Texas border, 2024 election: This Week in Texas Politics

AUSTIN, Texas - This Week in Texas Politics wrapped up with some big stories from the border and from the courtroom. 

FOX 7 Austin’s Chief Political Reporter Rudy Koski, and our panel of analysts, took a look at those stories and the other hot topics from the week.

RUDY KOSKI: This week in Texas politics was like a Texas twister. Fast, furious, and pretty much all over the place. Let's get our headlines now from our panel, and we'll start with business analyst Andy Spilman. Annie, what's your headline for the week? 

ANNIE SPILMAN: Bruised and betrayed Nikki Haley defies Trump juggernaut. 

RUDY KOSKI: Brian Smith with Saint Edward's University. Brian, what's your headline for the week? 

BRIAN SMITH: Paxton’s decapitation strategy goes to the polls on Tuesday as he tries to remove the head of the Texas House. 

RUDY KOSKI: And Brad Johnson with the Texas News. Brad, what's your headline for the week? 

BRAD JOHNSON: With early voting right around the corner, we've entered the primaries homestretch. 

RUDY KOSKI: Well, the Texas GOP primary certainly is heating up this week, especially for Speaker Dade Phelan, the House Speaker this week launched a new campaign ad going after his GOP challenger, who's backed by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Thursday night, former Governor Rick Perry joined the speaker at a big rally, and they threw some hard punches. Brad, did any of those punches land? 

BRAD JOHNSON: Certainly possible. And, you know, it's it seems like it's a strategy that he has to take. And, going negative is not really something you do if you're uncomfortable. So, you know, I think this, this race comes down to whether or not the speaker gets pushed to a runoff. 

RUDY KOSKI: The Texas Association of Business has endorsed the speaker. Annie what are you hearing from your business contacts? 

ANNIE SPILEMAN: I'm hearing from sources that more business and industry groups will release their endorsements soon for him. You know, as far as the business community's concerned, I believe that they, you know, they are endorsing him because I think he's been a fair leader of the House. And, you know, major, legislation passed the House during his leadership. 

RUDY KOSKI: Now, while Speaker Phelan is getting double teamed by the lieutenant governor and Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state GOP executive committee kicked off the week by voting to censure the speaker, while at the same time they responded to criticism from the speaker backing down, backtrack, approving a resolution to not associate with anti-Semites and Nazi sympathizers. Brian does that, is that a win for the speaker right there, at least? 

BRAD JOHNSON: Well, smart politicians run away from anything even remotely sympathetic to Nazism. The Texas GOP should have known better in the first place. When it comes to the censure, the people who agree with the censure were unlikely to support feeling anyway, and independents and rank and file Republicans are unlikely to follow the actions of the stateGOP. 

RUDY KOSKI: Governor Greg Abbott is back on the border, saying that he's beefing up Operation Lone Star. Meanwhile, in Congress, the House impeached the head of Homeland security with Texas Congressman McCaul, and Pfluger picked US impeachment managers for the Senate trial. Annie, how are business owners reacting to all this political theater? 

ANNIE SPILMAN: Recent economic trends have shown that small business owners are still very pessimistic about the future and their and their sales. Anything that's going to create uncertainty in the economy, politics, inflation, labor shortages, homeland security, supply chain issues, this is going to cripple businesses. And, you know, their certainty for growth or hiring. So there any changes that are going to happen, at the top are going to have a trickle down effect. 

RUDY KOSKI: Nikki Haley brought her presidential campaign to Texas this week, starting in Dallas Thursday and then Friday, a trip to San Antonio. You know, it seems like every time that it's it seems like it's over for Haley. Trump puts his foot in his mouth again and refuels her campaign bus. It kind of looks like that she's being set aside, maybe as a wild card in case things really do go sideways for the Trump camp. Legal problems with him, Brad. Is that your read? 

BRAD JOHNSON: Yeah, at least partially. I also think it's part of the broader, factional war in the, in the Republican Party. The more establishment anti-Trump wing doesn't want to give up the fight. And, this is Nikki Haley as their last ditch effort to do that. 

RUDY KOSKI: Attorney General Ken Paxton had a securities trial pretrial hearing in Houston on Friday. His lawyers asked the judge to toss the case, but the judge said, no, we're going to keep on going and there's going to be a trial, most likely in April. Brian, Paxton could still cut a plea deal. 

BRIAN SMITH: Yeah, he's going to try everything. And one of the things that's funny is he didn't get a speedy trial because his defense team stonewalled to prevent that trial. So everything's on the table for him. And we're back to a question about the trial. Not when, but if. 

RUDY KOSKI: Now, the other story that we're tracking, and we'll be watching that happen this week, is the federal court hearing in Austin on SB 4, the new Texas immigration enforcement law that starts in March. Most expect a judge to issue a temporary injunction, with a reversal at the appeals court. Guys, do you think that this goes all the way to the Supreme Court? 

BRIAN SMITH: The lower courts don't seem prepared or willing to settle this issue. 

BRAD JOHNSON: Yeah, that's the goal for Republicans in the state. They want the ability to challenge the precedent of U.S. and they think they have it in this case. 

ANNIE SPILMAN: They want that ruling, and they want it from the upper court. 

RUDY KOSKI: All right. Let's wrap up this week with just one word. And we'll start with Annie. What's your word for the week?

ANNIE SPILMAN: Mayhem. 

BRAD JOHNSON: Home Stretch.

BRIAN SMITH: Primaries. 

RUDY KOSKI: And that is this week in Texas politics.