** HYR Weekly Update
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** A NEWSLETTER FROM HOUSTON YOUNG REPUBLICANS
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** (View this email in your browser ([link removed]) )
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** MAY. 18
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Welcome to this week’s newsletter, !

In Washington, Democrat finger pointing and infighting continued, and a lead anchor for CNN is cashing in on it. President Trump signaled an end to the many years of American interventionism abroad. House Republicans failed to advance a budget package, as their liberal counterparts ripped and replaced baseless Articles of Impeachment.

In Houston, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo continues her quest to waste taxpayer money.

We break it down below.


** Matt Murphy
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** Political Director
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** CNN Reports: The (Buried) Lede, with Jake Tapper
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Preface/Update: News broke that President Biden’s prognosis regarding the mass doctors discovered on his prostate a few days ago is much more dire than initially feared; his medical team describes the cancer as “aggressive.” Politics are an irrelevant afterthought here, HYR is praying for his health and loved ones. The revelation underscores the section below, and makes it all the more harrowing–here’s to a swift recovery President 46.

CNN lead anchor Jake Tapper (and Axios reporter Alex Thompson) published a book entitled “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” The title is self-explanatory. It chronicles, from the perspective and accounts of Democrat political insiders, the erosion of Biden’s mental facilities–which was clearly apparent to those without a political motive to lie about it during his first campaign–and the resulting political fallout.

The irony is palpable. Tapper himself was on the front lines ([link removed]) of the very coverup he now sees fit to monetize to the tune of $27 a book. Tapper and Thompson have even reportedly ([link removed]) been circulating the manuscript to Hollywood movie producers to adapt the book for the big screen.

A Friday evening newsdump only added fuel to the fire ablaze in Democrat circles.

Axios (Thompson’s employer, coincidentally) leaked the full audio recording ([link removed]) of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s October 2023 interview with Biden regarding his mishandling of classified documents surrounding the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. The full interview is a sad slog to listen to, but some of the most telling moments from it, linked above, include:

* Biden mixing up the dates and circumstances surrounding the death of his son Beau
* Biden admitting he kept classified documents on Afghanistan–an offense which was supposedly grounds to try jailing President Trump for life–“for posterity’s sake.”
* Rambling about a trip to Mongolia when asked about said classified documents
* Inconsistencies with/no recollection of the locations and handling protocols of the documents

This is a snapshot of the mentally and physically addled man DC Democrats wanted running the country another 4 years, the state of his health and our country be damned. If only the expert investigators at CNN and Axios could have warned us all what was going on sooner.


** Hogg Days Are Over?—By Florence and the DNC Machine
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On Monday, a Democratic National Subcommittee formally moved to invalidate the elections of two DNC vice-chairs, David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta. Hogg is an insufferable anti-gun activist who rose to liberal prominence politicizing the 2018 Parkland High School mass shooting which left 17 of his classmates dead.

The nullification proposal alleges the DNC violated their own electoral rules regarding ‘gender equality’ for executive committee positions. It’s worth noting that their *executive committee* has a provision specifying that “non-binary” members don’t count towards gender tallies. The coherency of the DNC’s position on transgenderism is reflected in their official bylaws–one senior Democrat political strategist suggested the DNC’s rules ([link removed]) “are so confusing that not even senior officials have any idea how to understand them.” Even liberal media outlets are warning DNC infighting and identity politics could spiral into full blown chaos for the party.

Hilariously, the move comes less than 24 hours after Hogg stated that, in one of the rare instances of self-awareness by DNC affiliates of late, “Maybe we shouldn’t alienate normal men” on Bill Maher’s HBO show. The DNC can’t even reach a consensus as to what a man or woman is–I’m sure reaching a consensus amongst 400+ voting members whether to call another election will go swimmingly.


** Middle East Mediations: The Art of the Deal and Diplomacy
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In the first major diplomatic trip of his second term, President Trump wheeled and dealed with Middle Eastern nations.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed several agreements with the Trump Administration on energy, investment, defense, mining and more–totaling ~$600B. The deals encompass $142B in arms sales, the largest single international defense transaction in US history.

In Qatar, our two nations agreed to an economic partnership worth $1.2 trillion; full details here ([link removed]) . That lofty number is in addition to commercial exchanges totaling $243.5B–a portion of which entails the sale of American made jetliners to Qatar Airways, and a multibillion dollar defense agreement/security partnership.

In the United Arab Emirates, the White House secured another ~$200B in commercial deals, ranging across a variety of commercial and oil/gas sectors.

But the most consequential diplomatic moment of the trip occurred during President Trump’s speech ([link removed]) in Riyadh, in which he rejected neocon ideology and praised the independent progress spearheaded by regional leaders. His speech signaled a significant course reversal from the foreign interventionist playbook employed by both Democrats and Republicans alike for decades–and laid out a trailblazing path towards a peaceful and prosperous globe. A telling excerpt from his Earth-shaking address below:

“It’s crucial for the wider world to know this great transformation [in the Middle East] has not come from Western interventionists, or flying people in beautiful planes giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs. In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.”

“No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called ‘nation builders,’ neocons, or liberal nonprofits, like those who spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Baghdad and so many other cities. Instead, the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought by the people of the region themselves — the people that are right here, the people [who] have lived here all their lives, developing your own sovereign countries, pursuing your own unique visions and charting your own destinies in your own way.”

President Trump’s vision for his Teddy Roosevelt (i.e. “Speak softly and carry a big stick”) like approach to foreign policy was backed by action this week: he publicly encouraged Iran to take his “olive branch,” negotiate a good faith nuclear deal, or face “maximum pressure.” Additionally, he lifted sanctions on Syria. Following his meeting with the new Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, he announced his White House would consider going a step further, and normalize state ties with Syria. Iran and Syria have long been unreceptive (to say the least) to American interests in the Middle East. These de-escalatory gestures, and President Trump’s deals with other nations in the region (hopefully) indicate a new era is at hand for the Middle East and America alike.


** Russia v. Ukraine—Very Slow, But Steady Progress
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The Trump Administration is monitoring ongoing talks between Russia and Ukraine. President Trump was reportedly considering a pit stop in Turkey during his Middle East excursion–as Ukrainian and Russian leaders were negotiating in Istanbul at the time.

Not enough progress was made to ultimately warrant President Trump’s attendance, but the face-to-face meeting was a big deal; it marked the first direct peace talks between the nations in three years. A mutual appetite for peace remains, despite the chasm between nations regarding ceasefire framework.

President Trump and Putin have a phone call scheduled for 10am ET tomorrow morning, and Russian state officials are prepared to unveil a list of conditions for a ceasefire. The production of a formal checklist is a welcome development and a step in the right direction, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here–Vladimir Nedinsky, lead negotiator for the Kremlin, recently stated “Russia is prepared to fight forever.”

Here’s hoping the deal-brokering hot streak President Trump is on continues to ride.


** Reconciliation Roadbump
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The “big, beautiful bill” we’ve been covering for weeks hit a wall– failing to pass out of the House Budget Committee on a 16-21 margin, presenting yet another headache for Speaker Mike Johnson [R-LA-4].

Hardline fiscal conservatives split from GOP leadership over several sticking points: weak bottom line spending cuts, too much front-loaded spending, and Medicaid provisions.

Regarding Medicaid, the Republican holdouts want work requirements for the program earlier than the 2029 deadline currently in the bill, and an immediate cease to benefits for illegal aliens.

Speaker Johnson opted to address the stalemate with dissenting House Republicans over the weekend, and has said that talks went well. He plans to bring the final budget package to the House Floor for a final vote by the end of this coming week–a sign he’s confident he made satisfactory concessions with the fiscal hardliners that will be enough to garner their support to pass it out of committee before then.

It’s worth noting, for all the hand wringing and heartburn this budget vehicle has given Speaker Johnson, some of his efforts could end up a moot point. Multiple Senators, including leadership and committee chairs, have indicated Republicans in the upper chamber intend to change various parts of the package if and when the House passes it their way. We’ll see how it all shakes out.


** Shri’s Sideshow Shutdown; AI Answers the Call
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Rep. Shri Thanedar [D-MI-13] pulled his Articles of Impeachment before they could blow up in his face, and force swing-seat Democrats into a difficult vote on the matter.

Enter (unfortunately) Houston’s own Rep. Al Green [D-TX-9], who filed another Article of Impeachment loosely grounded in reality. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

In Other News

* Kamala Harris is reportedly launching ([link removed]) her campaign for Governor of California soon.
* A Mexican Navy vessel hit the Brooklyn Bridge. At time of writing, 2 fatalities have been confirmed and many more have been injured.
* Minnesota Governor and failed VP candidate Tim Walz compared ICE to the Nazi Gestapo ([link removed]) at a graduation ceremony.
* The stock market has completely recovered from or surpassed the dip it took from the “Liberation Day” rollout of tariffs. He told them not to panic.
* A poll for 2028 Democrat presidential candidates presented without comment ([link removed]) . Please keep doubling down on this strategy–AOC/Jasmine Crockett 2028!
* Governor Abbott announced the state has halted the construction of EPIC City, the 402-acre Muslim-only living community planned for north Texas.
* President Trump’s populist agenda seems to be contagious. Following his Oval Office meeting/presser with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the most powerful man in London is shockingly starting to sound a lot like our Commander in Chief on a few issues:
+ Regarding his immigration platform and border security ([link removed])
+ Regarding illegal alien workers ([link removed])
+ Regarding illegal aliens coming to England by boat ([link removed])
+ Regarding the importation of cheap labor from abroad and the UK workforce ([link removed])
+ Regarding English as an official language ([link removed])



** Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo Wants Taxpayers to Foot $23K Bill for Paris Trip
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Mark McCaig

The Texas Voice

Harris County Commissioners Court will meet on Thursday to consider items including a request by County Judge Lina Hidalgo for $23,300 for a trip to Paris, France next month.

According to the travel request ([link removed]) , Hidalgo is seeking taxpayer funding for herself and three staffers to participate in a delegation from Harris County to Paris to “showcase the county as a lead in global innovation and AI.” The request notes that the trip will include “public policy collaboration with European ministers and elected officials.”

Hidalgo’s travel request comes as Harris County leaders have struggled to provide adequate funding for county law enforcement.

Other expenditures on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of Harris County Commissioners Court include $5,000 for the county to sponsor the 2025 “Pride in Business” event hosted by the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce and $30,000 for another public art mural.


** Upcoming Events
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Author: Matt Murphy, Political Director, Houston Young Republicans

Editor: Courtney Trevino, President, Houston Young Republicans

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