Good morning,

There are many things we cannot control in life, but it is up to each of us to decide if we will approach each day as a grumbler or as a happy warrior. More on that thought below.

This is the Texas Minute for Friday, June 27, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

GOP Chairman Warns Trump Against Backing ‘Fake Republicans’

• Texas Republican Party Chairman Abraham George is sounding the alarm over a potentially growing disconnect between the grassroots conservative movement in Texas and operatives tied to President Donald Trump's White House. Brandon Waltens has the story.
    
• In a recent interview with Chris Salcedo, George responded to recent reporting that the political arm of the Trump White House is attempting to interfere in internal Texas GOP matters. Specifically, Trump's advisors have been quietly opposing efforts to close GOP primaries and to enforce Rule 44, the party’s censure mechanism for officeholders who defy the party platform. In some cases, censure would exclude incumbents from running on the GOP ticket.
      
• Noting that Trump’s endorsements in Texas are now being driven by a narrow focus on school choice, many of the incumbents who might be supported by the White House have long histories of opposing the conservative agenda and even the president himself.
     
• “The issue here is not necessarily the endorsement itself,” said George. “It’s in somewhat of a conflict with our agenda here in Texas … The president is going to endorse someone that we may not even put on the ballot.”
       

• George has confirmed, though, that the White House political team has backed off attempts to stop Texas from closing its primaries. This has been a major concern for grassroots activists who argue Democrats have used Texas' open primaries to influence Republican elections.
      

• Earlier this month, the State Republican Executive Committee passed a formal resolution urging Trump to delay his endorsements of Texas officeholders until the party’s censure process has played out.

State Universities Ordered to Identify Illegal Alien Students

• Texas' colleges and universities are being told that they must identify which of their enrollees are illegal aliens and start charging them higher rates. Luca Cacciatore has the details.
      
• Students in the country illegally have nonetheless been paying discounted in-state tuition rates because of a 2001 law championed by former Gov. Rick Perry called the Texas Dream Act. Now, those illegal aliens must start paying out-of-state tuition beginning with this coming fall semester. Under federal law, states cannot offer benefits—such as reduced tuition—that are not available to all U.S. citizens, regardless of their state of residence.
           
• This new instruction from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board follows a court order, agreed to earlier this month by the Trump administration and Attorney General Ken Paxton, to immediately stop giving this state benefit to illegal aliens.
       
• Research from the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration has found that 57,000 illegal aliens were enrolled in Texas' colleges and universities in August 2024.

Education Board Proposes New Standards for School Trustee Training

• New standards for local school district trustee training could represent a fundamental shift in public school governance, reports Erin Anderson. If approved, the new emphasis will be on elected officials' responsibilities to families and taxpayers.
      
• Among other things, state law tasks the elected members of the State Board of Education with providing trustee training and adopting a framework for continuing education that outlines critical governing performance areas for public school boards.
      
• Currently, trustees are instructed to govern in tandem with superintendents as a “Team of Eight,” with trustees frequently told that their responsibility is to the district as an entity—not constituents.
      
• One advocate for the change is SBOE Member Brandon Hall, who cited the arrest of a local superintendent for failing to report teachers accused of abusing students as an example of why trustees need better training.
      
• The measure is set to be considered by the SBOE at their meeting today in Austin.

Prosecutors Seek Cell Phone of Student Solicited for Sex by Elgin ISD Coach

• Prosecutors are seeking cell phone evidence in a case against a Central Texas high school basketball coach accused of sexual misconduct with a female student. Devin Ryan Anderson was arrested last December on charges of improper relationship between educator and student and possession of child pornography while working for Elgin Independent School District.
    
• Anderson, who is free on a $55,000 bond, allegedly solicited a female student for sex via text messages. Prosecutors believe the victim’s cellphone may contain evidence relevant to the case and asked a judge for permission to seek the device.
      
• State records show Anderson’s teaching certificate, issued in 2022, remains valid but is under review by the Texas Education Agency. He is no longer employed by Elgin ISD.

Houston to Ban Homeless Outdoor Sleeping 

• In a bid to curb street homelessness and connect people with shelters, Houston plans to implement a 24/7 outdoor sleeping ban in key neighborhoods, backed by new funding and federal support. As Michael Wilson reports, the move would update the city's existing “civility ordinance” that prohibits sleeping in public spaces from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., but allows it during overnight hours.
    
• While the policy is expected to improve neighborhood appearance and safety, city officials are emphasizing that the ultimate goal is to help individuals experiencing homelessness move off the streets and into safer environments. 

This Sunday on REAL TEXANS

Friday Reflection
Being Defined, or Doing the Defining?

Life comes at us pretty fast, and there are two kinds of people: those who are defined by their circumstances, and those who choose to define themselves in their circumstances.

With certain exceptions, we generally cannot control the circumstances of life. Sure, we can skip that drink at a bar, we can avoid being with a certain kind of person, or choose not to engage in a particular sort of activity. But for the most part, the circumstances of life slam into us because of the choices of others.

What we can control is our attitude, our outlook, and our reaction to those circumstances. We can be defined by them, or we can define them by the attitude and posture we choose to take despite them.

In the early 19th century, the English poet William Wordsworth described the “Character of the Happy Warrior” in an ode to Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson. Having already lost an arm and an eye in a previous battle, Nelson nonetheless refused to give up the fight or his good humor. (Nelson was eventually killed by a sniper while leading a successful battle, but even in death inspiring his men to greater success.)

The happy warrior, Wordsworth wrote, “Looks forward, persevering to the last … And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws his breath in confidence of Heaven's applause.”

In my experience, those who let themselves be defined by the prevailing circumstances of the fallen world are generally a cheerless and grumbling lot. They look back on times that were rarely as wonderful as they remember, and proceed to spend their remaining days mourning its passage.

On the other hand, those who ignore the hateful jeers of the world are much happier. They look forward joyfully to what they can achieve in their circumstances or the contribution they can make in the advancement of their ideas. 

The difference is found in the daily choice of personal perspective. Will our attitude be dictated by others, or will we govern ourselves?

As a self-governing people, we must learn from the past and understand with clarity the present. Yet even more importantly, we must choose to be driven—happily—by our role in shaping and defining the possibilities of the future.

Quote-Unquote

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way."

– Viktor Frankl