Texas
Texas House Republican Caucus censures 4 members
AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott went after Republican incumbents who voted against his educational voucher plan during this year’s primary elections. Attorney General Ken Paton campaigned against incumbents who voted for his impeachment. And four members of the Legislature joined the governor and AG in trying to unseat incumbents.
“I knocked on doors with Gov. Greg Abbott for Helen Kirwan. I campaigned with Sen. Ted Cruz for Brent Money. I stood on stage with Attorney General Ken Paxton for Andy Hopper. And you know what? I would do it all over again,” said Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian.
The campaigning against incumbent Republican representatives by Reps. Brian Harrison of Midlothian, Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth, Tony Tinderholt of Arlington and Steve Toth of The Woodlands violated caucus bylaws and resulted in them being censured.
“The Texas House Republican Caucus is an impotent organization that is fighting for liberals. And I am not going to stand it. And if they want to censure me, all I got to say to them is bring it on. This whole thing’s a joke. I’m fighting for the future,” Harrison said.
The four violated bylaws adopted in 2019 after a previous incumbent was campaigned against. The caucus chair explained their bylaws are clear but could be changed before the end of this year.
“In order to do that, we require a quorum of members. And so the most likely time that we will achieve that is at our member caucus retreat in October. And so that’s probably where it’ll most likely happen,” said Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Northwest Harris County.
Oliverson isn’t worried about the censorship. He’s eager to turn the page on this chapter.
“And move on,” he said. “We have a lot of important work to do. Republicans are uniting across this state.”
But analysts say there’s no prospect of unity in the near future for the Republican Party.
“These members of the Texas House who were sanctioned said unity comes after victory. One side or the other if going to win this fight and until that fight is won there is going to be division,” said Cal Jillson, a Southern Methodist University professor.
Republican analysts believe the fighting won’t hurt the party.
“Naturally disagreements are going to be on the Republican side, being the party in power,” said Andy Hogue with Travis County GOP.
Paxton also weighed in on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, “the establishment Republicans in the Texas House have not learned their lesson even after 15 incumbents were sent packing.”
Some believe the continued GOP turmoil will give Democrats more power.
“Radical Islamist terrorist groups are anti-American, and the infiltration of these dangerous individuals into Texas must be stopped,” said Texas A-G regarding terrorist org. CAIR.
Air traffic controllers lost communication for about 10 minutes with a small Mexican Navy plane carrying a young medical patient and seven others before it crashed off the Texas coast, killing at least five people, Mexico’s president said Tuesday.
Authorities initially believed the plane had landed safely at its destination in Galveston, near Houston, before learning it had gone down Monday afternoon, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. A search-and-resuce operation in waters near Galveston pulled two survivors from the plane’s wreckage, Mexico’s Navy said, while one remained missing.
Four of the eight people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians, including a child, Mexico’s Navy said. Two of the passengers were affiliated with a nonprofit that helps transport Mexican children with severe burns to a hospital in Galveston.
“My condolences to the families of the sailors who unfortunately died in this accident and to the people who were traveling on board,” Sheinbaum said in her morning press briefing, without elaborating on a possible cause. “What happened is very tragic.”
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Luke Baker said at least five aboard had died but did not identify which passengers.
The plane crashed Monday afternoon in a bay near the base of the causeway connecting Galveston Island to the mainland. Emergency responders rushed to the scene near the popular beach destination about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
Sky Decker, a professional yacht captain who lives about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the crash site, said he jumped in his boat to see if he could help. He picked up two police officers who guided him through thick fog to a nearly submerged plane. Decker jumped into the water and found a badly injured woman trapped beneath chairs and other debris.
“I couldn’t believe. She had maybe 3 inches of air gap to breathe in,” he said. “And there was jet fuel in there mixed with the water, fumes real bad. She was really fighting for her life.”
He said he also pulled out a man seated in front of her who had already died. Both were wearing civilian clothes.
It’s not immediately clear if weather was a factor. The area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a National Weather Service meteorologist. He said that at about 2:30 p.m. Monday a fog came in that had about a half-mile visibility.
Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation. In a social media post, the foundation said: “We express our deepest solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honoring their memory and reaffirming our commitment to providing humane, sensitive, and dignified care to children with burns.”
Teams from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were at the crash site Monday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said, and a spokesperson for the NTSB said the agency was gathering information about the crash. The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol responded the crash.
A small Mexican Navy plane transporting a 1-year-old medical patient along with seven others crashed Monday near Galveston, killing at least two people, officials said.
Emergency officials rescued four people and were searching for two that were inside the aircraft, Mexico’s Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press. Four of the people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians, according to the Navy. It was not immediately clear which ones were missing and which had been killed.
Two of the people aboard were members from the Michou and Mau Foundation, which is a nonprofit that provides aid to Mexican children who have suffered severe burns.
The crash took place Monday near the base of a causeway near Galveston, along the Texas coast about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
Mexico’s Navy said in a statement that the plane was helping with a medical mission and had an “accident.” It promised to investigate the cause of the crash.
The Navy is helping local authorities with the search and rescue operation, it said in a post on the social media platform X.
Teams from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have arrived at the scene of the crash, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on X.
The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol were responding to the crash.
“The incident remains under investigation, and additional information will be released as it becomes available,” the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook, adding that the public should avoid the area so emergency responders can work safely.
Galveston is an island that is a popular beach destination.
It’s not immediately clear if weather was a factor. However, the area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
He said that at about 2:30 p.m. Monday a fog came in that had about a half-mile visibility. The foggy conditions are expected to persist through Tuesday morning.
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