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Good morning,

Some people strive for recognition, but I'd suggest we are called to make an impact. I conclude the week by reflecting on the difference.

This is the Texas Minute for Friday, January 24, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Coming on Sunday: "Real Texans" with Ken Paxton

Trump DOJ Orders Local and State Governments to Comply With Immigration Initiatives

• A new memorandum issued by the U.S. Department of Justice orders local and state governments to comply with executive immigration initiatives. Emily Medeiros has the story.
    
• The DOJ memo warns that anyone interfering with those efforts will face legal action.
             
• The Office of the Deputy Attorney General will be charged with identifying state and local laws, policies, and activities that are inconsistent with Trump’s immigration initiatives. The office will also be able to take appropriate legal action against those locales.

RELATED NEWS

• In letters sent to congressional leadership and the Texas delegation, Abbott highlighted the state’s efforts to combat illegal immigration, violent criminals, and international threats through Operation Lone Star.

House Uses ‘Nuclear Option’ To Force Through Rules Empowering Democrats

• Just hours after controversial draft rules for the Texas House were released to lawmakers and the public, the chamber voted to approve them—without allowing debate or amendments. Brandon Waltens has the details.
    

• The rushed release and subsequent vote raised concerns about transparency and House Speaker Dustin Burrows’ willingness to prioritize the GOP's agenda.

        
• While the House leadership made a show of restricting chairmanships to Republicans, it then expanded the notorious power-sharing arrangement by granting Democrats all vice-chair positions and significantly increasing those positions' authority. The rules provide those "vice-chairs" with special funding while introducing pathways for Democrat control of new standing subcommittees. 
        
• Before amendments could be offered, State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) invoked the legislative “nuclear option,” calling the "previous question." This rarely used move immediately ended all debate and forced a vote. 
       
• Reform-minded Republicans, like Nate Schatzline of Arlington, described the move as a declaration of "war."
       
• "Today almost every House Democrat voted to 'ban dem chairs.' Why? Because this rules package gave them even more power." – State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington)

Texans Applaud Trump Ban on ‘Gender Ideology Extremism’

• As Erin Anderson reports, Texans are applauding President Donald Trump’s executive order putting an end to radical gender ideology within the federal government.
    
• This week, Trump signed an executive order entitled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
       
• Tracy Shannon, a well-known critic of “transgender” ideology, called Trump’s executive order “great news.” She cautions, however, that the federal order does not completely kill the “trans” political movement, and work is still needed at the state and local levels.

LGBT Group Provides ‘Therapeutic Support’ to Houston Students

• A non-profit group that provides an “affirming space” for sexually confused youth is working with Houston school officials to provide counseling to students and staff. Joseph Trimmer has the report.
    
• The Hatch Youth Safe Zones Project is part of the Montrose Center, a gay advocacy organization. It operates on individual school campuses with the principals' approval.
      
• While students must get parental signoff before meeting with one of the counselors, the consent form did not disclose that the group was LGBT affiliated—only calling it a social group. 

Katy Faces De-annexation Challenge Under New Texas Law

• Charles Blain reports that the City of Katy has received a de-annexation petition under a 2023 state law, leaving some local officials trying to find a way to stop it. 
    
• Katy Trees, LLC, owns 81 acres it wants de-annexed from the city's "extra-territorial jurisdiction." The company has cited disagreements with Katy over lot size requirements and detention measures. Developers want to develop 45-foot lots, which is a major point of contention because the city currently requires 70-foot lots.
        
• The 2023 law allows landowners to de-annex from a city’s ETJ by petition. These ETJ areas are not within city limits but are subject to city ordinances, rules, fines, and fees, yet the taxpayers within them have no ability to vote on local leadership.
       
• Despite the Katy City Council unanimously voting to reject the petition, it will become effective in 45 days as a matter of state law.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Texas Scorecard LIVE for Donors on Tuesday

• Current donors (of any level!) to Texas Scorecard will be invited to a virtual roundtable discussion this Tuesday (Jan. 28) at 7:30 p.m. The wide-ranging conversation will dissect the speaker's race, the emerging personalities in the legislature, and the new golden age in Washington.  
       
• The Texas Scorecard Live conversation will feature Brandon Waltens, Daniel Greer, Luke Macias, and myself.
    
• All existing donors (as of 1/27) will receive a private link to the event shortly after 6 p.m. on Tuesday. 

Friday Reflection
Leaving A Legacy

When walking through the U.S. and Texas capitols, the walls are lined with photographs, paintings, statues, and busts. We might recognize a couple of the names, but most are anonymous faces from the past. They might have been the most powerful people of their age and community, but today they are barely noticed.

They might not be remembered, but for better or worse, they all left an impact. What about us?

Consider the archeological site Tel Sheva. The city was at the center of much of the narrative in the Bible’s Book of Genesis.

Its name was Be’er Sheva, but most English translations of the Bible render it as Beer-sheba. It is in the Negev desert in the south of Israel. This is where Abraham and Sarah lived with Isaac, and the great patriarch swore an oath of peace with his neighbor. As adults, both Isaac and his son Jacob found themselves at various times passing through or living in Beer-sheba.

The place was so well known that its name was commonly used to describe borders and distances. An expansive area would often be described as spanning from “Dan to Beer-sheba.” (Tel Dan, of course, is in the far north of Israel.)

In modern times, a dismantled animal altar was found there during excavations, very possibly one of those that was targeted by the righteous King Hezekiah. In 2 Kings, we read how Hezekiah ordered the destruction of such pagan altars around Israel and forbade the worship of false gods in the temple in Jerusalem.

Likely, Beer-sheba was eventually destroyed when the Babylonians invaded Israel, taking the Jews into captivity. The city’s distinguished history, spanning thousands of years, couldn’t save it from the inevitability of time.

The same goes for us as men. However exalted (or self-important) we may be, we all eventually become a footnote in the great story of history.

And yet, like Beer-sheba, our legacy can go on. 

The Greek statesman Pericles understood this when he wrote, “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

Photographs fade, statues crumble, and paintings get tossed in the attic. None of us are called to be "successful" in the eyes of the world; we're called to be faithful. 

So, let us live not for recognition but for impact. Let us not seek fame but rather focus ourselves on creating a better world for those who follow us.

Quote-Unquote

"One man with courage makes a majority."

– Andrew Jackson