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Cruz secures bipartisan win as push to cut red tape for border bridges signed into law: 'Enormous victory'

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Cruz secures bipartisan win as push to cut red tape for border bridges signed into law: 'Enormous victory'

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Thursday hailed a bipartisan victory after an effort to cut red tape to speed up the approval process for international bridge projects was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Cruz touted it as a win for not only for Texas but the country.

“It is an enormous victory for South Texas and for all of Texas and for the country,” Cruz told Fox News Digital after a press conference in Laredo, Texas. “It is a victory for Texas farmers and ranchers. It is a victory for small businesses and manufacturers. It is a victory for consumers who will have cheaper prices at the grocery store and the department store. It is a victory for national security.”

Cruz spearheaded the push to streamline the presidential permitting process for building international bridges at the southern border with Mexico. 

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, led a bipartisan coalition  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The bill gives the State Department a 60-day window to make a recommendation to the president whether to grant a bridge permit. That gives the president another 60 days to approve or deny it. A presidential permit is now permitted before an environmental assessment, rather than only after it is completed, which has been the practice under the Biden administration. Business leaders said this led to years-long delays.

Cruz was joined in the effort by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas; Rep. Monia De La Cruz, R-Texas; Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas; and Rep. Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas. The legislation also has the support of a number of business groups, representatives of which appeared at a press conference in Laredo to emphasize the importance of the project. 

The streamlining has an immediate impact on the status of multiple construction projects in the south Texas area, including the construction of new bridges and the expansion of two others, like the World Trade Bridge in Laredo. 

Cruz says he has been fighting to speed up the permitting process since 2021, when it was brought to his attention by city leaders in Laredo that there were roadblocks in the approval process for multiple bridge projects due to the new environmental requirement. 

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“It delayed all four of them by several years, and it made no sense,” he said.

He joined with lawmakers from both parties and pushed the administration to change course on the review policy. When that didn’t change, he introduced legislation that was included as an amendment in the State Authorization Act and ultimately attached to the NDAA. That was signed by President Biden in December.

“It went to the House, and there were multiple battles over this provision. And there were at least a half dozen times when it appeared this provision might get stripped out of the legislation,” Cruz said. “But I worked very closely with Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, to defeat those efforts and, ultimately, the House passed the NDAA with this provision included with an overwhelming bipartisan vote. And then President Biden signed it into law on Dec. 22.”

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As a result, the bridges are on track to receive permits if approved by the latter half of April.

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Cruz noted that manufacturing is increasingly being pulled out of China and being brought to either the U.S. or Mexico. 

“So, it is enormously consequential,” Cruz said. “And there are tens of thousands of jobs in the state of Texas that are directly implicated and will grow as a result of this.”

Trucks travel across the World Trade International Bridge in Laredo, Texas, June 10, 2019.  (Callaghan OHare/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He also argued that the streamlined process is better for the environment, arguing the expansion of the World Trade Bridge from eight lanes to 18 will reduce traffic congestion.

“On any given day, you can go down to that bridge, and on the Mexican side you will see a line of 18-wheelers that can extend 4, 5, 6 miles, and they sit there for hours after hours spewing pollution into the air,” he said. “It is much better for the environment to not have those trucks stuck there in those unnecessary waiting lines, but rather to expedite their moving across the bridge.”

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For Cruz, it’s the latest bipartisan legislative effort he has guided through Congress, and he highlighted collaborations with lawmakers who included Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; and Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., on issues including infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing.

“And so there are certainly areas we can work together, and there are other areas, unfortunately, where we continue to have real and significant partisan divides in terms of the policies the two parties are advancing,” he said.



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Former MLB great Mark Teixeira makes stance on Minnesota ICE shooting clear

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Former MLB great Mark Teixeira makes stance on Minnesota ICE shooting clear

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The Minnesota ICE shooting that resulted in the death of Renee Good has drawn strong reactions everywhere.

According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Good was operating a vehicle that agents ordered her to exit. Good, according to Noem, refused and “attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle.”

After Vice President JD Vance delivered a strong statement defending ICE agents for their work, the White House posted a graphic with a portion of Vance’s plea and the caption, “STAND WITH ICE.”

 

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Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Ameriquest Field Aug. 7, 2005, in Arlington, Texas. (Tim Heitman/USA Today Sports )

Former MLB All-Star Mark Teixeira, who launched his campaign for Texas’ 21st Congressional District in August as a Republican to “help defend President Trump’s America First agenda,” voiced his support.

“I stand with ICE,” the former Texas Ranger, Atlanta Brave, Los Angeles Angel and New York Yankee wrote on X.

Teixeira’s announcement followed Rep. Chip Roy’s decision not to seek re-election and run for Texas attorney general. Roy, who represents the district, made the announcement in a campaign video shared on X last year. His video centered on preserving the Lone Star State’s legacy of “liberty, freedom and self-determination.”

Former New York Yankee Mark Teixeira throws out the first pitch before a game between the Minnesota Twins and the Yankees in the 2019 ALDS at Yankee Stadium.  (Brad Penner/USA Today Sports)

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Noem called the incident “domestic terrorism.”

“An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot to protect himself and the people around him,” she said.

Federal authorities said Good tried to run over ICE agents who were part of a 2,000-member team sent to the Twin Cities to round up and deport undocumented immigrant criminals.

Teixeira, 45, played 14 seasons in the majors. He debuted with the Rangers in 2003 but is perhaps best known for being an MVP candidate and World Series champion with the Yankees, the final stop of his career.

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New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira hits an RBI single against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum May 22, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (Kelley L Cox/USA Today Sports)

One of the best hitters in the game, Teixeira was a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and finished his career with a .269 batting average and 409 home runs. He was a five-time Gold Glove winner and was a member of the Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship team. 

The congressional race is set for November 2026, with a primary scheduled for March.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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Republican senators hit border, touting tougher security and tax cuts, in 2026 kickoff

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Republican senators hit border, touting tougher security and tax cuts, in 2026 kickoff

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Aiming to not only hold but expand their 53-47 majority in November’s midterm elections, top Senate Republicans are showcasing the plummeting rates of border crossings during a stop Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

And the group, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is also highlighting how President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are “putting more money in Americans’ pockets.”

The stop at the border, hosted by One Nation, a nonprofit outside group closely aligned with Thune, is seen as an unofficial kickoff by Senate Republicans ahead of the midterms to tout the sweeping “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” Trump’s signature domestic achievement last year that was passed nearly entirely along party lines in the GOP controlled Congress.

At the event at the border, which was a regular stop for Republicans amid the surge in border crossings during then-President Joe Biden’s administration, the GOP senators are teaming up with members of the National Border Patrol Council. And they are highlighting how the passage of the domestic policy measure “secured transformational border security funding,” according to One Nation.

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THUNE PREVIEWS SENATE REPUBLICANS’ MIDTERM MESSAGE 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and fellow Senate Republicans speak to reporters at an event at the nation’s southern border with Mexico, on Jan. 9, 2026. (One Nation)

“This is a remarkable, remarkable difference in just a year,” Thune said at the event. “It’s been an incredible year of progress when it comes to the southern border and the American people are experiencing the benefit of that in the form of having safer streets and safer communities and safer neighborhoods.”

But with Democrats enjoying decisive victories and overperformances in the 2025 elections and in a slew of special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, which were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, the Republican senators are also using Friday’s trip to spotlight the tax cut and energy policy provisions in the bill, which they rebranded as the “Working Families Tax Cut.”

“The Working Families Tax Cut will make buying groceries more affordable for working Americans this year,” the Senate Republicans touted on social media on the eve of the border stop. “Every Democrat voted against it.”

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And they also highlighted that “Senate Republicans have worked closely with President Trump to lower energy prices and make life more affordable — and the results speak for themselves.”

Thune, at the border, pointed to the tax cut provisions in the GOP measure, including no tax on tips and overtime and reduced rates for seniors on Social Security, along with “the jobs that are going to be created by the pro-growth policies that we put in place….are going to lead us to a place where the American people are seeing their incomes go up.”

But Democrats see the cost of living as their winning issue heading into the midterms.

“If the Republican agenda actually made life more affordable for working Americans, then they wouldn’t be desperately flailing as families struggle to afford groceries, health care, and housing,” Lauren French, communications director at Senate Majority PAC, the top Senate Democrat-aligned outside group, told Fox News Digital. “Instead of focusing on working people, Trump and Senate Republicans are focused on bringing chaos and instability into our communities.”

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., holds a political and policy event Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Joining Thune, the longtime senator from South Dakota, at the border is Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, number two in Senate Republican leadership.

There are also Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who faces a bruising GOP primary showdown in March against challengers Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt; and Republican Sens. Jon Husted of Ohio and Ashley Moody of Florida, who were appointed last year and will face voters this November.

HEALTHCARE, ECONOMY AND THE ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’: WELCOME TO THE MIDTERMS

GOP Sens. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who are up for re-election this year, are also on the trip, as are former Rep. Mike Rogers and former Republican National Committee chair Mike Whatley, the GOP Senate candidates in battlegrounds Michigan and North Carolina who are backed by Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

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“We’re seeing signs already that the economy is starting to tick up and is starting to take hold as the President’s policies are getting in place,” Whatley argued last month in a Fox News Digital interview. “We need to make sure that we have the trade policies, the tax policies, the regulatory policies from this administration that are going to help our small businesses, our manufacturers and our farmers across North Carolina.”

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But Democrats are energized as the midterm year begins, as they continue to keep their focus on the issue of affordability.

“Donald Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin claimed in a recent statement.

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Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears

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Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears

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A body was found Tuesday evening as authorities in Bexar County, Texas, grapple with a series of disappearances involving teen girls who all went missing within a week.

The body was found during the search for 19-year-old Camila Olmos, though police said it is too early to determine whether the remains belong to her.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a news conference that investigators had “just recently found a body in a field” around 4:40 to 4:45 p.m., adding that the medical examiner will determine both the identity of the body and the cause and manner of death.

The body was found by a joint team of sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents in an area of tall grass near a landscaping business, a few hundred yards from Olmos’ home, according to Salazar.

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MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE

Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve. (Bexar County Sheriff)

A firearm was recovered near the body, which authorities said had been an item of interest during the search.

Salazar said investigators do not currently suspect murder and noted there were indicators consistent with possible self-harm, though he stressed it is too early to draw conclusions while the scene is still being processed.

Olmos was last seen leaving her home in far northwest Bexar County around 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, authorities said. Her case came as two other girls were reported missing in the area. Fourteen-year-old Sofia Gabriela Peters-Cobos has since been found safe, while 17-year-old Angelique Johnson remains missing, according to police.

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Law enforcement has said there is no confirmed connection between the cases.

MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE

Angelique Johnson, from San Antonio, Texas, was reported missing. (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)

Texas Department of Public Safety said the Clear Alert for Olmos has been discontinued, though authorities urged anyone with information related to the cases or the whereabouts of Angelique Johnson to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

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The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the San Antonio Police Department did not respond immediately to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

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