Good morning, 

This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Abbott Designates Two Muslim Groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations

• Using powers granted under a new state law, Gov. Greg Abbott has designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• The proclamation immediately prohibits the groups from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas and authorizes the state to take legal action to shut down their operations. The new state law empowers the Texas attorney general to investigate any property transactions involving prohibited entities, bring actions against land they attempt to acquire, seek court-ordered divestiture, and pursue civil penalties of up to 50 percent of the property’s market value.
      
• The declaration follows years of concern from national security officials and law enforcement. CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in United States v. Holy Land Foundation, the largest terrorism financing case in U.S. history.
      
• CAIR responded by attacking Abbott as "an Israel First politician who has spent months stoking anti-Muslim hysteria."  
      
• The governor’s action comes amid heightened public scrutiny over Islamist influence in Texas. The most recent flashpoint has been EPIC City (recently rebranded as The Meadow), a proposed Islamic enclave in North Texas that has triggered multiple state investigations.

Federal Court Blocks Texas’ New Congressional Map

• The upcoming election season was thrown into turmoil yesterday by an El Paso federal court's ruling that halts Texas’ newly enacted congressional map designed to create five additional Republican-leaning seats. As Travis Morgan and Brandon Waltens report, the court is ordering the state to instead use the previous map for 2026.
     
• In a 160-page ruling, the three-judge panel concluded in a 2-1 decision that the legislature "racially gerrymandered" the map after Gov. Greg Abbott added redistricting to the summer special session. The court said the state acted primarily on the racial demands of the U.S. Department of Justice rather than traditional or political considerations.
      
• At the center of the court’s decision is a July 2025 letter from the Department of Justice demanding that Texas dismantle several congressional districts based solely on their racial composition.
      
• The candidate filing period for the 2026 Primary Election opened on Nov. 8, under the newly-invalidated 2025 boundaries. This leaves candidates and election officials scrambling, especially since numerous candidates have already filed for congressional seats that may no longer exist.
      
• Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott already announced that the state will be swiftly appealing the decision.
      
• "This ruling is clearly erroneous and undermines the authority the U.S. Constitution assigns to the Texas Legislature by imposing a different map by judicial edict." – Greg Abbott

Texas Congressional Delegation Seeks $11B Reimbursement for Border Security Costs

• As Debra McClure reports, the Republican members of Texas' congressional delegation are urging federal agencies to reimburse the state for money spent securing the border during the Biden administration’s tenure. 
      
• They note that funds were set aside in the One Big Beautiful Bill to reimburse Texas $11 billion spent to protect Americans from “illegal immigration and drug trafficking” during the Biden administration.

Paxton Sues Two More School Districts for Refusing Ten Commandments Displays

• Lawsuits have been filed against Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD, and their respective school boards for refusing to comply with a new state law requiring donated copies of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in each public classroom. Sydnie Henry has the story.
     
• According to Paxton, the "rogue ISD officials and board members" are acting in defiance of "a clear statutory mandate."
      
• Though the law’s enforcement has been temporarily blocked for a handful of other districts due to ongoing federal litigation, Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD are unaffected.
      
• A Leander ISD spokesperson told Texas Scorecard that the district "is confounded by" the lawsuit because they have "accepted donated posters" and maintain a spreadsheet tracking where those are being displayed.
      
• Round Rock ISD, on the other hand, has said it is awaiting further legal guidance before complying with the law.

DEI Advocate Placed On UT-Austin Core Curriculum Review Committee

• Adam Cahn reports that a high-ranking administrator at the University of Texas at Austin with an extensive history of racially inflammatory statements has been assigned to the committee tasked with overhauling the university’s core curriculum. 
   
• As first reported by The Texas Horn, Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Richard Reddick has an extensive history of far-left statements. He has attacked the United States as “white supremacist,” compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, and advocated for so-called “diversity statements” in hiring.
     
• The committee is part of a review, announced by university President Jim Davis, to create a core curriculum that all students are required to take regardless of major.
    
• While Reddick’s presence on the committee is notable, a review of the full committee shows that at least seven committee members are tied to the university’s School for Civic Leadership, a classical education endeavor.

Quote-Unquote

"A leader is someone who helps improve the lives of other people or improve the system they live under."

– Sam Houston​

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