Infrastructure is bi-partisan?
President Joe Biden will sign his trillion-dollar infrastructure bill Monday, Nov. 15 at the White House.
While infrastructure is usually bi-partisan, President Trump tried to pass a trillion-dollar plan and Democrats didn't like it. It took a while, but President Biden finally got his trillion-dollar plan through - but now, Republicans don't like it.
That's where Inside Texas Politics begins, with an interview with Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne. She is a Republican who represents a big chunk of North Texas between Dallas and Fort Worth, which includes the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
She said though the airport might benefit from the bill, "The amount of money, the amount of debt, the amount of regulations that we are adding without the ability to be able to pay it back was one of the reasons I was very concerned about it."
Battle over books in schools
Public school libraries are the new target for Republicans running for office. A few weeks ago, State Rep. Matt Krause - who's running for attorney general - told us about a letter he sent to school districts inquiring about 800-plus books.
Gov. Greg Abbott is now going further. He wants new standards established to prevent pornography and "obscene content" in public school libraries. And Abbott is asking the Texas Education Agency to report any porn they find on campuses.
What is the genesis of this issue? It plays well for Republican primary voters. Could it backfire in the general election?
Redistricting fight continues
In Houston - we are watching an interesting political drama play out. It is redistricting. Not what the state legislature did. This is something county commissioners just passed. Democrats have a majority there, so they get to decide. But Republicans are protesting, calling it a power grab.
Will Republicans take their fight to court? Jack Cagle is one of the two Republicans on the Harris County Commissioner's Court. And spoke with Jason Whitely from Houston.
Democrats are not shy about their legal fight against the state's newly drawn districts. In fact, they're going to court in Travis County this week to ask a judge to throw out the state's newly drawn map. They argue that it violates the state constitution. State Senator Roland Gutierrez is behind this challenge. He's a Democrat from San Antonio.
2022 election season
U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert is considering a challenge against his friend Ken Paxton for attorney general. Why does Gohmert want to leave Congress? And how grave of a threat could he pose to Paxton? Can Gohmert win a statewide general election? Is there Paxton fatigue within the Republican Party of Texas?
Meanwhile, Beto O'Rourke is expected to announce that he will run for governor - with an announcement coming in the next 48-hours.
Polls have suggested a competitive race between O'Rourke and Abbott. Is there any path to victory for a Democrat? What would a Beto campaign look like?
Watch the full episode of Inside Texas Politics below:
