIO Keith Halman to Dept. of Information Resources


AUSTIN, TX (NEWS RELEASE) – Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed Walter “Frank” Coppersmith, III and Keith Halman to the Department of Information Resources for terms set to expire on February 1, 2031. The Board coordinates, monitors, and directs information resources management within state government.

Walter “Frank” Coppersmith, III of Round Rock is CEO of Smarter Reality, LLC. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Maryland State Bar Association, Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Bunker Labs’ CEO Circle, and the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, he is the former president of the International Game Developers Association–Austin Chapter and former vice president of the Association of Corporate Counsel–Austin. Coppersmith received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from The Citadel, a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Juris Doctor from Samford University Cumberland School of Law.

Keith Halman of Lubbock is the associate vice chancellor and chief information officer for the Texas Tech University System. Additionally, he serves on the board of the Lonestar Education and Research Network. Halman received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Systems and Master of Science in Business Administration in Management Information Systems from Texas Tech University.

These appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.

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Austin, TX

No. 4 Texas Longhorns’ Senior Shay Holle Takes Over In Win Over No. 24 Vanderbilt

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No. 4 Texas Longhorns’ Senior Shay Holle Takes Over In Win Over No. 24 Vanderbilt


AUSTIN – In a physical top-25 matchup, the No. 4 Texas Longhorns outmatched the No. 24 Vanderbilt Commodores, winning dominantly, 87-66. Uncharacteristically, Texas was 9-13 from behind the arc with senior guard Shay Holle shooting 4-5 from three and finishing with 16 points. The Longhorns average three three-pointers a game but found their stride from behind the arc.

Texas struggled with turnovers early but was able to make shots from behind the arc to take the lead and control the game, leading to the dominant win. When Vanderbilt got into foul trouble late, Texas took advantage and extended its lead to 21 late.

The game had 46 fouls called and 52 free throws were attempted and both teams had at least one player foul out and multiple finish the game with four fouls.

Shay Holle shoots the ball against vanderbil

Feb 6, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Shay Holle (10) shoots during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

With the daunting matchup of freshman Mikayla Blakes, who recently scored an NCAA record 53 points, the Longhorns did their best to limit her offensive production but she still scored 22. Commodore forward Khamil Pierre led all scorers with 26 points, but it was not enough to push the Commodores past the Longhorns.

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Sixth-year guard Holle had her best game of the season, scoring 16 points. Despite getting into foul trouble, Madison Booker, who reached the 1,000-point milestone in the second half, led all Texas scorers with 20. Holle was hot all night, playing 38 minutes and scoring deep into the fourth quarter.

Vanderbilt out-rebounded Texas, but the Longhorns won the turnover battle and were able to turn 17 turnovers into 27 points. Freshman Jordan Lee fouled out but had one of her best games of the season, shooting 3-5 from three and scoring 12 points.

Rori Harmon, who sat most of the second half had eight points and five assists. Taylor Jones picked up four fouls but scored 13 points, making seven of eight of her free throws and grabbing six rebounds. When Jones went to the bench in foul trouble, Kyla Oldacre continued her dominance around the basket, scoring nine points of her own and grabbing five rebounds.

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Austin, TX

Lawmakers split on solution for improved water infrastructure

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Lawmakers split on solution for improved water infrastructure


AUSTIN, Texas — One of Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency items for the current session of the Texas Legislature concerns upgrades to the state’s water infrastructure. He’s seeking to increase the state’s investment in water by allocating $1 billion a year for 10 years to tap into new water supplies and repair existing pipes to save billions of gallons of water each year.


What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Greg Abbott named water infrastructure among his emergency items during his State of the State address on Feb. 2
  • The governor would like to allocate $1 billion per year for 10 years to tap into new water supplies and repair existing pipes
  • While Texas lawmakers agree on the need for investment in water infrastructure, there is no agreement on solutions
  • Some lawmakers see reservoirs as a viable solution, but there is opposition, and there are other solutions on the table

“We need to Texas size that investment,” Abbott said during his State of the State address on Sunday. 

The need is urgent according to Texas Agriculture Secretary Sid Miller. Miller says the state is running out of water for crops and livestock. And with more than a thousand people a day moving to Texas, the need for water will only grow — as will the search for solutions.

“Reservoirs will be a part of that answer. But I think what the Legislature is also looking at is how we can lean into innovation in technology. What we’re talking about here is desalination, water reuse, conservation, fixing leaking pipes,” said Jeremy Mazur, director of natural resources policy with Texas 2036.

Julie Nahrgang with the Water Environment Association of Texas says there needs to be support for sustained funding and flexible spending in water infrastructure.

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“The Texas Water Development Board (is) essentially the lending entity that oversees the disbursement of a lot of water loans and grants. They need to have maximum flexibility of where to put that money so that it best serves Texans,” said Nahrgang.

But not everyone thinks reservoirs are the best answer.

The Marvin Nichols Reservoir is a nonexistent structure that looms over the constituents in Republican Rep. Gary VanDeaver’s northeast Texas district.

“That reservoir represents one of the largest, the largest land grab in Texas history,” said VanDeaver.

The reservoir has been part of the state’s water plan since the late 1960s as a solution to the growing need for water miles away in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. In January, the Texas Water Development Board reported that the reservoir could begin pumping water to DFW within the next 25 years. But the project has been stalled due to opposition from landowners and conservationists.

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“The environmental destruction is incalculable. It’s just enormous because you’re flooding some of the richest wildlife lands possible,” said Janice Bezanson with the Texas Conservation Alliance.

This legislative session Rep. VanDeaver is trying to demolish the threat of the reservoir’s existence. He filed two bills. One prohibits an engineering firm from both planning and constructing the reservoir, and the other bill removes a proposed reservoir project from the state water plan if construction has not begun within 50 years of being included in the state plan. That includes the Marvin Nichols Reservoir.

“If something has been in the plan for 50 years and we haven’t had a need to build it, then probably it shouldn’t have been put in the plan 50 years ago,” said VanDeaver.

Because water planning for the state is divided into regions, a failure to build the reservoir won’t preclude statewide water sourcing.

“One regional planning group sees it as necessary and another regional planning group has a totally different vision on it because it does involve eminent domain and it does involve potential buying out of property and using that space,” said Nahrgang.

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There is a legislative proposal to buy water from neighboring states, such as Arkansas, in order for Texas to meet its needs, but there is also a focus on cleaning and reusing the water the state already has.



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