People in Washington, like people across the country, were talking about several major events this week.

Military Action in Venezuela.  As you no doubt know, last Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela for the stated purpose of capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro his wife Cilia Flores.  I listened to the press conference last Saturday where the president and senior members of the administration gave conflicting reports about the purpose and the plans going forward.  During the press conference, President Trump announced that the United States will now “run the country” without articulating any credible plan to support a functioning, stable, democratic Venezuelan government.  President Trump did not consult Congress or seek Congress’ authority before ordering military action in Venezuela, simultaneously violating the Constitution and setting a dangerous precedent for national sovereignty. 

Later in the week, President Trump announced that the United States will “run Venezuela” indefinitely and will take control of Venezuelan oil production, outlining a plan to sell existing production and deposit the revenue into undisclosed foreign banks outside the United States rather than the U.S. Treasury.  President Trump also mentioned potential military action in Mexico, Colombia, and Cuba, causing great concern within Congress and among the American people.  And Trump and members of the administration (and now Congress) are talking about action in Greenland, a territory of a NATO ally.

Our Constitution grants Congress—not the President—the sole authority and solemn responsibility to declare war and engage in foreign conflicts.  And this is for a reason.  Members of Congress are representatives of the people—the people who will be asked to bear the many burdens of war.  This week, the Senate voted to consider a “war powers” resolution that, if passed, would provide a process by which the President must consult with Congress to seek authorization for the use of armed forces, or otherwise terminate such use of force, in Venezuela.  In response, Vice President Vance tried to dismiss the War Powers Act.  But it is fundamental to our system of checks and balances.  Members of the House are working on a war powers resolution, as well.  (The House took up two similar war powers resolutions last month, which I voted for but which failed to pass the House.)

Fifth Anniversary of January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.  Tuesday was the fifth anniversary of the attack on the Constitution and the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power that is at the very heart of our democratic society.  Each year on this day, I think of the brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers who defended our Congress, our capitol, and our country.  But this year was a little different—and it felt that way across the Capitol.  This year was the first anniversary that President Trump was back in the White House.  A group of people convicted for offenses committed on January 6 that President Trump pardoned on his first day in office marched up the mall toward the Capitol.  The White House published an utterly false timeline of events on its website—insane revisionist history attempting to blame the Capitol Police for the attack.

As someone who was inside the Capitol, in the Gallery of the House of Representatives, on January 6, 2021, I witnessed the bravery of the Capitol Police and the very real threat to us all.  And as someone still working in the Capitol today, I know that those forces are still with us—the threats to our country and the courage and commitment to fight back.  Congress passed a law to commission a plaque honoring the law enforcement officers who protected the Capitol, the country, and the Constitution on January 6, 2021 and requiring it to be displayed in the Capitol.  It has been ready to be hung for some time, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to do it.

A replica of the plaque honoring the heroes of January 6 hangs outside of my office in gratitude to the U.S. Capitol Police who defended our Capitol and our country that day and in the days since, and as a reminder that American democracy requires all of us to be courageous and committed in its defense. 

ICE Shooting in Minnesota.  Like people across the country, people in Washington were horrified to learn about and see the videos of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shooting and killing an American citizen, Renee Good, in her car on the street in Minneapolis on Wednesday.  This outrageous killing was followed by disparaging and baseless statements from President Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Vice President Vance, and other Trump Administration officials.  The purpose of law enforcement is to keep our communities safe from harm, not to cause it and lie about it.  Americans are increasingly concerned about the violent actions and use of deadly force from ICE agents.  This week’s killing amplified discussions about how to address the aggressive deployment of immigration officers—as well as concerns many of us have expressed about the dangers of the use of masks and the failures in training and direction that have repeatedly led to the escalation rather than de-escalation of dangerous situations.  I have called for an independent agency to assist in ensuring transparency and accountability in the investigation of this killing and am working with colleagues on legislative solutions to address the deep concerns so many of us share.

U.S. Withdraws From 66 International Organizations.  As if the talk of annexing Greenland wasn’t enough, President Trump signed executive orders withdrawing from and suspending U.S. support for 66 international organizations, agencies, and commissions, nearly half of which are affiliated with the United Nations.  Many of these long-standing international organizations are focused on fostering international cooperation on climate, labor, public health, and migration.  Earlier this year, the Trump administration moved to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Republicans passed a rescission package to claw back nearly $8 billion in funding for foreign assistance that Congress had already funded.  These shortsighted foreign policy decisions send a dangerous message to our allies and further cede U.S. leadership to our adversaries at a time when our country should be strengthening our global partnerships, not withdrawing from them.

There was a lot of activity in the House this week. 

Health Care.  Most unusual and vitally important was that House Democrats successfully forced a vote on Democratic legislation to extend the Affordable Care Act’s Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs), which expired on December 31, 2025, after Congressional Republicans refused to extend the subsidies.  This was the final result of the months-long effort to get this bill to the floor that used the few tools the minority party has in the House.  It’s a little inside baseball, but it was a really big deal.  The good news: it didn’t only make it to the floor, it passed.  The challenge: the Senate may or may not consider it.  I am hopeful this effort will get the Senate to act to restore these credits.  125,000 people in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District depended on the EPTCs to access health care.  Texas’ uninsured rate—which is already the highest in the country—is expected to increase from 16 to 20 percent because of the EPTCs’ expiration.

Government Funding.  More good news.  As you know by now from all my emails, each year Congress must pass 12 appropriations bills that fund the government for the year.  In recent years, Congress has failed to do that.  And in October, the government shut down as a result.  The shutdown ended with the passage of three of these appropriations bills (Legislative Branch, Military Construction & Veterans Affairs, and Agriculture) and a resolution to continue funding the remaining nine appropriation accounts at fiscal year 2025 levels until January 30, 2026. 

This week, Congress passed three more in one bill, the Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026, H.R. 6938. 

Keeping our government funded and functioning is a fundamental responsibility of Congress.  For the past year, however, President Trump and Congressional Republicans have fought at every turn to eliminate funding for government programs that people across Texas’ Seventh Congressional District rely on.  I am pleased that, after months of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, we have come to a bipartisan agreement to reinstate funding for government programs that the administration gutted last year—a rebuke of the DOGE effort and other efforts to eliminate critical funding.  This legislation also reasserts Congress’ power of the purse with instilling transparency and accountability requirements.

There is a ton to cover, but generally, I am glad to report the success of my efforts to provide federal funding for things that are important to people in TX07, including scientific research broadly (including funding for NOAA and weather services), natural disaster research and preparedness, and protection of public lands and the environment.  For more detail, please see the following links to summaries of the highlights of bills:

• For a summary of TX-07 Priorities, click here.
• For a summary of the Commerce, Justice, Science funding bill, click here.
• For a summary of the Energy and Water Development funding bill, click here.
• For a summary of the Interior and Environment funding bill, click here.

The House must pass the remaining six appropriations bills before the January 30 funding deadline, and we expect to vote on more next week.

At the end of the week, the House considered the Affordable HOMES Act, H.R. 5184.  The bill name makes it sound good, but the bill doesn’t actually help address affordability, instead in prevents implementation of long overdue Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards on manufactured housing (mobile homes) and redirects the authority to set standards to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which failed to do so in the past and lacks the expertise needed to set energy efficiency standards. I voted against this bill, which passed the House by a vote of 263-147.

As a reminder, you can always find a list of all of the votes I have taken for the district on my website.

This week, I cosponsored several pieces of legislation, including:

• the January 6th Truth and Transparency Act, H.R. 6954, to direct the Director of the Congressional Research Service to prepare a report of the extent of reoffend rates by individuals pardoned by the President following the January 6, 2021 insurrection;   
• the Insurrection Sentencing Enhancement Act, H.R. 6953, to provide for an enhanced penalty for an act of violent insurrection;
• the January 6th Oral History Project Act, H.R. 6952, to direct the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish an oral history program to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials and written materials with respect to those individuals who were affected by the events at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021; and
• a resolution recognizing the 15th Anniversary of the January 8, 2011, Tucson, Arizona, shooting and honoring the survivors, victims, and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, one of the Nation's most influential voices of courage in the fight to end gun violence, H.Con.Res. 69.

Since I last wrote to you, I joined my colleagues in sending more letters to the administration, including:

• a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expressing concerns regarding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent announcement that they will change the childhood immunization schedule by reducing the number of universally recommended vaccines from 17 to 11, despite there being no evidence that this new schedule is more effective. This letter also urges Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reinstate the previous childhood immunization schedule;
• a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Director Joseph Edlow opposing the Trump administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on proposed changes to public charge regulations relating to immigrants to the United States;
• a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins and Ranking Member Patty Murray, and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro in support of sustained funding for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); and
• a letter to President Donald Trump opposing the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

This week, the Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing on the future of nuclear energy.  Texas is once again leading the way in innovation and development of this crucial technology for our power sector, thanks in part to our committee’s work to pass the ADVANCE Act in 2024.  As I discussed in my remarks, however, despite this bipartisan success, President Trump undermined the critical work of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last year, illegally firing a commissioner, installing DOGE cronies to bypass career civil servants, and eroding NRC’s independence.  These actions are dangerous and could cause instability in an industry where we can’t afford mistakes.  We can't talk about bolstering American nuclear energy without acknowledging the harm the Trump administration is doing by stripping the agency tasked with regulating this industry of its independence.  You can watch my full remarks and the witnesses’ answers to my questions below.

On Thursday, the Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on legislation focused on expanding patient access to Medicare services.  It was our first hearing in a while, and we covered several important and useful bills.  I was compelled, however, to express concerns about the harm currently being done to our entire health care system and limiting health care access for all Americans, including Medicare beneficiaries, because of the policy decisions this Congress has made and is continuing to make now, including cutting Medicaid funding and eliminating the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits.  Cutting access to health care for millions of Americans is increasing health care costs for everyone across the country.  You can watch my full remarks and questions below:

Our team started the new year strong this week.  With multiple committee hearings, lots of votes, and people making it back to Washington to start the year, Team TX-07 held more than a dozen meetings with constituents and groups advocating on their behalf.  In Washington, Team TX-07 held more than a dozen meetings with constituents and groups advocating on their behalf, including the Coalition for App Fairness and Mathematical Sciences on the Hill, pictured below.  Back home in the district, our team was answering calls, helping constituents, and attending community events, including Harris County Commissioner Briones’ Places for People event, pictured below.

The House will be back in session next week, and I will be in Washington for the work week ahead.  A reminder that next Monday evening, I will host a virtual town hall from my office in Washington to provide a review of 2025 in Congress and a look ahead to 2026.  Regular readers will know that we planned this town hall meeting long before the Texans game got scheduled for 7:15p.m.  But you can definitely watch and listen to both, and we will be done before halftime.  You can sign up here or by clicking on the graphic below.  And you can submit your questions or topics you’d like to hear about while you’re signing up, so I can try to address them in my remarks.

As always, I am proud to represent you and I am here to help you.  Please call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email here at any time to ask for assistance or share your thoughts.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,