Welcome to this week’s newsletter!

From all of us at Houston Young Republicans, we wish you and your loved ones a meaningful and blessed Holy Week & joyous Passover to all!

We hope this sacred season brings you peace, reflection, and renewed faith. “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.” – Matthew 28:6

In Washington, the White House continued to carry out their ambitious agenda to strengthen and reform international trade across the globe. The Senate formally considered matters of time and space. The House upheld their end of budgetary demands, and passed a significant piece of electoral legislation.

In Texas, a war is brewing for a seat in the US Senate, and Texas Children’s Hospital is back in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

We break it down below.

The White House’s initial tariff agenda proved to be a short term measure to gain leverage in international trade negotiations. The Trump administration strategically reversed course, and issued a temporary pause on individualized tariffs for countries willing to come to the bargaining table and renegotiate their trade relationship with America from the ground up, as opposed to escalating–more on that in a few.  

In announcing the 90-day tariff pause (10% tariff rates will remain in effect across the board during that span), President Trump may have executed the first “outsider trading” incident in American history. ~15 minutes before invoking an official pause on tariffs for cooperative trade-partner nations, he tweeted: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”  The stock market spiked by  ~$3.5 *trillion* in the wake of the White House’s announcement.

Financial markets are still rollercoaster-ing largely due to uncertainty over what comes next–with good reason. At time of writing, at least 75 nations have reached out to the White House to renegotiate our mutual trade relationships. President Trump’s “Art of the Deal” may fundamentally reshape the landscape of international trade and our domestic economy for years to come. As Treasury Secretary Bessent reiterated during a lengthy and significant presser: “Wall Street has grown wealthier for four decades. For the next four years, it’s Main Street’s turn.”

One very significant nation chose to escalate instead of negotiate: “Chyna.” At time of writing, China’s been hit with a 140% effective tariff rate.  

It’s worth briefly delving into the recent history of the US/China trade relationship here. For decades, commerce and business interests in America, and the Chinese government’s desire to grow their economy at all moral costs (sweatshops donned with suicide prevention netting, Uyghur slave labor and organ harvesting camps etc.), have precipitated the steady erosion of American manufacturing and trade power by way of outsourcing. See this jaw-dropping graphic.

Bessent announced the first four nations in line for the bargaining table are Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and India–four of China’s most critical trading partners. Bessent publicly indicated the “nuclear option” is still on the table too: completely delisting Chinese firms from American stock exchanges. This maneuver would completely cut off Chinese business from American capital, and could force their investors to sell-off assets, or move elsewhere to avoid taking a heavy financial uppercut to the chin.

China announced a slew of escalatory measures this week–including removal of intellectual property “protections” for American businesses operating in China. Kevin O’Leary (aka Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank) spoke to the hilarious hypocrisy of that at a Senate hearing this week. Additionally, China has banned Hollywood produced movies from the country–I guess Amy Schumer (the niece of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer [D-NY], who once advocated for strong tariffs on China) won’t be on the silver screen in Beijing anytime soon.

Tariffs dominated the newscycle, but the White House remained active on other fronts.

President Trump signed seven noteworthy executive orders–full list here.

Lastly, the Cabinet met for a highly publicized meeting, in which all members provided updates and gameplans for their respective agencies. Check out this condensed summary–its importance can’t be understated.

There are two main schools of thought: permanent adoptance of daylight saving time or standard time. The former would make it light out later in the morning and evening, the latter would do the opposite. Daylight savings is a nonpartisan issue that impacts everybody in America in some fashion.  

For what it’s worth President Trump weighed in on the matter on social media, and has expressed prior support for ending the biannual tradition of changing our clocks. How Congress and the federal government go about doing it remains to be seen; here’s hoping our readers don’t lose any sleep over it.

Nominations Continued

On Tuesday, the Foreign Relations Committee held their initial confirmation hearing for Houston’s own Tilman Fertitta to serve as US Ambassador to Italy. Fertitta still must pass a confirmation vote within the committee, and another before the full Senate, but he appears to be right on track.

Former astronaut and sitting Senator, Mark Kelly [D-AZ] gave Fertitta a speech of endorsement before the Committee, recalling how they forged a bond in the immediate aftermath of the tragic and near-fatal shooting of then US Rep. Gabby Giffords [D-AZ-8], Sen. Kelly’s wife. Kelly was working out of Johnson Space Center at the time. Fertitta supported Kelly in the throes of inaccurate media reports that his wife had died.

Fertitta could be confirmed in the Senate by simple party line vote, but he’s got at least one staunch supporter across the aisle.

Space Shuttle Shuffle

Texas Senators John Cornyn [R-TX] and Ted Cruz introduced a joint piece of legislation this week, entitled the Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act. The bill would move the storied and decommissioned NASA shuttle, The Discovery, back home to Space City.

Some historical context is needed here. Congress, under the Obama administration, directed four retired space shuttles to be preserved and displayed in states with a “historical relationship” to NASA. Obama ignored this directive, and steered the winged orbiters to Florida, Virginia, New York, and California. Obama played favorites, and gave his coastal donors and voters a favor. How on earth do you shaft Space City, home of NASA’s mission control? All four of those shuttles, and the astronauts they housed called Houston home at one point or another.

It remains to be seen whether this bill can gain some support outside of the state delegation, and the logistics of moving a shuttle the size of The Discovery cross-country are admittedly a lot to unpack. Nonetheless, HYR applauds our Senators for their moonshot proposal.

SAVE-ing Federal Elections

The House passed a significant piece of legislation to secure our federal elections. The SAVE Act would require American voters to procure proof of citizenship before casting a ballot for federal elections. This commonsense bill would remove non-citizens from voter rolls. Leftist media outlets have characterized this bill as a punitive measure designed to punish minorities, the impoverished, and laughably, married women (who traditionally vote Republican).

In reality, all you need is a valid passport, birth certificate, and/or REAL ID–and you have plenty of time to procure them before the upcoming election cycle. Here’s hoping the Senate passes and sends it to President Trump’s desk.

Wheeling and Dealing: Johnson Budget Framework Through the House

Speaker Mike Johnson [R-LA-4] and the House GOP Conference managed to pass a framework for the federal budget by the skin of their teeth. Credit to House leadership for whipping their colleagues on a pivotal vote–there were over a dozen Republican holdouts prior to final passage.

What comes next?

House and Senate leadership will meet to nail down a compromise package, and finalizing a bill satisfying moderate and fiscal conservatives is not easy work. The framework would make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, bolster defense and border security spending by $150B and $175B respectively, rapidly proliferate domestic energy production, and expedite infrastructure projects. House and Senate leadership are miles apart on bottom line cuts–godspeed.

In Other News

• Update: for our readers wondering how exactly the “Signalgate” saga came to be–I’ve finally got an answer for you.

  
  

• An IRS commissioner has resigned in order to prevent the sharing of tax data linked to illegal immigrants. Read that again.

  
  

• DOGE has discovered that the Biden administration issued 3.92M Social Security numbers to non-citizens. Not *all* of those issued SSN’s went to illegal aliens; certain non-citizens, predominantly those who’ve been cleared by the Department of Homeland Security as authorized to work in America, are eligible for SS. Nonetheless, it appears Social Security, which has faced questions about insolvency for years, was funding government benefits for untold amounts of illegal aliens.

  
  

• Rep. Brandon Gill [R-TX-26] has been on a heater the past couple weeks.

  
  

• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that she doesn’t bother responding to inquiries from journalists who put their pronouns in their bio.

  
  

• Sen. Bernie Sanders has some horrible news about the state of capitalism in America.

  
  

• The Amish community has, yet again, outworked the speed and force of the federal government.

  
  

• Sorry former US Rep. and House Committee Chairman McHenry, Wikipedia never forgets.

Cornyn v. Paxton

In a move that sent reverberations across the political landscape of Texas, State Attorney General Ken Paxton formally announced his intent to lodge a primary challenge against incumbent senior US Senator John Cornyn.

Paxton is an up and coming firebrand, and no stranger to overcoming political controversy. He’ll be campaigning against a seasoned statesman and savvy veteran of the US Senate in Cornyn.

It’s worth noting that Cornyn is a prolific fundraiser, and wields the backing of the NRSC, Senate Leadership Fund, and a laundry list of influential allies holding elected office at the federal and state level. Cornyn has already raised $2.5M this fiscal quarter, bringing his campaign war chest to ~$5.7M. Paxton estimated he’ll need at least $20M on hand in order to win what may prove to be one of the most expensive primary races in modern history.

We’ll be watching intently over the coming months.

Texas Children’s Hospital Under the Microscope

Dr. Eithan Haim, the pediatric doctor who famously blew the whistle on the Texas Children’s Hospital system for providing “gender affirming” care (i.e. chemically sterilizing and irreversibly maiming vulnerable, confused, and impressionable kids who lack a fully developed brain and believe they’re trans) testified before Congress this week.

His hearing was chock full of heated exchanges and clip-able moments. Check out the highlights here.

A Season of Faith, Freedom & Renewal

This week holds deep meaning for many. As Christians reflect on Holy Week and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter, we are reminded of God’s enduring love, redemption, and the promise of new life.

At the same time, Jewish families around the world honor Passover—celebrating God’s deliverance and the enduring story of faith and freedom.

Whether you are observing Holy Week, Easter, or Passover, may this season renew your spirit and strengthen your faith.

“He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” – 1 Peter 1:3

— Houston Young Republicans