Good morning,

Several people, including the president of the United States, have floated the idea of redoing the 2020 "Covid era" census. Today, we want to know who you think should be counted.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, July 8, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

But First...

• The tragic horror of the holiday weekend, impacting thousands of Texans, has been met head-on by the selfless heroism and kindness of professionals and volunteers alike. Let us thank God that such people exist.
      
• Texas Scorecard's Joseph Trimmer covered the aftermath on the ground. The videos he shot are available on 𝕏.

President Trump to Survey Devastation Caused by Deadly Floods in Central Texas

• Catastrophic flash floods swept across Central Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. According to state officials, more than 100 people are dead and dozens more are missing.
     
• Officials report that a series of intense storms dumped up to a foot of rain in parts of the Hill Country early Friday morning and continued through the weekend. The Guadalupe River surged 26 feet in just 45 minutes, tearing through communities with little warning. Residents described a “pitch-black wall of water” that swept vehicles and homes from their foundations and through the valley with shocking force.
     
• The worst destruction is centered in Kerr County, about 65 miles northwest of San Antonio. There, flash floods along the Guadalupe River devastated riverside areas, including the historic Camp Mystic summer camp.
       
• Dramatic scenes unfolded across the Hill Country as first responders in boats and helicopters saved stranded residents. In Hunt, volunteer rescuers aided in nighttime searches; by morning, formal teams scoured the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic for signs of the missing.
       
• Even after floodwaters receded, much of Central Texas remained hazardous. As of Monday, dozens of roads and low-water crossings in Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, Caldwell, Lee, and Fayette counties were still closed due to high water or structural damage.
      
• A federal disaster declaration for Kerr County was approved by President Trump on Sunday, allowing FEMA to assist with recovery. Trump has said he is considering a visit to the region on Friday, pending coordination with local officials.

Big Questions Ahead of Special Legislative Session

• With less than two weeks remaining until lawmakers return to Austin, Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to announce what issues will be on the agenda for the upcoming special legislative session, leaving legislators and observers in a holding pattern. Brandon Waltens has details on what could be at stake when the special session convenes on Monday, July 21.
       
• The governor has teased the possibility of regulations on THC sales and a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying. Others have suggested that congressional redistricting could be taken up, while the Texas GOP wants its priorities on the call.
     
• Until the governor releases the official agenda, lawmakers are unable to file legislation—even on widely speculated topics. 

Paxton Says State Will Continue Defense of Border Security Law

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced that the state will continue to defend a 2023 immigration enforcement law that was recently blocked by a federal appeals court. As Luca Cacciatore reports, a three-judge appeals court panel issued a ruling last week that keeps the law on hold.
     
• Judge Priscilla Richman argued that the law's provisions deputizing law enforcement to arrest suspected illegals and authorizing state judges to order illegals to be returned to the border directly conflicted with federal law.
      
• The lawsuit was first brought against the state law during the Biden administration, and President Donald Trump had sought to drop it after taking office. A coalition of leftwing interest groups and El Paso County kept the lawsuit going.
     
• "Texas has every right to protect public safety, and I will always fight to stop illegal immigration." – Ken Paxton

OTHER BORDER NEWS

Texas Schools Implementing New Regs on Students' Phone Use

• McKael Kirwin reports that Texas schools are preparing to implement a new law regulating the use of cell phones in classrooms. 
     
• Authored by State Rep. Caroline Fairly (R-Amarillo), the new law requires school boards to implement a ban on personal devices used by students while on school campuses. In presenting the legislation this spring, Fairly emphasized the need to prevent disruptions in classrooms.
      
• “The reality is: these phones, they’re a distraction.” – Caroline Fairly
        
• Under the law, school districts are given wide discretion in implementing the prohibition in their schools.

OTHER EDUCATION NEWS

• Jeremy Lyndell Flint taught for eight years in Lampasas ISD. His wife, Chloe, was the assistant band director. Now, both of their teaching certificates are under review by the Texas Education Agency.

Voter Fraud Indictments Climb to 15 in Frio County

• Nine more indictments have been announced in Frio County in an ongoing vote harvesting investigation, bringing the total number of suspects in the case to 15. Ian Camacho reports that seven of the suspects turned themselves in last week.
      
• The charges were brought by the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Election Fraud Unit and Frio County’s District Attorney, Audrey Gossett Louis. 
     
• Vote harvesting involves knowingly providing or offering compensation for collecting ballots, except in specific cases such as caregiving. Conviction for vote harvesting could result in a prison sentence of up to ten years and fines of up to $10,000.

Today In History

On July 8, 1868, Republican delegate Titus Mundine of Burleson County proposed at Texas' constitutional convention that the right to vote be extended to blacks and women. The measure was defeated. However, African American men would get the right to vote two years later, with ratification of the 15th Amendment. Women would not be voting in Texas until 1918.

Quote-Unquote

"A man's rights rest in three boxes. The ballot box, jury box, and the cartridge box."

– Frederick Douglass​

One Click Survey

It has been suggested by some that the 2020 U.S. Census, conducted during the Covid pandemic, should be redone. That idea has received approval from President Donald Trump and others.

Among other things, census data serves as the basis for allocating the 435 seats in the U.S. House between the states, and then how district lines are drawn by the states' legislatures.

Thinking of the census, who do you think should be counted for the purposes of congressional seat apportionment and spending?

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