Good morning,

A growing number of Aggies and lawmakers are calling for Texas A&M's president to be terminated. In today's One Click Survey, we want your opinion.

This is the Texas Minute for Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Patrick Slams Abbott’s THC Order

• In a fiery statement, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order related to the sale of THC-infused products. As Brandon Waltens reports, the lieutenant governor described the order as giving the "state seal of approval" to the sale of "dangerous" psychoactive drugs.
     
• Patrick led the Senate in passing legislation multiple times this year that would have enacted a complete ban on THC-infused products, including Delta-8 and Delta-10 synthetics. The House followed suit in the spring, leading to a veto by Abbott. House members were unable to vote on the issue during the first special session due to the Democrat quorum bust. They left the THC legislation untouched in the second special session.
     
• Last week, Abbott issued an executive order banning sales to anyone under 21, requiring age verification for all purchases, and restricting how close stores can be to schools and churches. He described the order as providing "safety for kids and freedom for adults."
       
• Patrick said THC retailers celebrated Abbott's order as legitimizing their business. "We do not want to be another failed Colorado."

Abbott Promotes Law He Says Will Ban ‘Sharia Compounds’

• During a ceremonial bill signing in McKinney for a law that has already taken effect, Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that it will ban "Sharia compounds." He said the measure is necessary to ensure religious freedom is not twisted into religious segregation.
       
• The new law creates a framework for regulating an ownership model critics say was used to sidestep state property law in the East Plano Islamic Center’s planned “EPIC City” and “EPIC Ranches” projects.
     
• Announced last year by EPIC, the projects were marketed as exclusive Muslim enclaves involving hundreds of homes along with a mosque, K-12 schools, a community college, a clinic, and retail space.
      
• Unlike a typical subdivision, residents wouldn’t hold title to their property directly but would instead buy into a business entity that controlled the land.

Lawsuit Against ‘Texas Foreign Land Ban’ Pending in Federal Court

• Three Chinese nationals in the United States on visas and residing in Texas have brought a lawsuit against the state to block a foreign land ownership ban. Travis Morgan details the case.
     
• The ban, passed earlier this year, prohibits foreign adversaries—such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—and related entities from acquiring real estate in Texas. It also includes provisions to allow the attorney general to investigate violations and initiate divestment actions in court.
     
• The lawsuit claims that the law is unconstitutional and will have a stigmatizing effect on society.
       
• Attorney General Ken Paxton has argued the case should be dismissed because the plaintiffs could not prove they would be harmed. While a district judge sided with Paxton, the Chinese nationals—represented by the New Jersey-based Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance—have appealed. 

Teacher Resigns Over ‘Incident’ With Students

• Erin Anderson reports that police are investigating an unnamed elementary school teacher in the Commerce Independent School District who resigned over an “incident” involving two students. Details have not been made public, but the district did report the matter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as well as local law enforcement agencies. 
     

• Superintendents are required to report any alleged physical or sexual abuse of students to the state via the TEA’s educator misconduct reporting portal within 48 hours.

Houston Midwife Faces Felony Charges After Performing Illegal Abortions

• Addie Hovland reports that a Houston-area midwife has been charged with 15 felonies for performing unlawful abortions in Texas.
      
• Maria Margarita Rojas, known as “Dr. Maria,” was arrested in March for performing illegal abortions, running a network of abortion businesses, and practicing medicine without a license in the Houston area.
     
• Of the 15 charges, 12 are for practicing medicine without a license. The remaining three charges are for performing abortions. An investigation by the attorney general’s law enforcement division revealed that a network of clinics owned by Rojas had hired individuals without proper medical licenses to perform procedures.
      
• Abortion procedures barred by Texas law were also performed in Rojas’ Houston clinics, several of which have since been shut down. According to the Texas Human Life Protection Act, only abortionists are held criminally accountable for unlawful abortion procedures, not their clients.

Today In History

On Sept. 15, 1829, the Republic of Mexico abolished slavery. The decree did not reach Texas until October, but it was never published because it violated colonization agreements guaranteeing settlers the right to own slaves.

Quote-Unquote

"Bad ideas don’t die of their own accord; they have to be killed by better ones."

– H.L. Richardson​

One Click Survey

Texas A&M's president, Mark Welsh, is in hot water after being discovered to have spent weeks defending a professor's decision to instruct students in a children's literature class to present LGBT themes to very young minors. Welsh was then recorded berating a student for exposing the matter. An increasing number of former students and lawmakers are calling for him to be terminated.

Do you think the TAMU System Board of Regents should fire Welsh?

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

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