Good morning,

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Patrick Wants To Double Trump’s Baby Investment Plan

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Texas should create its own version of President Donald Trump’s new child investment accounts, announcing that the state should provide every Texas newborn with an additional $1,000 in publicly funded, long-term savings beginning in 2027. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• The initiative mirrors and expands upon the federal Trump Accounts program created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, which seeds every American newborn’s account with $1,000 that cannot be accessed until adulthood and grows through investment in a broad U.S. stock-market index. The accounts are intended to accumulate wealth from birth and teach families and children long-term financial planning. Michael and Susan Dell contributed $6.25 billion this week to help launch the federal program.
      
• Patrick is calling his program the “New Little Texan Savings Fund,” noting that approximately 400,000 babies are born each year in Texas. Under his proposal, Texas newborns would receive an additional $1,000 from the state treasury at birth, invested in the S&P 500 in alignment with the federal program. He estimates that the Texas portion would cost roughly $400 million annually, calling it “about 1% or less of our total state appropriations.” 

DPS Busts Human Smuggler With 23 Illegal Aliens

• A human smuggling operation was intercepted in La Salle County late last week, with state troopers discovering 23 illegal aliens hidden in the cab of an 18-wheeler. Sydnie Henry has the story.
      
• The driver, a 24-year-old Laredo man, now faces dozens of felony counts and the possibility of a lengthy prison term under Texas’ enhanced smuggling penalties. 
      
• The illegal aliens were reportedly from Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. They were taken into custody and referred to Border Patrol for federal immigration processing.

Roma ISD Asks Public To ‘Avoid Speculation’ About Misconduct Allegations

• Erin Anderson reports that a South Texas school superintendent, Carlos Gonzalez of Roma ISD, is asking the public to avoid “speculation” and “negative commentary” after announcing on social media that an employee was accused of misconduct involving a student. 
      
• Gonzalez said the district reported the allegations to regulators and law enforcement as required by state law. He went on to say comments on social media unfairly “tarnish the reputation” of other staff members and cast the school in an “unfounded negative light.”
     
• The superintendent also called for the public to delete any “negative commentary” on social media.

Abbott’s Office Charges $25,000 for Petition List After THC Veto Controversy

• The office of Gov. Greg Abbott wants more than $25,000 to reveal the list of who urged him to protect THC-infused products, reports Robert Montoya. In June, Abbott vetoed a proposed statewide ban on the sale of THC.
   
• His veto drew the ire of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who had vowed in March to shut down every THC store in Texas. The Senate tried to pass the proposed ban again during the two special sessions Abbott called, but the House declined to take on the issue.
      
• In response to a Public Information Act request for a list of individuals who had petitioned his office about THC, the governor's office sent a $25,000 cost estimate to provide the information. Texas Scorecard has since filed a cost complaint with the Office of the Attorney General.

Democrat Henry Cuellar Pardoned by Trump After Bribery Indictment

• Democrat U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife Imelda, who had been facing federal charges of bribery and money laundering, have now been granted a full and unconditional pardon by President Donald Trump.
   
• Cuellar was indicted in May 2024 following a 2022 FBI raid on his Laredo home and campaign office. According to the Justice Department, the Cuellars allegedly received roughly $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities—an Azerbaijani state-owned oil and gas company and a Mexico City-based bank.
      
• Two former consultants to Cuellar have already entered plea agreements acknowledging their role in laundering the money. The president, however, framed the case as an instance of political retaliation by the Biden administration. Trump accused Biden of targeting Cuellar for dissenting on border policy.
      
• “For years, the Biden Administration weaponized the Justice System against their Political Opponents, and anyone who disagreed with them… One of the clearest examples of this was when Crooked Joe used the FBI and DOJ to ‘take out’ a member of his own Party after Highly Respected Congressman Henry Cuellar bravely spoke out against Open Borders, and the Biden Border ‘Catastrophe.’” – President Donald Trump

Quote-Unquote

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder." – George Washington​

SHOWS

Directories of Elected Officials

* The new congressional boundaries for representational purposes will not take effect until January 2027.