Why More Texans Are Taking Their Power Back
Rising energy costs, an unpredictable grid, and new technology have changed the thinking on home solar and battery storage. Here’s what Texas families need to know.
Texas Tech law student sues to block discipline related to Charlie Kirk comments
The Honor Council recommended a written reprimand for “celebratory” comments. The lawsuit argued that would violate her free speech rights.
Rep. Tony Gonzales could face expulsion from Congress amid furor over sexual misconduct
U.S. House members say they will bring resolutions to the floor this week to expel the Republican Gonzales and Democrat Eric Swalwell. Each motion would require a two-thirds majority.
Rep. Tony Gonzales to resign from Congress amid backlash over sexual misconduct allegations
House members were set to vote this week on expelling both the San Antonio Republican and Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. Gonzales’ announcement came shortly after Swalwell said he would step down.
Executive vice chancellor named the sole finalist to be Texas A&M president
Regents must wait 21 days before the hiring can be made official and Susan Ballabina takes charge of the state’s largest public university.
McAllen area residents push back against any ICE detention facility in their community
Monday’s remarks from residents comes after a list of potential ICE facilities included a McAllen warehouse.
‘Smart decision’: Swalwell’s resignation spurs praise from both parties after bombshell allegations emerge
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., announced he was planning to resign from Congress following sexual misconduct allegations, leading top Senate Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to praise the decision. Meanwhile, Republicans are questioning how much top Democrats knew before the final ball dropped Monday with Swalwell’s resignation, which came just days after he suspended his California gubernatorial campaign. Swalwell said Monday that he was “deeply sorry” to his family, staff and constituents for his “mistakes,” but stood headstrong in calling the sexual misconduct and abuse allegations against him “false.” “I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members,” Swalwell said in his announcement. “Expelling anyone from Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But, it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.” SWALWELL CAMPAIGN SETS OFF ALARM BELLS AFTER ACCEPTING $25K DONATION FROM CCP-TIED LAWYER: ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ “It was a good decision,” added Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., when asked about Swalwell’s resignation. “You don’t have to be a rocket science to figure that out. It’s terrible – what has been alleged.” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., reportedly told CNN that he thought Swalwell made the right decision. Swalwell’s decision to resign keeps Democrats from having to vote on a contentious resolution to expel Swalwell, which was expected to happen if he had not resigned. “With a criminal investigation in the works, the move will avoid the need to answer questions immediately in an ethics investigation that might present legal dangers,” George Washington University professor and Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley pointed out. “Few defense attorneys would relish a client responding to an open-ended ethics investigation when the outcome seems likely expulsion.” When asked whether she had requested Swalwell resign, Pelosi reportedly responded, “Oh, I think that was his decision. I think it’s a smart decision to make,” according to Politico. Furthermore, when asked whether she had any previous idea about the sexual misconduct allegations, Pelosi responded, “none whatsoever,” Politico also noted. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a longtime friend and colleague of Arizona who faced heat for defending him, said minutes before Swalwell’s resignation that he “had no knowledge of the allegations of assault, harassment, and predatory behavior against Eric Swalwell.” ‘USEFUL PUPPET’: ERIC SWALWELL IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER TRAVELING TO DOHA ON SEVERAL QATAR-SPONSORED TRIPS Warren, who ran against Swalwell during the pairs’ bids for the presidency, said she is “glad that [Swalwell] will be gone,” adding that “people who are in positions of power and authority over others need to be held accountable when they take advantage of that position.” Within an hour after Swalwell’s announcement that he would resign, one of Swalwell’s colleagues in the House of Representatives, Rep. Tony Gonzalez, R-Texas, followed suit and announced he was resigning as well amid sexual misconduct allegations. “There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas,” Gonzales said. Gonzalez last month said he would not run for reelection, so it is uncertain what may change. If Gonzalez and Swalwell left tomorrow, the slim margin in the House between Republicans and Democrats would not change. Republican reactions to Swalwell’s resignation Monday mirrored the praise from Democrats. Republican frontrunner in the California gubernatorial race, Steve Hilton, also slammed “career politicians” for letting Swalwell “get away with it.” “Of course Eric Swalwell had to drop out of the California governor’s race. The question is, why was he ever in it, knowing he had all this going on?” Hilton told Fox News Digital. “First smart thing he’s done,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who added that Gonzales “needs to follow his lead” right before he actually did. “Eric, you did the right thing by resigning. However, don’t you dare say there weren’t grounds for your expulsion, because there absolutely were,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said after Swalwell’s announcement he would be resigning. “He made the correct decision, but there still needs to be a full-fledged criminal investigation. Based on what I’m hearing, he may go to jail.” Other Republicans questioned how much Democrats knew before the allegations of sexual misconduct became public against Swalwell. “The mainstream media doesn’t attack a Democrat unless it helps a separate Democrat. It’s axiomatic. The Swalwell episode proves that in technicolor,” John Ashbrook, a co-host of the “Ruthless” podcast told Fox News Digital. “If he wasn’t jeopardizing their party’s ability to hold the California Governor’s mansion, none of them would have said a word.” “Eric Swalwell should’ve been removed from Congress long ago, yet Democrats rallied around him over and over even after it was shown he was compromised by a Chinese spy,” added Republican strategist Mark Bednar, who has worked for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and current Transportation Secretary and former Congressman Sean Duffy. “The real questions for Democrats close to him are what did they know, when did they know it, and will they question then-Speaker Pelosi’s judgment regarding Swalwell’s committee assignments?” Hilton echoed Bednar’s questions about how much top Democrats knew. “Machine politicians and unions that endorsed Swalwell and threw money at him — they knew about his past. It was an open secret on Capitol Hill and Sacramento. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, the teacher unions, SEIU — they are all totally full of it with their fake outrage and condemnation,” Hilton told Fox News Digital. “California is ruled by a corrupt Democrat elite that is collapsing into chaos, sleaze and scandal. That’s why the Swalwell stand-ins that they send to run against me in the general election, whether it’s Katie Porter or Tom Steyer, will be no better.”
Swalwell’s ‘best friend’ in Congress turns on him after bombshell allegations torpedo his political career
One of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s, D-Calif., closest friends in Congress is putting distance between himself and the lawmaker, contending he had no idea about the bombshell accusations of sexual assault that have surfaced against the former gubernatorial candidate. “I want to be clear: I had no knowledge of the allegations of assault, harassment, and predatory behavior against Eric Swalwell,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in a statement. “The women who have come forward have shown courage,” he continued. “They deserve to be believed, to be supported, and to see justice served.” HOUSE REPUBLICAN PLANS MOTION TO OUST SWALWELL FROM CONGRESS AMID SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS Gallego’s turn on Swalwell came just minutes before the lawmaker announced his resignation from Congress. He already pulled his endorsement of Swalwell’s now-defunct bid for governor shortly after the bombshell San Francisco Chronicle report was published, and said the lawmaker was “no longer fit to be a member of Congress” and supported the push to expel him from the lower chamber. It’s the culmination of a swift about-face for Gallego, who has signaled a desire for a 2028 presidential bid and was once described by Swalwell as his “best friend in the world.” The pair have been friends since Gallego’s time in the House and both came under fire for photos that surfaced of the duo riding shirtless on camels in Qatar as part of a private trip in 2021. And just days ago, Gallego defended Swalwell online. PELOSI, CALIFORNIA DEMS SLAM SWALWELL OVER BOMBSHELL SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS: ‘INDEFENSIBLE’ “When you are in first place, is when they target you,” Gallego said on X. “Eric is a fighter and he will win the Governors race.” Now, Gallego said he doesn’t know his once close friend. “I trusted someone who I believed was a friend, but it is now clear that he is not the person I thought I knew,” Gallego said. ERIC SWALWELL EXITS CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR RACE APOLOGIZING FOR PAST JUDGMENT WHILE DENYING CLAIMS Swalwell resigned from the House Monday night after ending his gubernatorial campaign in California, a move that was spurred by the San Francisco Chronicle’s report that detailed allegations of sexual assault against him. He currently faces allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from a former staffer and three other women. In the House, Swalwell faced pressure from his colleagues to resign. That comes as the House Ethics Committee launched a probe against him and a campaign to expel him, and others, from the chamber was gaining steam. “I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong,” Swalwell said in a statement. “But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”
DoorDash driver hails key Trump policy after delivering McDonald’s to White House: ‘I’m going to enjoy it’
Sharron Simmons, the first DoorDash employee to ever deliver a meal to the White House, said she hopes that the benefits she’s reaping from President Donald Trump’s no-tax-on-tips policy will extend past its current 2028 lifespan. “Well, obviously, we would like for it to continue, but I’m going to enjoy it while I’ve got it. And, you know, it’s not for me to decide that,” she told Fox News Digital during a Monday interview shortly after delivering a McDonald’s order to Trump. Overall, Simmons says she believes she’s taking home more than $11,000 in extra income. “I figure that I’m probably going to be saving about $3,000 to $4,000,” Simmons said. SCOOP: TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ TAX CUTS PROMOTED IN NEW REPUBLICAN AD BLITZ Simmons’ story is one of the many ways the White House has attempted to highlight its work through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, the president’s signature tax and border security package. Alongside tax breaks for tips, that bill also temporarily eliminated tax obligations for overtime pay, increased the senior deduction to $12,000 and upped the child tax credit by $200 per child. WATCH IT: SPEAKER JOHNSON HEARDS FROM UBER DRIVER ON ‘NO TAX ON TIPS’ BENEFIT: ‘BIG DIFFERENCE’ Critics of the package have argued that the tax breaks are cutting down the country’s revenue and contributing to the national deficit, while its supporters contend it will grow the economy by putting more back in the hands of consumers. SEN TIM SCOTT: REPUBLICANS JUST GETTING STARTED, BUT NEED TIME TO STOP RADICAL LEFTISTS Simmons originally joined DoorDash as a way to generate a little extra revenue on the side, stating that she began her partnership with DoorDash because of its flexibility after the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’ve been doing DoorDash since 2022. And I just got into it because it was something that after COVID and everything, I didn’t have to go into an office. And I kind of felt like by doing this, I would be able to help other people,” Simmons explained. Despite the future uncertainty of the policy’s current timeline, Simmons said she would focus on the present moment. “[In] younger years, I didn’t feel like my voice could be heard. And I feel now like we are heard,” Simmons said.
Gabbard claims ‘coordinated effort’ by intelligence community to advance narrative to impeach Trump
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released newly declassified testimony that she alleges shows a “coordinated effort” by the intelligence community to “manufacture a conspiracy” used as the basis of President Donald Trump first impeachment. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Monday released two declassified transcripts from closed-door House Intelligence Committee hearings that Gabbard’s office says show former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson advanced as credible a whistleblower complaint based on secondhand information from an individual who had previously worked with then-Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine. Gabbard’s office argued that, based on this and other testimony, Atkinson’s actions “weaponize[d] the whistleblower process and exceed[ed] his statutory jurisdiction.” Atkinson’s investigation helped trigger the first impeachment of Trump by advancing what he deemed a “credible” whistleblower complaint regarding a July 2019 phone call between the president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson “did not follow standard IG procedures and relied upon politicized, manufactured narratives” while investigating the whistleblower claim that ultimately led to Trump’s 2019 impeachment, Gabbard’s office said Monday. GABBARD UNAWARE OF FBI PROBE INTO JOE KENT BEFORE RESIGNATION, OFFICIAL SAYS Gabbard, citing previously classified House testimony by Atkinson, said the former inspector general “aggressively advanced” his preliminary probe while relying on secondhand testimony and what she described as politicized witnesses. Gabbard’s office also charged that Atkinson “never conducted a formal or complete investigation.” “In his own words, IC IG Atkinson recognizes that his conclusions were based on a ‘preliminary investigation,’ noting that ‘I haven’t done an investigation to determine whether they actually, in fact, took place … that all of the alleged actions actually took place,’” according to the statement from Gabbard. Under federal law, the inspector general’s preliminary role is to determine whether a whistle-blower complaint “appears credible,” rather than to fully investigate or substantiate the underlying allegations. Atkinson did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The testimony reveals that Atkinson was aware that the primary whistleblower, whose identity has still not been officially disclosed, was a “registered Democrat” and had alerted staff on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence before submitting their “Disclosure of Urgent Concern” form, Gabbard’s office said. The whistleblower also admitted having “worked closely with Vice President Biden” and “travelled with Biden to Ukraine and was part of conversations where LUTSENKO corruption was discussed,” according to the DNI release. Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine’s prosecutor general from 2016 to 2019, was the official who inherited and closed the Burisma investigation and was subsequently courted by Hunter Biden-linked lobbyists seeking to facilitate connections between the Ukrainian government and Democratic political circles, Fox News Digital previously reported. Gabbard also accused Atkinson of ignoring any bias, highlighting testimony in which he said, “I also want to make it clear that I never considered the whistleblower to be politically biased.” FBI’S CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP-RUSSIA ACTIONS PREDICTED WITH ‘ALARMING SPECIFICITY’ BY FOREIGN ACTORS: SOURCES The office said that on the initial form submitted by the whistleblower, they admitted, “I do not have direct knowledge of private comments or communications” by Trump. Notably, whistleblower laws do not require a whistleblower to provide first-hand information, according to the National Whistleblower Center. Gabbard’s office said one of the “key” witnesses Atkinson relied on to corroborate the whistleblower’s report during his preliminary investigation was also a co-author of the controversial 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian collusion that Gabbard has previously said was instigated at the direction of former President Barack Obama. JAMES CLAPPER, JOHN BRENNAN HIT BACK AT TRUMP ALLEGATIONS ABOUT RUSSIA PROBE AS ‘PATENTLY FALSE’ Gabbard, herself a former Democrat, accused Atkinson of having “failed to uphold his responsibility to the American people, putting political motivations over the truth.” “Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people and impeach the duly-elected President of the United States,” said Gabbard. “And this, along with the politicization of the whistleblower process by a former CIA employee who was working hand in glove with Democrats in Congress, are egregious examples of the deep state playbook on how to weaponize the Intelligence Community.” She added that “exposing these tactics and showing how they undermine the fabric of our democratic republic furthers the critical cause of transparency and accountability and will help prevent future abuse of power.” Democratic lawmakers largely dismissed the disclosures from Gabbard, framing the declassification as an attempt by the DNI to win favor from Trump. “This is a nothingburger — just another sad attempt by Tulsi Gabbard to get in Donald Trump’s good graces,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Politico’s NatSec Daily newsletter. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, also criticized the declassification on X. “Everyone can read the transcript of Trump’s phone call to extort President Zelenskyy for dirt on Biden. That was an impeachable offense, and no amount of dust kicking and sycophancy can obscure it,” Himes wrote. “Had Joe Biden made that call, Republicans would have burned the place down.” Fox News Digital reached out to House and Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats for additional comment.