SAN ANTONIO — Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) hosted his annual Service Academy Send-Off Ceremony on Memorial Day at the Boeing Center at Tech Port on the South Side.
The event was held to congratulate students who will be enlisting in the military this summer.
Cornyn was joined by General Mark Welsh, who retired from the Air Force in 2016 after 40 years of service and now serves as the President of Texas A&M University.
The senator and other local officials greeted approximately 120 students, offering words of encouragement as the students prepare to embark on their next journey.
When someone graduates from a military academy, they come out as officers. From there, there are many opportunities and career paths as they embark on their service career.
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SEN. CORNYN HOLDS SMALL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE IN WACO
From the Waco Tribune-Herald story:
Cornyn visits with Waco-area business owners, pushes ‘big, beautiful bill’ tax cuts for Trump
By Mike Copeland
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, visited Waco on Tuesday to tout President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill,” which passed the House last week by a single vote, and which Cornyn said the Senate must approve to avoid tax increases for the average Texan.
Getting the deal done will take work, said Cornyn, who hosted a 30-minute roundtable discussion Tuesday with four local small business owners who talked about how their ventures benefited from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Congress passed in 2017. The proposed bill would extend those cuts.
“Hope is alive,” said Cornyn, who said lawmakers ideally would get the package passed by the end of July. He expects a razor-thin margin and believes voting will fall along party lines. Fifty-three senators are Republicans, 45 are Democrats and two consider themselves independents.
“Sen. Cornyn fully supports extending the individual tax provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to make life better for small business owners, Texans, and all Americans,” said a fact sheet from his office.
“Extending the tax cuts would result in a 3.4% increase in after-tax incomes in 2026, by some estimates.”
But not all Republicans are on the same page regarding the bill. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin have publicly stated they would not support the bill in its current form. They say it does nothing to address bloated government spending and, in fact, would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over 10 years. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said the deficit impact has been “overstated” and that opponents are underestimating the economic momentum it would generate.
Cornyn said Republicans must prevail upon their colleagues to unify behind President Trump’s campaign promises.
Kyle Citrano, whose family owns two George’s Restaurant locations locally and last year opened Jorge’s Cantina on Franklin Avenue, said tax breaks which arrived in 2018 reduced some of the economic pressure inherent in the restaurant business, and probably made possible opening a third eatery. He said the three establishments employ 500 people between them.
Citrano said inflation and rising food costs have forced his family to more frequently analyze its menu offerings and prices. He said they once weighed price changes every 18 months or longer, but now do so every six months.
“We’d like to do even more in Waco, but don’t know if we can without extension of the tax cuts,” said Citrano during the roundtable.
Kirk Zander, who owns Utility Truck Equipment Co. and Utility Truck Equipment Manufacturing in Hewitt, said losing tax cuts enacted in 2018 likely would slow research and development and could necessitate layoffs.
He said inflation drove up prices on materials by 30% in 2021, forcing him into conversations with customers whose orders would need to be reworked or canceled due to changing economic conditions. With his tax liability reduced, he weathered the storm and remains operating today.
Trey Lipsitz, president of M. Lipsitz and Co., the longstanding local scrap metal company, said losing tax cuts could harm his ability to compete in a changing industry.
“If you’re not growing, you become obsolete,” said Lipsitz.
John Peel, founder and CEO of Sticker Universe, hosted Tuesday’s roundtable. He said a reduced tax burden has allowed him to buy specialized and expensive equipment vital to growing his shop at 1207 Washington Ave.
“If Congress fails to extend the Trump Tax Cuts that expire at the end of this year, 62% of Americans would see a tax increase in 2026, and the average family of four making $75,000 a year would face a $1,500 tax increase next year,” Cornyn’s release said. “Working families would see the child tax credit cut in half, and Texans would see their taxes increase an average of $3,000.”
Cornyn said the bill represents a step toward federal fiscal responsibility without affecting Social Security benefits or Medicare recipients. He said passage does not mean the Trump administration would discontinue efforts to prevent Medicaid abuse among the able-bodied and those illegally in the country.
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SEN. CORNYN TALKS ABOUT VETERANS MENTAL HEALTH IN TYLER
From the CBS 19 story:
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn tours Camp V, talks veteran mental health
By Jason Garrett
TYLER, Texas — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn visited CampV, a one-stop shop of resources for East Texas veterans, on Wednesday to discuss improving mental health care for veterans.
CampV officials and other local mental health advocates had a roundtable discussion with Cornyn, talking about personal stories of post-traumatic stress disorder and helping fellow veterans with their mental health.
When the roundtable wrapped up, Cornyn toured CampV and its various services on the property. The stops included a jujitsu demonstration and a mural painted in honor of all the military branches.
"The biggest frustration I have is the veterans administration has almost 500,000 people working there, and Congress on a bipartisan basis, appropriates, basically anything that we're told that the veterans need or the VA needs," Cornyn said. "But then to see that, that that gap between the people and the resources and actually the services being rendered to the veterans. This is where the rubber meets the road and what counts the most. All the rest of it is just numbers on a page. This is what counts, and this is what works here at CampV."
Cornyn also talked about his Republican primary challenger for his Senate seat, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He said he intends to have a vigorous battle with Paxton to be the Republican nominee.
"Texas has been a red state for a long time, and that's all at risk if, if for Republicans nominate somebody like the attorney general with his checkered background and all the baggage that he brings to the race, and we'll be talking about that during the course of the campaign," Cornyn said.
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SEN. CORNYN APPEARS ON “The Will Cain Show” ON FOX NEWS IN DALLAS
You can watch Sen. Cornyn’s appearance in studio with Will Cain in Dallas from Thursday on Fox News here -- https://x.com/WillCainShow_/status/1928191642395127812.
SEN. CORNYN & SEN. SCHMITT TEAM UP TO ANNOUNCE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING ON JUNE 18 TO PROBE THE BIDEN COVER UP
From the exclusive story by Alex Miller on FoxNews.com:
Senate Republicans plan hearing on Biden's alleged cognitive decline cover-up
Senators Schmitt, Cornyn set date for first full congressional probe into 'conspiracy' behind Biden's decline
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.
Senators Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced plans to hold a Senate Judiciary hearing June 18 to look 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 contend Biden’s decline was hidden for "years."
Cornyn argued 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," Cornyn said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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.
>> RELATED: Sen. Cornyn asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether federal laws were violated in the Biden cover up.
COVERAGE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL PAXTON FUNDING LEFT WING GROUPS WITH MILLIONS IN TAXPAYER FUNDS
From the exclusive story by Caroline Vakil in The Hill:
Cornyn campaign launches ad buy accusing Paxton of ‘funding the left’
By Caroline Vakil
Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) campaign is rolling out four new ads attacking Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton (R) for money his office gave to several Texas entities, accusing Paxton of “funding the left.”
The ads, roughly 30 seconds each and shared first with The Hill, criticize Paxton for issuing grant money to Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, the Tahirih Justice Center, the Montrose Center and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, insinuating the organizations run counter to Republicans on issues related to immigration and gender.
For example, a narrator in one of the ads accuses the Montrose Center of offering “gender programs for children as young as seven,” noting that it has hosted “child-accessible drag shows.”
The Montrose Center, a group serving the LGBTQ+ Houston community, offers various services, including case management and counseling. The group has previously hosted events that have included drag shows —drawing national scorn and scrutiny from some Republicans.
The ad is also likely referencing the center’s Hatch Youth, which the center describes as “Houston’s oldest, currently active social group dedicated to empowering LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults between the ages of 7 and 24.”
Cornyn’s team told The Hill that the ads are part of a five-figure digital buy.
Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak alleged the grants had cost millions of taxpayer dollars “approved that went to radical left organizations that do not share our conservative Texas values,” describing Paxton as “crooked” and suggesting “Texans cannot trust Ken Paxton.”
Paxton’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by The Hill regarding the ads. …
The different groups mentioned in the Cornyn campaign ads were approved for different types of grants in the past, largely under the “other victim assistance grant,” whose service areas include direct victim services, victim services training, outreach and education, victim assistance coordinator and crime victim liaison.
That hasn’t stopped some of those groups from receiving scrutiny, however. Paxton investigated the Tahirih Justice Center, a recipient of Texas Bar Foundation funding, in 2022 to see “whether these funds are being used to exacerbate the current crisis at the border and to thwart the efforts of federal and state law enforcement to secure the border.”
Republicans are bracing for a bitter primary between Cornyn and Paxton as Cornyn vies for a fifth term in the Senate. Paxton has described Cornyn as a RINO, or a Republican in name only, while Cornyn’s campaign has called Paxton a “fraud.”
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SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST TWO OF AG PAXTON’S TOP STAFFERS
From the Texas Tribune story by Zach Despart:
Top deputies to Attorney General Ken Paxton pushed out over sexual harassment allegations, lawsuit says
The harassment allegedly took place while the two were on leave from the agency working on Paxton’s impeachment defense.
By Zach Despart
Two of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s top deputies were forced to resign in 2023 over allegations of harassment, according to court filings included in a lawsuit Tuesday.
Judd Stone, the former solicitor general, and Chris Hilton, an assistant attorney general, were sued in federal court by Jordan Eskew, another former employee of the attorney general’s office. Eskew alleges that she was subjected to sexual harassment by Stone, and that Hilton verbally berated her and took no action to protect her from Stone’s inappropriate comments. The harassment took place, she said, while the three were on leave from the state agency to work on Paxton’s defense team during his 2023 impeachment trial.
“State law requires that the OAG and managers immediately take action to stop sexual harassment,” First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster wrote to another agency employee in December 2024, in an email that was included in the lawsuit. “Judd and Chris would be notified that they would be terminated if they did not resign.”
Stone and Hilton, through a spokesperson, said they left the attorney general’s office voluntarily because Webster was a “petty tyrant.”
“Brent Webster has a personal vendetta against Mr. Hilton and Mr. Stone,” said a spokesperson for their law firm, Stone Hilton. “This lawsuit is his creation and a complete fabrication.
The attorney general’s office in 2023 confirmed their exits, but did not give reason for their resignations.
Stone shared violent rape fantasies with Eskew, the complaint alleges. It also claims Stone regularly berated her calling her “white trash” in one instance; in another, it states that Stone “began screaming” at Eskew over a spreadsheet. The complaint describes Hilton as witnessing many of these interactions and failing to intervene.
Stone, who joined the attorney general’s office in 2021, was responsible for representing the state of Texas in court, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Hilton, who was hired in 2016, led the general litigation division.
After Paxton was acquitted by the Senate in September 2023, Stone, Hilton, Eskew and other employees who took leave to defend him returned to the attorney general’s office.
According to Webster’s email, which Eskew’s lawyer included in the complaint, two women who worked with Stone and Hilton during the impeachment in October separately reported “credible complaints of sexual misconduct.”
Webster said he notified Paxton, who was “shocked and appalled” at the allegations and agreed to take immediate action. Agency staff confronted Stone about the behavior, Webster wrote, and Stone “promptly admitted that all of the allegations were true.”
Webster said no further investigation was necessary since Stone had confessed to the behavior he was accused of. He added that the agency’s human resources staff said it was customary to allow employees accused of misconduct to resign in lieu of termination.
Stone and Hilton resigned on October 17, 2023. In their brief resignation letters, they gave no reason for their departures.
“It has been my distinct pleasure to serve the people of Texas,” Stone wrote.
Additional media coverage:
Related:
FOR YOUR RADAR:
- It’s been 15 days since Ken Paxton’s Personal Financial Disclosure was due. He ignored a federal deadline and is hiding financial information from voters.
- Sen. Cornyn will appear on WFAA’s “Inside Texas Politics” on Sunday at 9am in DFW. Check local listings for air times in other TX markets. Set your DVR!
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