The new task force is advocating for the bipartisan legislation that died after Donald Trump turned on the package.

The far-right congressman from Friendswood still backs the conservative push to lower spending, but worries bipartisan Texas projects have been impacted.

The Dallas native, former NFL linebacker and civil rights lawyer has not traveled a typical path to Congress.

The bill would also shield the rights of any person or group helping someone get an abortion out of state.

It is the latest example of how Texas Democrats are on edge over the administration’s approach to high gas prices.

Democrats are hopeful that the looming threat of such a stunning political sea change could provide the strongest opportunity yet to energize their voters heading into an election year in which Republicans have been expected to dominate in Texas and beyond.

Wesley Hunt, an Army combat veteran who ran a close congressional contest last year in the Houston area, announced Tuesday he plans to run for the state's new 38th Congressional District in the same region.

The two-term Houston representative holds a congressional seat with a storied Republican lineage. With the GOP-controlled Legislature about to release new district maps, some expect they will try to wrest the seat back into their column.

The federal bill seeks to reinstate sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were written to protect people of color. Texas House Democrats see it as a way to prevent implementing provisions of a Texas voting restrictions bill moving through the state Legislature.

Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher and Republican Wesley Hunt are running for the Houston area’s 7th Congressional District seat. That's according to two Democratic sources familiar with information about media buys. HMP is a Democratic super PAC that aims to elect Democrats to the House and is aligned with House Democratic leadership. While national Democrats have designated 10 pickup opportunities across Texas, the GOP has focused its offense here on Fletcher’s district as well as that of Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas. But Fletcher’s seat was the only one that saw significant national investment until recently, as Allred’s GOP challenger, Genevieve Collins, has remained financially competitive partly due to her self-funding.

But the Democratic fundraising shows serious momentum as the national party reaches the finale of its drive to make Texas the top congressional battleground nationwide this November. At least five of the 12 races being targeted by both have drawn millions of dollars in outside spending by national groups such as the DCCC; the National Republican Congressional Committee; House Majority PAC, which supports Democrats; and Congressional Leadership Fund, which backs Republicans. The biggest disparity was between Roy and his Democratic foe, Wendy Davis, who more than doubled his fundraising, $3.5 million to $1.6 million. Regardless of candidate-to-candidate comparisons, though, the latest filings showed a staggering wave of money is pouring in to the races. Allred ended the period with more money in the bank, $1.7 million to Collins’ $1 million.

Credit: REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueThe National Republican Congressional Committee has canceled about $2 million worth of advertising it had reserved for campaigning in the Houston television market, according to several Democratic and Republican sources tracking Houston media advertising who were not authorized to discuss the issue on the record. Fletcher unseated Republican John Culberson in 2018, and she is one of two Democratic incumbents who Republicans have been targeting in Texas this year. The $2 million was intended to cover advertising in the last two weeks of the election, according to the sources. One source, a national Republican operative, said the money has been moved to the San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth media markets. A Republican leadership aligned group, the Congressional Leadership Fund, is expected to spend about $6.25 million in Houston between media advertising and a field operation.