This Week in Texas: Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Posted April 24, 2019 in The Mignon Memo

Senate budget conferees announced

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced his picks to work on ironing out differences between the House and Senate’s version of the state’s budget. Sens. Jane Nelson, Joan Huffman, Lois Kolkhorst, Larry Taylor and Robert Nichols, all Republicans, are the Senate conferees. This marks the first time in three decades that the lite gov has snubbed the minority party. Read more here.

 

Dueling press conferences on immigration

Senate members on both sides of the aisle held press conferences on immigration last week, about an hour apart from one another. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn joined the Republicans, while Rep. Joaquin Castro – a rumored 2020 Cornyn challenger – took part in the Democratic presser. Republicans emphasized crime and drug trafficking in their conference, while Democrats of course took a very different approach. Read more here.

 

M.J. Hegar enters 2020 Senate race, vying for Cornyn’s seat

Democratic former Air Force pilot M.J. Hegar, who narrowly lost her House race in 2018, is challenging John Cornyn in 2020. Her 2018 race highlights included viral videos that helped increase her fundraising margins. Read more here.

 

Only in Austin…

The bipartisan seersucker caucus poses for a picture in the House.