WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.720 This week's episode of the Tribecast is brought to you 2 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:11.160 by the members of the Texas Tribune. 3 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:13.199 Our Fall member drive is happening now. 4 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:15.519 We need five hundred Texans to make a first time 5 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:19.039 donation to the Texas Tribune. Become a member today at 6 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:30.160 Texastribune dot org slash donate. Hello and welcome to this 7 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:33.560 week's episode of the Tribecast for Tuesday, September twenty third. 8 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:37.399 I'm Eleanor klibanoff Law and politics reporter at the Texas Tribune. 9 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:41.359 I am solo today in the studio, at least, sitting 10 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:44.920 up here all by my lonesome. Matthew is away, but 11 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:51.039 joined in spirit and over zoom by one of the greats, 12 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:55.799 the Texas Tribune Washington correspondent, Gabby Beerenbaum. 13 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:56.679 Gabby, how are you. 14 00:00:57.520 --> 00:00:59.240 I'm good, one of the greats. I was going for 15 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:02.920 Rookie of the Year. Yeah, I just started, but I'll 16 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:03.320 take it. 17 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:06.480 Two things can be true, two things can be true. 18 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.359 So as of well, we're actually taking this on Monday, 19 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:11.599 so as of today, but as of yesterday when you're 20 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:15.640 listening to this, we are officially into fall, which is 21 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:19.359 exciting because it is my favorite season and also exciting 22 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:24.040 because it's a season of change, of old things falling 23 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:28.079 away to make way for new opportunities, which brings us 24 00:01:28.120 --> 00:01:30.640 to our topic of the week, the changing face of 25 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:34.920 Texas's congressional delegation. I'll be honest, I do better with 26 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.680 the segues and setups when I have someone else in 27 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:43.040 the studio. But you know, Gabby, we invite you Wanta because 28 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:44.400 we really do want to talk about it. We've had 29 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:48.120 this sort of flurry of news over the summer, whether 30 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:53.799 it's redistricting or campaign announcements or retirement announcements, especially recently, 31 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:59.120 that seem likely to sort of reshape Texas's representation in 32 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:02.840 Washington DC. And you know, a lot of this is 33 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:05.560 sort of slow moving targets in that a lot of 34 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.400 this won't actually go into affection until, you know, uh, 35 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:11.319 twenty twenty seven, if we're being you know, realistically, once 36 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:14.199 after the twenty twenty sixth election. But it is a 37 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:17.319 huge deal because both for Texas, like how we're represented 38 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:19.800 in DC, but also for the country we have this 39 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:23.599 very outsized influence in DC, or like to think we 40 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.120 do at least, So let's start there. 41 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:27.199 I mean, can you talk a little. 42 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:32.039 Bit of just about like Texas's delegation in Congress sort 43 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:33.960 of the state of the delegation and the role it 44 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:35.840 plays more broadly. 45 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:38.039 Yeah, so Texas. 46 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:40.360 There are thirty eight members in the House from Texas, 47 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:42.800 and the vast majority are Republicans, so right now twenty 48 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:47.560 five and so historically, what the Texas Republican you know, 49 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.319 conference has wanted, they can they have lunch every week. 50 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:52.599 They can then take that to the broader Republican conference. 51 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:55.000 And because they speak with such a large voice, they 52 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.599 can really sort of set the agenda for House Republicans 53 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.240 when they're unified and when they have you know, they 54 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:03.400 have a big voice in the room by quantity, but 55 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.879 some of that also depends on right who's speaking. And 56 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:09.280 I think in the last few cycles we've seen a 57 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:11.840 lot of the sort of heavy hitters of the Texas 58 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:14.800 delegation who had been committee chairs. You know, Kevin Brady 59 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:17.080 from the Houston area was the longtime chair of Ways 60 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:19.879 and Means. Kay Granger from Fort Worth was the chair 61 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:24.879 of Appropriations. Some really longtime members retired either in the 62 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:28.479 first Trump administration or the Biden administration, and so a 63 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.000 lot of the members these days are in their first 64 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.639 second third term, and while there are definitely some strivers 65 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:38.120 and some ambitious people, I think the Texas delegation in 66 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:39.280 general doesn't have. 67 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:42.520 The clout it once had on the Republican side. 68 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:44.360 And I think that's going to be even more compounded 69 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:49.120 because we already have some high profile retirements coming in 70 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:50.159 the next election cycle. 71 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:51.439 Right. 72 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.439 I mean that is interesting, like when unified very powerful, 73 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:58.439 when there's disunity. I mean, what are sort of the 74 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.800 factions that we see now broadly speaking? 75 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:02.520 I mean, does it is just sort of reflective. 76 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.560 Of the factions we just see in Congress are playing 77 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:05.479 out in the Texas donation. 78 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:07.319 I mean, I think I think there's two things going on. 79 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:09.840 I think, like one, there's people talk about like the 80 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.520 Five Families. It's very mafia esque of the of House Republicans, 81 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:16.639 and so that ranges from the Problem Solvers Caucus, which 82 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:20.319 is like a bipartisan group of moderates, to the Freedom Caucus, 83 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:22.519 which is like the most right wing, you know, really 84 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:25.079 fiscal hawks that often are thorn in the side of 85 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:28.720 leadership and Texas. You know, there's Republicans in all five families, right, 86 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:30.600 So that's part of it. But also, like I mentioned, 87 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:32.120 a lot of it is just the lack of seniority. 88 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:34.560 And there's very few members these days who have been 89 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:38.120 there pre you know, pre Trump one, honestly, and I 90 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:41.319 think in a more somewhat civil time when there was 91 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.319 more bipartisanship in Congress, and so a lot of a 92 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:47.199 lot of the newer members, I think just don't have 93 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:50.959 that experience of needing to work with the other party 94 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:53.800 to get things done, sort of keeping the temperature down 95 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:57.720 a bit. And so, you know what what gets you are, 96 00:04:57.879 --> 00:04:59.879 you know what bolsters your reputation in Congress these days. 97 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:01.839 And I just talked about this with Congressman McCall who's 98 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:04.560 one of the members who's retiring. Is not necessarily what 99 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:06.279 it was in his day when he came into the bush. 100 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:08.240 Ere you know, it's a lot more. I think a 101 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:09.800 lot of older members would say now it's a lot 102 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:12.920 more about getting on TV or you know, getting earned 103 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:16.680 media and all that, and less about legislating. And so 104 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:18.920 I think that's also part of the dynamic of the 105 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:21.279 Texas delegation. You've got people with like different levels of 106 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:25.959 interest in legislation versus sort of attention. Not that they're 107 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:27.879 always mutually exclusive, but I think that's what some of 108 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:28.959 the older members might say. 109 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:30.879 Right, right, that makes a lot of sense. 110 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:35.560 Let's talk about Congressman McCall, who you had a fantastic 111 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:40.759 story on him last week. He you know, represented Central Texas, 112 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:43.480 a Central Texas district for twenty two years, and he 113 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:47.360 announced he will be retiring. I mean, who is Congressman 114 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:50.360 McCall's or what does he represent at this point? 115 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:52.959 Yeah, I think Carson McCall. 116 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:56.279 They call him Chairman, amereta McCall because they shared two 117 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:00.000 big pities, homeland security and foreign affairs. He's you know, 118 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:02.879 a bit from a different era. He came to Congress 119 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:04.879 during the Bush era, he told me, And he ran 120 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:06.360 his first campaign in two thousand and four on a 121 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:10.120 platform of counter terrorism like very you know, very relevant 122 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:13.120 in the four election and not as much anymore. His 123 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.759 background was in counter terrorism work, and he you know, 124 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:19.319 chaired the Homeland Security Committee during the Boston bombings. Then 125 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:23.040 he chaired Foreign Affairs during the Biden administration for those 126 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:25.519 last two years, and so he was sort of the 127 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.199 Republican shadow. 128 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.920 Secretary of State people called him in that time. 129 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:32.560 But like from a much more you know, neo conservative, 130 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.639 Reagan esque era of Republican politics. You know, he's a 131 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:39.920 very big Ukraine hawk. He's this huge support of Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel, 132 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:46.800 just a believer in like American American, you know, interest 133 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:50.240 in the global sphere and like participating much less so 134 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:52.120 than I think a lot of the isolationism in America 135 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:54.959 first rhetoric and policy that you see out of the 136 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:56.920 Trump administration somewhat and certainly out of a lot of 137 00:06:57.319 --> 00:07:00.600 members of Congress now. And so I think he's really 138 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:03.480 been like a voice trying to keep the party engaged 139 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:07.439 in global affairs. But he sort of turned out of 140 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:08.879 leading committees anymore. 141 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:11.040 He's one of the longest. 142 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:12.600 Tenure members from Texas, and so he told me he 143 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:15.439 felt like it was time to time to move on. 144 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:19.879 He had a good quote about you either die in office, lose, 145 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:20.839 get indicted, or you. 146 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:24.480 Can leave with dignity. So he wanted to do the 147 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:25.000 last one. 148 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:27.399 But yeah, he's sort of a towering figure I think 149 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:30.439 in the in the party, among House Republicans and then 150 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:32.160 also in Texas politics, and so that's going to be 151 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:35.920 a huge, like sort of wealth of knowledge. I think 152 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:38.480 about how Congress works and how the legislative process works, 153 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:40.639 and you know as someone who's been to you know, 154 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:43.079 tons of countries and met tons of foreign leaders over 155 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:45.079 the years, and so that that's going to be just 156 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:46.879 a big sort of wealth of knowledge in the delegation 157 00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:48.839 that'll be gone come twenty seven. 158 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:52.639 Yeah, I thought, like your story really, in addition to 159 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.040 capturing sort of his you know, decision to leave, it 160 00:07:56.040 --> 00:08:01.040 does really reflect like this change in Republican priorities. I 161 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:04.600 mean when we think about maybe talked about this on 162 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:06.480 here before, but I a couple months ago went to 163 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:10.399 the George W. Bush Presidential Library at SMU, and it 164 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:12.519 was so interesting. It was like right when they were talking, 165 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:14.839 the Trump administration was talking about all these like global 166 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:16.839 aid cuts, and it was so interesting just to see 167 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:21.439 like the Bush administration's priority on like PEPFAR and these programs, 168 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:23.399 and thinking like if we're going to do this sort 169 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:28.920 of you know, these political goals or these you know, 170 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:32.000 if we're going to sort of charge into these other countries, 171 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.519 like we also should be pouring money into global aid 172 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:37.840 and other things like that, and like those are just 173 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:39.600 so different than the conversations we're having. 174 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:41.039 Yeah. 175 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:43.639 Absolutely, and McCall is like a huge i think believer 176 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:47.000 in like that former Bush era global consensus, and then 177 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:48.480 I mean we had interest in a conversation he told 178 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:52.360 me understands like the sort of younger person's frustration with 179 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:55.399 forever wars and that like people have people who grew 180 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:57.600 up in the Afghanistana Rock era have a different perspective 181 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.720 than him who grew up during the Cold War. But 182 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:01.960 I think he said he's going to continue to kind 183 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:04.320 of speak out just from outside of Congress for like 184 00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:08.519 the sort of yeah American interest in aid and intervention 185 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:11.240 in those things. But yeah, it's I think it's been 186 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.480 an increasingly lonely path in Congress for him. 187 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:17.120 Than it used to be, right, Yeah, I mean it's 188 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:19.639 just interesting when we you know, there's been so much 189 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:21.840 talk and we're going to probably talk about this a 190 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:24.080 little bit with Lloyd Doggett, but like there's been so 191 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:25.559 much talk about, you know, when is the right time 192 00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:28.320 for older members to leave, and like a lot of 193 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.639 condemnation particularly well, I guess I would say on both 194 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:37.039 sides about like overstaying age wise, but yeah, there is 195 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:40.720 obviously you know, something lost when it's like everyone's sort 196 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:42.480 of new and younger. 197 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:44.799 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that's what they balanced and 198 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:45.960 McCall's only in his sixties. 199 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:47.480 I mean, I was like your sprint chicken. 200 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:48.519 For right, Yeah, exactly right. 201 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:52.440 Yeah, he's not leaving in a wheelchair, yeah right, right, right, 202 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:53.679 But yeah. 203 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:55.559 It's all It'll be interesting to see what happens there. 204 00:09:55.799 --> 00:10:00.360 Yeah, another Central Texas Republican potent giving up his seat 205 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:04.240 to run for a different office. Not retiring, but Chip Roy, 206 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:07.919 who has announced he will be running for attorney Texas 207 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:08.799 Attorney General. 208 00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:10.799 A really different character. 209 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:13.039 Than McCall in a lot of ways, although they are 210 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:14.919 sort of from the same general region of the state. 211 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:18.000 Can you talk a little bit about Chip Roy and 212 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:20.039 who he is and what he represents to. 213 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:23.360 Yeah, the So Chip Roy has you know, been all 214 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:27.519 over in Texas politics. He worked for Senator Cruz, he 215 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.000 was his chief of staff during cruise his like first 216 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:32.360 few years in the Senate. Then he went on to 217 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:35.240 work for Paxton at the beginning of Paxson's ten years age, 218 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:36.799 and they sort of parted. You would know more than 219 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:41.080 me about this, but parted on bad terms. And so, yeah, 220 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:43.519 Roy in Congress has been I think a sort of 221 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:47.559 chief mischief maker for Republican leadership. He's someone they all, 222 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:49.720 you know, when they're trying to pass a major bill, 223 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:52.480 they always have to negotiate with him. He's the policy 224 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:54.320 chair of the Freedom Caucus, which I mentioned is the 225 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:58.399 sort of big fiscal hawk, you know, farthest right caucus. 226 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:03.320 So his big thing in Congress has been cutting spending. 227 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:07.799 And so he's you know, very active in the media, 228 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:08.360 is very. 229 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:09.600 Well known to journalists on the Hill. 230 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:12.519 You know, if you're if the Freedom Coucus is acting 231 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:14.840 up and trying to shut down legislation or freeze the floor, 232 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:16.759 like he's he's, you know, the best guy to go 233 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:19.759 to and learn what's going on in most cases. He's 234 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:22.559 got a really you know, great policy brand and can 235 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:25.200 talk through a lot of issues. But yeah, he he 236 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.799 is someone I don't I don't know that House leadership 237 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:30.080 will miss all that must all that much because he's, uh, 238 00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:32.639 he's They've had to negotiate with him. 239 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:36.120 All the time over various things. But yeah, he's running 240 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:36.759 for Attorney General. 241 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:39.039 So that'll open up his seat, which is like Hill country, 242 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:44.360 central Texas area, uh, Austin to San Antonio. And so 243 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:47.039 there's already a bunch of Republicans looking at that seat, 244 00:11:47.080 --> 00:11:51.360 including Mark to Shia, former former Ranger and Yankee baseball player. 245 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:54.639 Yeah, you know, we've got a couple celebrities in the 246 00:11:54.679 --> 00:11:58.519 mix on for different seats, which is fun for name 247 00:11:58.559 --> 00:11:59.480 recognition at least. 248 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:02.360 Yeah, it'll be interesting to see. 249 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:05.399 I mean Roy obviously entering like a very crowded attorney 250 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:08.120 general race, although I think some polling shows like he 251 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:13.519 definitely has the highest name recognition among the candidates. So yeah, 252 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:15.240 I mean, do you sort of read anything in the 253 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.080 tea leaves of that of like deciding to run for 254 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:20.639 AG versus staying in the house where he has been 255 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:27.159 sort of I think someone intentionally like a frustrating character. Yeah, yeah, 256 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:30.440 I mean I think he he talked about I think 257 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:32.720 like wanting to be spend more time in Texas than 258 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:36.080 in DC, which is like a common lawmaker complaint I 259 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:40.080 think about about Congress A B. He's a lawyer, he's 260 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:42.960 you know, a really I think he really thinks, thinks 261 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:46.960 through things with a legal mind. I have to imagine 262 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:48.679 this is an office that he's been looking at, especially 263 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:50.480 because I mentioned he worked for Pacston and that's an 264 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:55.120 office he's familiar with. So and you know, he has, 265 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:56.759 like he said, high name idea I think is something 266 00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:58.879 that he rightfully thinks he can win, just given what 267 00:12:58.919 --> 00:13:00.080 we've seen from early. 268 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:02.720 But yeah, I mean I think a. 269 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.600 Lot of members of Congress, and you know, we can 270 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:07.799 talk about Morgan Latrell in the eighth district outside of 271 00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:09.960 Houston is also leaving after two terms. I think for 272 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:12.240 a lot of people, it can be a pretty frustrating place. 273 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:15.600 And I think for you know, and you see this 274 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:17.759 across all fifty states, a lot of people I think 275 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:22.039 come to Congress and then leave wanting a job actually 276 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:23.600 in their state where they feel like they can make 277 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:25.039 more of an impact and not just being one of 278 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.120 four hundred and thirty five. 279 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:28.639 Yeah, and I mean I think Roy almost sort of 280 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.519 said that where he was like, you know, this isn't 281 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:32.679 really a job you should do forever, right, Like I 282 00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:36.840 think there's yeah, sort of the opposite of you know, 283 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:40.080 the McCall argument. Right, it's like, yes, you want people 284 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:42.639 to be tenured in experienced, and also like, what a 285 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:43.120 weird job. 286 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:46.279 You probably shouldn't have it. You should probably cook your brain. 287 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:48.960 A little smilar definitely hill creatures. And I think others come 288 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.000 and do it for a few terms. And Roy's been 289 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:54.080 there since he woned eighteen, so I guess that would 290 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:56.759 be this fourth term. But yeah, I think I think 291 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:59.039 a lot of people get very frustrated by the sort 292 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.679 of machinations of Congress, and it can be hard to 293 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:02.639 stand out. 294 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:05.120 I mean, I obviously, like like you said, I mean, 295 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:07.440 we're probably looking at a pretty crowded race for his seed. 296 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:09.360 I mean, similarly McCall, I mean, none of these seats 297 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:13.639 are like necessarily handed down to one clear like air 298 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:17.600 apparent anymore. But when you it feels like sort of 299 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:19.919 the common wisdom would be that, like someone like McCall 300 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:23.240 would be replaced by someone who's maybe more in the 301 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.720 mold of the modern conservative movement. Roy is sort of 302 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:28.519 a character unto himself. I mean, do you have any 303 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:31.440 sense of sort of like he leaves, someone else replaces him, 304 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:35.519 Like what that impact, Like, what what is that person 305 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:38.759 likely to be more conservative or just more of a 306 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:41.799 you know, obviously House leadership would prefer they be sort 307 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:44.639 of more march in line with the with the Yeah. 308 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:47.519 It is hard realized such an interesting character, right, because yeah, 309 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:48.960 I mean he is like definitely one of the most 310 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:51.639 right wing conservative members of the House. At the same time, 311 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:54.080 like he was one of the only Republicans from Texas 312 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:57.360 who didn't sign on to like election challenges in twenty twenty. 313 00:14:58.320 --> 00:14:59.720 So he's kind of an interesting guy. 314 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:01.759 Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think in a lot of 315 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:03.840 these cases, and I think we've seen just from like 316 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:07.279 younger members in Texas who have come in the last 317 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:09.080 few years, I think, yeah, they're much more in the 318 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:13.399 mold of like a trumpy America first type conservative, And 319 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:16.399 so I think that's also part of how the delegation 320 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:20.360 has changed over time to be more of a Republican 321 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:23.120 and Trump's image than the era that predated him. And 322 00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:24.960 so yeah, we'll see who comes out of these seats, 323 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:27.120 but I wouldn't be surprised if if it ends up 324 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.240 being people who align more with like where the Republican 325 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:31.840 Party is in this moment in the White House. 326 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:34.960 Right we I want to talk about another major change 327 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:35.919 in Central Texas. 328 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:37.279 But before we do that. 329 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:39.600 I do want to say this week's episode of the 330 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:42.120 Tribe Cast is brought to you by the members of 331 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:43.200 the Texas Tribune. 332 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:44.679 It is our fall membership drive. 333 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:47.480 If you are not a member, we would love for 334 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.840 you to join our little family. You can become a 335 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:54.399 member at Texastribune dot org. Slash donate. You can also 336 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:56.840 go to our website. We've got donate buttons everywhere. If 337 00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:59.039 you're subscribed to our newsletters, we're also pushing it there. 338 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:02.080 If you are donating, feel free to mention that you 339 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:05.159 love the trip cast. That is a very valuable feedback 340 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:08.639 to people who get to decide things like whether or 341 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.600 not we keep doing this, and feel free to say 342 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.919 you prefer you know which host you prefer and who 343 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:18.080 you'd like to see more or less of. Matthew's not 344 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:20.720 here to defend himself, so you know, write in how 345 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:21.320 much you like me? 346 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:22.799 Please do that. 347 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:26.639 Okay, So let's talk about the other change in Central 348 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:28.840 Texas on the other side of the aisle, which is 349 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:34.080 a longtime Congressman Lloyd Doggett announcing he will retire instead 350 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:38.279 of challenging Greg Kassar for the newly redrawn district. You 351 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:40.799 did a lot of really great reporting on how that 352 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:44.240 decision came to be. But before that sort of what 353 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:46.720 did how did redistricting sort of pit them against each other? 354 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.320 And what was that looking like before we either of 355 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:50.120 them made a decision? 356 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:54.440 Yeah, I mean for years, Austin, in various iterations at 357 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:57.039 the Texas congressional map has been cracked so that they 358 00:16:57.080 --> 00:16:59.440 could only be one Democrat representing it, and that was 359 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.240 Lloyd dog It. And then in twenty twenty one, I 360 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:05.920 think for the first time, you know, Austin has I 361 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.240 think the highest percent of Democratic voters of the you know, 362 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:12.240 major metro areas, and for the first time, I think 363 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:13.920 Republican map Jars were like all right, you know, we 364 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:15.720 see the writing on the wall, and they drew two 365 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:18.200 Austin based seats. So there was Doggets, which is sort 366 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.160 of West Austin, and then Kazars, which is more East 367 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:27.079 Austin and stretched down to San Antonio. Doggets was majority white, 368 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:30.200 Casars was majority people of color, so you know, sort 369 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:32.880 of differences there. But in the most recent redraw, the 370 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:35.119 mid decade redistricting that you and I have obviously like 371 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:38.359 spent the last several months reporting on, they went back 372 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:38.880 down to one. 373 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:41.799 So they made a sort of dem super district in Austin. 374 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:43.960 It's gonna be it was, you know, of the thirty eight, 375 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:46.039 the one that voted by Kamala Harris by by far 376 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:49.440 the biggest margin, there's going to be a seat that 377 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:52.119 you know, whoever takes that it could serve indefinitely. 378 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:54.279 I think it's so long as they don't get into. 379 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:57.079 Any they don't go to night. 380 00:17:57.160 --> 00:17:59.920 I mean, who knows Nicole's right. 381 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:01.559 List of ways to leave? Yeah? 382 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:04.599 Right, So, and it was about, you know, the way 383 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:07.119 it was drawn. It was about two thirds of Dogget's 384 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:09.160 constituents and the rest were Kassar's constituents. 385 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:09.920 I think there was some. 386 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.920 Question of who's going to run here. And Kassar's district 387 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:15.200 was redrawn to be you know, very few of his 388 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:17.799 current constituents and it's in the sort of San Antonio 389 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:21.240 area and suburbs much more conservative. Voted for Trump by 390 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:23.480 like ten points. So I think, you know, I know 391 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:26.680 that Doget's hope was that he would run in you know, 392 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:29.480 his old district, in the Austin district, and Kasar would, 393 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:31.680 you know, try to make a stand for Democrats in 394 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:34.920 a district that's going to be hard for them to win. Kassar, 395 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.839 who was on the Austin City Council, you know, it 396 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:40.039 was very much an Austin I was like, no, I'm 397 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:41.880 I'm going to be running in the new thirty seven, 398 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:44.119 the new Austin district. So there was a bit of 399 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:46.319 a shadow primary that played out between the two of them. 400 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:47.279 Doug gets sort of. 401 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:51.279