Latest news with #JohnCornyn
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Law Aims To Protect Texas Oil And Gas Industry From Lawsuits
(The Center Square) – Both of Texas' U.S. senators and one congressman, all from Houston, have filed a bill to protect the oil and natural gas industry. Texas Republicans U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn filed the Protect LNG Act in the Senate; U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, filed companion legislation in the House. 'American energy has the ability to metaphorically and literally power the world, and Texas is the lead exporter of U.S. LNG,' Cruz said. 'Those achievements have been under attack by fringe environmental groups, who use and are enabled by politicized courts. This legislation counters such attacks, and I'm proud to lead the fight to protect energy producers, the jobs they create in Texas, and America's energy leadership. The Senate should expeditiously take it up and pass it.' The bill would prevent courts from halting liquified natural gas (LNG) permits when a lawsuit is filed and require that the cases only be filed in the circuit court jurisdiction where the LNG facility is located, not the location of a federal agency that issues the requested permits. It specifically stipulates that 'a civil action relating to an environmental review under the Natural Gas Act or National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to a covered facility shall not affect the validity of a permit, license, or approval issued to the covered facility that is the subject of the civil action,' according to the bill language. It states that if a civil action is brought, the applicable court 'shall not set aside or vacate the permit, license, or approval issued to the covered facility but instead remand the matter to the relevant Federal agency to resolve the violation.' It also would establish a 90-day period for lawsuits to be filed after an LNG permitting notice is published in the Federal Register and require expedited review of lawsuits against LNG facilities. 'Oil and natural gas production employs hundreds of thousands of hardworking Texans and is a critical part of the Texas economy, as well as our nation's energy sector as a whole,' Cornyn said, adding that the bill will 'help protect energy projects across our country from lawsuits that far-left climate activists file in an attempt to hamstring American energy.' 'Natural gas is the most impactful green initiative on the planet – it has the power to lift entire nations and communities out of poverty,' Hunt said. 'Yet sadly, natural gas and LNG have been weaponized by the radical left and the climate cartel, driving up energy costs for hardworking Americans – just as we're still reeling from the disastrous effects of Biden-flation.' The bill was filed after both Republicans and Democrats called on the Biden administration to rescind its ban on new LNG permits, The Center Square reported. It also comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in March reinstated approvals for LNG projects for Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG Brownsville. The court previously vacated permits for both projects last August. It's decision last year jeopardized 7,000 high-paying jobs and $24 billion in investment in the Rio Grande Valley and delayed a project by nearly 10 months. If enacted, the bill would prevent a ruling like that from happening again. Cruz and Cornyn previously introduced the Protect LNG Act last year, which went nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The U.S. leads the world in LNG exports, led by the Gulf states of Texas and Louisiana. In 2017, the U.S. became a net exporter of natural gas for the first time since 1957, 'primarily because of increased LNG exports,' according to the EIA. The U.S. became a net exporter after Cheniere Energy was the first to export domestically sourced LNG from the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and from the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, The Center Square . Nearly 25% of U.S. natural gas reserves are located in Texas and 30% of the largest hundred natural gas fields in the U.S. are in Texas, which leads the U.S. in oil and natural gas production and emissions reductions, The Center Square . The U.S. LNG industry 'contributes a whopping $43.8 billion toward the U.S. GDP, and generates $11 billion in tax and royalty revenues for local, state and federal governments,' The Center Square .
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Beto O'Rourke considering running for office in Texas, again. "Nothing is off the table."
Former Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke is back in the public eye, and he said he's considering running for office next year. He's been making the rounds, holding town hall meetings in North Texas and across the state. O'Rourke, of El Paso, came close to defeating Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 election. The Democrat ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020 and for governor of Texas in 2022. During an Eye On Politics interview, CBS News Texas asked O'Rourke which office he is considering running for: Governor or U.S. Senator. O'Rourke said, "This moment is bigger than a political office or a campaign, or any person, certainly myself included. There are a lot of folks in Texas who are really hurting right now. They're being hurt by this administration, whether it's cuts to the VA or proposed cuts to Medicaid. I really think there's power in bringing people together right now. Folks need to know that we're not isolated, that we're not alone." During an interview earlier this spring, O'Rourke said he would not run for U.S. Senate in 2026, when Republican Senator John Cornyn is up for re-election. However, during a town hall meeting several weeks later in Denton, a member of the crowd asked him if he would run for Senate, and he said he would if the people of Texas wanted him to. When asked what that meant O'Rourke said, "It means that if I am the right person to run for that seat, if I can do the most good for the people of Texas by actually winning and being able to serve them in that position of public trust, then that's something I should certainly look at. I do know that I'm nowhere close to understanding the answer to those questions. I don't think anyone can really unless they've gone out and listened to and been with and worked alongside the people that they want to serve and represent." When asked what criteria he will use to base his decision on whether to run, O'Rourke said, "I don't have a spreadsheet, or a list, or a set of data points that I'm going to be looking at. As I continue to listen to people, which is the most important thing I think I can do, and travel the state, that will be incredibly clarifying for the path that I pursue. I'm really agnostic as to what that looks like. I don't need to be a candidate, I don't need to hold office, but I do need to help Texas, in this country, at this moment of truth. I'm going to do everything I possibly can, and I'm taking nothing off the table." Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning on CBS News Texas, on air and streaming on the CBS News app. Follow Jack on X: @cbs11jack
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Cornyn Calls Primary Fight Against Ken Paxton a ‘Test of Character'
Senator John Cornyn of Texas believes he can win a no-holds-barred Republican primary next year with his state's hard-charging attorney general, Ken Paxton, by making the race all about the character of his opponent. It's a tall order, considering that Mr. Paxton has already faced down corruption allegations that played out in public when the Republican-controlled State House impeached him in 2023, only to see the Republican State Senate acquit him. But in an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Cornyn said that there was much more about Mr. Paxton than what voters knew, hinting that the allegations of corruption and abuse of office that led to his impeachment were 'just the tip of the iceberg.' Many more revelations would surface before the March 2026 primary, Texas' senior senator said. 'This is going to be a test of whether character still matters,' Mr. Cornyn said, seated under a painting of Superman in the offices of a small sticker printing business in Waco, Texas. Mr. Paxton remains a darling of the Republican voting base even after his 2015 indictment for securities fraud, a federal investigation into corruption allegations and his impeachment, during which former top aides accused him of using his position to benefit a friend and political donor who had helped Mr. Paxton conceal his extramarital affair. But Mr. Paxton, now in his third term as attorney general, has survived each of those inquiries. Instead of being hobbled, he appeared to emerge stronger with primary voters. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
5 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Senate Republicans plan hearing on Biden's alleged cognitive decline cover-up
FIRST ON FOX — Senate Republicans plan to launch their own investigation next month that delves into the alleged "conspiracy" behind former President Joe Biden's cognitive decline. Sens. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and John Cornyn, R-Tx., announced plans to hold a Senate Judiciary hearing on June 18 to probe into the alleged cover-up of the 82-year-old former president's mental decline while in office by the media and those closest to him. The lawmakers are still gathering witnesses for the probe, which would be the first full congressional committee hearing on the subject. "It's time to expose how a cadre of Biden aides and family members were the de-facto commander-in-chief, while President Biden was sidelined," Schmitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "I look forward to getting the American people the answers they deserve." Both lawmakers contended that Biden's decline was hidden for "years." Cornyn argued that the country depended "on having a president who has the mental capacity to do the job, and it's clear that President Biden did not, so we must use this hearing to uncover the facts." "For this conspiracy between the mainstream media, Joe Biden's family, and his inner circle to have hidden the impairment of the President of the United States for years, and lied consistently to the American people about his capacity to make decisions, which are solely vested by the Constitution, is unacceptable," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Both Schmitt and Cornyn join a growing chorus of Republicans demanding answers about what really went on behind-the-scenes during Biden's presidency. In the House, lawmakers are pushing to create a select committee that would investigate the Biden administration's alleged cover-up. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., is leading the charge to create the panel and introduced legislation on Thursday to start the committee that would dive into "the potential concealment of information from the American public," regarding Biden's health. And House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., has called on several high-ranking staffers from the Biden White House to participate in transcribed interviews regarding their alleged roles in covering up the former president's decline. Comer called on former director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden, former assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, former senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal, former deputy director of Oval Office operations Ashley Williams and Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, to participate. The growing fervor by Republicans to uncover whether Biden's allies and family hid concerns about his health from the public comes on the heels of the release of "Original Sin" by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson. Their book claimed that the Biden White House was trying to control the narrative surrounding the former president's health, and that his allies worked to cover up his decline.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Thursday's Campaign Round-up, 5.29.25: Texas poll offers discouraging news for John Cornyn
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country. * In Texas' Republican U.S. Senate primary, the latest statewide poll from Texas Southern University found state Attorney General Ken Paxton leading incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, 43% to 34%, while roughly a fourth of the GOP voters haven't yet made up their minds. (Click the link for more information on the poll's methodology and margin of error.) * On a related note, while Texas' primaries won't be held until next year, Cornyn is already dipping into his campaign war chest to run attack ads targeting Paxton, suggesting the senator's internal polling has offered him discouraging news. * A week after House Republicans advanced their inaptly named 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' a progressive group called Protect Our Care has launched an ad campaign targeting 11 GOP lawmakers from competitive congressional districts. The Democratic-aligned group Families Over Billionaires recently began airing related ads focused on Republican Medicaid cuts. * A related note: House Majority Forward, a political action committee aligned with the House Democratic leadership, also launched an ad campaign this week targeting 26 House Republicans from competitive districts. * In a curious twist, the National Republican Congressional Committee also launched an ad campaign last week, targeting 25 House Democrats from competitive congressional districts for having voted against the far-right GOP megabill. * In West Virginia, incumbent Republican Sen. Shelly Moore Capito was already facing one primary challenger from the right, and now she's facing another: State Sen. Tom Willis filed the paperwork for his Senate campaign last week. * And in Alabama, where Sen. Tommy Tuberville is giving up his seat to run for governor, there will likely be a crowded field of GOP candidates running to succeed him. Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL who leads a nonprofit that fights human trafficking, is apparently the first out of the gate. This article was originally published on
