Good morning,

This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, August 13, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Abbott Vows Immediate Second Special Session as Democrat Quorum Bust Drags On

• With the current special session nearing its end and the Texas House still paralyzed by a Democrat quorum break over congressional redistricting, Gov. Greg Abbott says lawmakers will be called back immediately for another round. Brandon Waltens has the details. 
      
• The governor said the next special session "will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans."
      
• The current impasse began when House Democrats fled the state to block legislation on new congressional maps. Without at least 100 members present, the House cannot conduct business.
        
• It is worth noting that the entire process for moving legislation starts over with each special session.
       
• "There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas-first agenda passed." – Greg Abbott

RELATED NEWS

• In addition to congressional redistricting, the other items on the governor's agenda that were adopted yesterday by the Senate included disaster relief, the installation of flood warning systems, and a prohibition on abortion-inducing drugs, among other things.  
       
• The Senate previously passed legislation banning taxpayer-funded lobbying, restoring power to the attorney general to prosecute election crimes, and prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and possession of consumable hemp products that contain any form of THC.
      
• While the Senate has passed all of the governor’s priorities, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick acknowledged that the Senate may be forced to undertake the same work all over again in a second special session.

Senate Moves to Abolish STAAR Test

• Legislation eliminating the high-stakes STAAR test in government schools was passed out of the Texas Senate yesterday, reports Addie Hovland. The STAAR test has long been criticized for its unreliable measurement of learning and for dominating school priorities in ways that hurt genuine education.

       

• In its place, senators voted for a three-part adaptive assessment that would be administered throughout the school year, enabling parents and teachers to track students’ progress.
       
• Like the other items on Gov. Greg Abbott's special session agenda passed by the Senate, this measure will be dead without a quorum in the House to conduct legislative business.

Paxton Says O’Rourke Flagrantly Violated Fundraising Ban

• Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking a Tarrant County judge to hold Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke in contempt of court—seeking fines and jail time—after accusing him of openly defying a temporary restraining order that barred him from fundraising for runaway Democrat lawmakers’ personal expenses.
      
• Paxton's lawsuit alleges O’Rourke misled donors by advertising contributions as political support to “fight” Republicans while using the funds for impermissible personal expenses, such as private jets, luxury hotels, and dining. Judge Megan Fahey issued a temporary restraining order against O'Rourke and his group Powered by People.
      
• Paxton told the judge yesterday that O’Rourke almost immediately thumbed his nose at the restraining order. At a Fort Worth rally on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the order was signed, O’Rourke told hundreds of attendees, “There are no refs in this game, f*** the rules.”
       
• The court is being asked to fine O’Rourke and Powered by People $500 for each violation of the order, and to jail O’Rourke until he demonstrates a willingness to comply.

Lawsuit Filed Against Man Accused of Murdering Unborn Daughter

• A complaint has been filed in a South Texas federal court alleging a Marine murdered his unborn child by spiking the mother’s hot chocolate with abortion drugs. Travis Morgan has details on the case.
    
• The lawsuit has been filed against Aid Access, an organization that ships abortion pills into Texas, and the father, Christopher Cooprider, a Marine. 
      
• Allegedly, Cooprider impregnated his girlfriend, who wanted to carry the baby girl to term. Cooprider, the lawsuit asserts, purchased abortion pills from Aid Access, repeatedly urging her to take them. When she refused, Cooprider is alleged to have doctored the women's hot chocolate with them.
      
• The woman began hemorrhaging and cramping shortly after, and the baby died.

Texas A&M Faculty Senate Braces for Regents’ Decision

• As state lawmakers’ overhaul of university governance goes into effect, Robert Montoya reports that the Texas A&M University Faculty Senate is waiting for the system's Board of Regents to determine its fate later this month.
      
• In recent years, university faculty nationwide have been exposed for promoting leftwing ideologies to students. This led to a new state law abolishing the practice of “shared governance” in Texas' colleges and universities, limiting the ability of unelected faculty to dictate the operations of taxpayer-financed institutions. The law increases the responsibility of boards of regents over curricula and hiring decisions.
           
• During a recent meeting, the TAMU faculty senate took up several items of business, including the establishment of a "faculty ring" that would be available for long-serving university staff.

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Quote-Unquote

"Our government is founded upon the intelligence of the people. I for one do not despair of the republic. I have great confidence in the virtue of the great majority of the people, and I cannot fear the result."

– Andrew Jackson​

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