Trump tariffs and Hollywood stars testifying in Austin: TWITP
The Brief
Hollywood stars testify in Austin, Trump's war on tariffs, and a Ken Paxton prosecution update
These are some of the big stories in This Week in Texas Politics
AUSTIN, Texas - Hollywood stars under the Capitol dome and budget trouble with tariffs. These are some of the big stories in This Week in Texas Politics.
FOX 7 Austin's chief political reporter Rudy Koski and our panel of analysts discuss the big stories from This Week in Texas Politics.
Local perspective
RUDY KOSKI: Another busy week in Texas politics. Let's get the headlines from our panel and we'll start first with Dallas Morning News reporter, Philip Jankowski.
PHILIP JANKOWSKI: Trump's tariff trade war turns to turmoil.
RUDY KOSKI: Harvey Kronberg, with the Quorum Report. What's your headline?
HARVEY KRONBERG: With likely vacancies at Comptroller and AG, 2026, Musical Chairs begins in earnest.
RUDY KOSKI: Patrick Svitek with the Washington Post, give me a headline for the week.
PARTICK SVITEK: Trump goes all out on tariffs.
RUDY KOSKI: Possibly the biggest story of the week is the AP report that the Biden administration, Department of Justice, declined to prosecute Attorney General Ken Paxton. Harvey, what's your take on this? It's somewhat of a surprise, isn't it?
HARVEY KRONBERG: Well, it certainly takes off what could have been a primary obstacle. It certainly opens the door and the Attorney General certainly sounds like he's ready to take action.
PHILIP JANKOWSKI: I think the scrapping of the Department of Justice investigation into him is actually something that he can definitely use to his advantage.
PARTICK SVITEK: I don't know if it was the end that I was expecting, but just to play off of what everyone else said, I mean, this gives Paxton a pretty powerful political talking point, at least in the context of Republican primary.
RUDY KOSKI: On Thursday, the House Public Education Committee moved forward school funding and school choice legislation. Philip, you wrote an article about this, but more from a homeschooler's perspective. Do they feel like their backs are being pushed against the wall?
PHILIP JANKOWSKI: I don't know about backs pushed against the wall. If, under the current version, they decide to take an education savings account to the tune of roughly about $2,000, they'd have to take standardized tests for the first time. How much money will they take to be subjected to Norm-Referenced Assessments?
RUDY KOSKI: Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick made a state of the session briefing on Thursday, saying that he and Speaker Burrows were singing from the same songbook, but he still expressed that he had some concerns about how things are going on the house side a little slow. Harvey, are you seeing any signs that there's a breakup happening with the Big 3?
HARVEY KRONBERG: Well, let's start with the proposition that the Speaker was actively campaigned against by the Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick. He has a long history of trying to undermine Speakers, trying to stampede the House, and this is going to be a test for Dustin Burrows coming up shortly.
RUDY KOSKI: Hollywood stars came out under the Capitol Dome this week. Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, and the producer of the TV series, The Chosen, appeared before a Senate hearing endorsing a $500 million plan to attract moviemakers to Texas. Harvey, this is interesting because it's being endorsed by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is known for being a small government kind of guy.
HARVEY KRONBERG: This is an about face for him. It's kind of a surprising about face because he's always resisted that.
PHILIP JANKOWSKI: I think it's worth pointing out that Taylor Sheridan was not at the hearing, were actually a couple of folks, Donna Campbell and Paul Bettencourt, senators took aim at the F-bombs and taking the Lord's name in his show and particularly the show Landman.
RUDY KOSKI: Tuesday was election day in Florida and Wisconsin. Patrick, you wrote an analysis on those elections. You know, how could what happened there apply in Texas.
PARTICK SVITEK: In the Wisconsin Supreme Court race in particular, you saw the role of Elon Musk really backfire there. And so, if you're looking forward, you know, to the race in Texas, I think all candidates are probably thinking about how much to embrace Elon Musk and to embrace the Doge efforts.
RUDY KOSKI: President Trump's tariff war certainly has a lot of people on Wall Street shaking in their Gucci shoes. Harvey, you're concerned that this could have a ripple effect on the Texas Budget.
HARVEY KRONBERG: Well, I've been singing this song since the election. If 50% of, I wrote originally, if 50% percent of what Trump was proposing passed, it would be devastating to the Texas revenue streams. 53% of our revenue stream comes from sales tax and sales year-over-year growth is essentially flatlined, before the tariffs. The bottom line is that I think 2026, any way you look at it, is going to be a severe budget-cutting session.
RUDY KOSKI: You can catch our full discussion on the Fox 7 Austin YouTube page and also on Fox local. But let's wrap up things with one final word for the week. And we'll begin with Harvey. What's your word?
HARVEY KRONBERG: Overwhelmingly, it is Tariffs.
RUDY KOSKI: Patrick, give me your word.
PARTICK SVITEK: You know, I'll say penguins, because I'm thinking of those penguins on the island that got subjected to the Trump terror, even though they're in a very remote location.
RUDY KOSKI: And Philip, what's your work.
PHILIP JANKOWSKI: I can't beat that, but I'll say Retaliation.
RUDY KOSKI: And that is This Week in Texas Politics
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