Good morning,

This week's One Click Survey asks about a Texas university's relationship with a nation that supports Hamas and other terrorist organizations. 

Here is this Texas Minute for Monday, January 8, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

New Report Says A&M’s Partnership with Qatar Threatens National Security

• A bombshell report reveals Texas A&M University’s partnership with the government of Qatar could be a major threat to national security. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• Since 2003, Texas A&M has operated a branch in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. Funding for the project comes from entities tied to the Qatar royal family. Qatar has reportedly maintained close relationships with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
     
• The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy reveals Qatar’s undisclosed funding into Texas A&M has resulted in full Qatari ownership of over 500 research projects. That includes projects "in highly sensitive fields such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotech robotics, and weapons development."
      
• "Of particular concern is the sensitive nuclear research that is being conducted, in addition to weapons development. The implications of Qatar controlling Texas A&M's research raise many national security concerns." – ISGAP report
      
• On Sunday afternoon, Texas A&M President Mark Welsh issued a statement about the report, denying that Qatar has access to any nuclear program information. His statement did not address the other concerns raised by the ISGAP report.

Senate Race Sparks Court Fight Over Candidate Residency

• A Republican primary race for an open North Texas senate seat has sparked a fight over the state’s residency requirements for legislative candidates. Erin Anderson explains how court action is expected today in a challenge to one candidate's eligibility to run in a district where public records show he doesn’t reside.
        
• Four GOP candidates filed to run for Senate District 30 after incumbent State Sen. Drew Springer (R–Muenster) announced on November 7 that he would not seek re-election. The candidates include Carrie de Moor, Cody Clark, Jace Yarbrough, and Brent Hagenbuch.
       
• Hagenbuch resigned as chairman of the Denton County GOP to run for the seat, but residents noticed a key fact: he did not live in the senatorial district. State law requires senate candidates to live in the district they seek to represent for one year before the General Election Day—in this case, November 5.
       
• Hagenbuch registered to vote at the address of his Little Elm home, which is in SD 12, in 2017; he has a current homestead exemption at that address. Voting history records from the Denton County Elections office show he voted using that address as recently as October 29, 2023.
      
• A voter registration application dated November 13 shows Hagenbuch claiming a new residence at the address of his company’s just-completed office building in Denton. State law, though, forbids registering to vote at a commercial address.
       
• Candidates De Moor and Yarbrough have filed separate residency challenges. It is De Moor's lawsuit that is epxected to be heard today at 1:30 p.m. in the 393rd District Court in Denton County.

Texas Universities Trying to Circumvent Law Banning Leftist Agenda

• After a state law went into effect requiring all public colleges and universities to dissolve any internal programs pushing a leftist ideology, a new report from The Federalist shows that many schools are circumventing the law simply by changing the names of the departments. At issue, Emily Medeiros reports, has been the national push to impose the "diversity, equity, and inclusion" agenda in Texas.
      
• DEI focuses on equality of outcomes rather than opportunities by engaging in systemic racism.
      
• In August, the president of the University of Texas at Dallas declared that no employees working in DEI offices would lose their jobs and promised a commitment to DEI goals. It was announced the department would go under a different name with the same actions taken by the previous department. 
     
• At the University of Texas at Austin, the DEI department was renamed the Division of Campus and Community Engagement. It has been announced that the DEI agenda will be front-and-center for the newly re-named department.

Speaker Johnson Applauds Texas' Border Efforts

• U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) visited Texas late last week and praised the state's efforts to control illegal immigration despite the Biden Administration's opposition. Will Biagini has the story.
      

• Johnson asserted that Gov. Greg Abbott and the Legislature have the authority to secure the state from the invasion of illegal aliens flooding across the border.

Open Congressional Seat Draws Five GOP Candidates

• Sydnie Henry profiles the open-seat race for Congressional District 12, centered around Fort Worth, in which five candidates have filed to replace retiring Kay Granger.
        
• Granger's voting record has drawn the ire of conservatives in recent years. Her tenure in Congress has been plagued by a scandal concerning her son’s involvement with Panther Island, a Fort Worth economic development boondoggle that was disguised as flood control. A 2019 programmatic review found that nearly $400 million of taxpayer money was spent on the project over 15 years, with little to show for it.
        
• The candidates seeking to replace Granger are Clint Dorris, Shellie Gardner, John O'Shea, Annie Henley, and State Rep. Craig Goldman. Gardner and O'Shea have extensive business experience, while Dorris is a former Army Ranger who was later involved in the creation of the Space Force. After filing for office, Henley appears not to have been actively campaigning.
      
• Goldman, a close ally of House Speaker Dade Phelan, has voted to expand corporate welfare, weaken the death penalty, and impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.

New Harris County Commissioners Court Will Cost $5 Million

• Harris County taxpayers are spending millions for a newly renovated, state-of-the-art meeting room for the Commissioners Court, according to records obtained from the Harris County Engineering Department. Charles Blain has the details.
      
• Commissioners first proposed the idea of a new courtroom in 2019. At the time, the County Engineer said the courtroom could be designed in four to six months and completed a year later.
      
• When it was proposed, then-commissioner Steve Radak called the idea an “absolute waste of money.”
       
• Initially priced at $4 million, the courtroom has cost $5 million and is unlikely to open to the public until the spring.

Today In History

On January 8, 1790, President George Washington delivered the first State of the Union address.

Quote-Unquote

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."

– George Washington
January 8, 1790​

ONE CLICK SURVEY

A new report reveals that Texas A&M's deal with the Middle Eastern Kingdom of Qatar seems to undermine U.S. national security. Previously undisclosed funding flowing into Texas A&M has resulted in full Qatari ownership of more than 500 research projects, "some of which are in highly sensitive fields such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotech robotics, and weapons development."

Should Gov. Greg Abbott instruct the A&M regents to nullify the contract?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!