We are on Day 41 of the Schumer Shutdown, the longest government shutdown in the history of the United States. The Democrats shut down the government because they want to show the radical left wing in their base that they really, really hate Donald Trump. It takes 60 votes to fund the government, yet Democrats refuse to join Republicans in reopening it. Fourteen times Republicans have voted to open the government, and fourteen times Democrats have voted to keep it closed. Meanwhile, over 50,000 TSA agents and 14,000 air traffic controllers are working without pay, struggling to feed their families while Chuck Schumer says that “every day gets better for us.”
Rest assured, despite the Schumer Shutdown, my office remains open, and we continue to do our jobs every day to serve the great people of Texas.
READ: Sen. Ted Cruz warns shutdown is bringing flight cancellations, delays to Texas airports
The election results in New Jersey, New York, and Virginia show a disturbing trend in the Democrat Party: they are willing to elect extreme, radicals into office. In New York City, Comrade Mamdani is now the face of the Democrat Party – an actual communist jihadist who calls for seizing the means of production in our economy.
But New York is not the only state that elected a dangerous radical. Virginia elected Attorney General Jay Jones texted that he wanted to see the children of the Republican Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates murdered. The Democrats didn’t care, and Jay Jones won his race anyway.
This week, I met with over 100 Texans from the Texas Farm Credit during the Farm Credit Fly-In in Washington, D.C. It is always a pleasure to see Texans make the trip to the swamp.
The passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill earlier this summer secured critical support for our farmers and ranchers, including increasing agriculture-focused spending by nearly $66 billion over the next decade.
Last month, I introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, aiming to impose sanctions on Nigerian officials who facilitate violence against Christians, enforce blasphemy laws, or fail to address Islamist extremist attacks. Christians in Nigeria are being slaughtered by the thousands. Since 2009, more than 50,000 Christians have been murdered, and more than 20,000 Christian churches and schools have been destroyed in Nigeria.
I am deeply grateful President Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
This designation now unlocks targeted sanctions on the country itself, as well as on state and local officials. The next step is to implement those specific sanctions to pressure Nigeria to stop using Islamic jihad to murder Christians.
ICYMI: US Senator Cruz vows to expose Nigerian officials linked to alleged Christian killings
Mexico has consistently failed to meet its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty, cycle after cycle and is why I alongside Senator Cornyn introduced the Ensuring Predictable and Reliable Water Deliveries Act of 2025. The Mexican government exploits the structure of the treaty to defer and delay its deliveries in each individual year until it becomes impossible for it to meet its overall obligations, and it continues to fail to meet its obligation to deliver water to the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty. These failures are catastrophic for Texas farmers and ranchers, who rely on regular and complete deliveries by Mexico under the treaty and are on the front lines of this crisis, facing water shortages that threaten agriculture and livestock. Without stronger congressional pressure and oversight, Mexico will continue to fail to meet its obligations. That’s why I introduced legislation that pressures Mexico and strengthens oversight to protect Texas agriculture, ranching, and the American food supply.
READ: Cruz, Cornyn push new retaliatory legislation that blocks U.S. water from going to Mexico
Americans who meet eligibility requirements should be the only ones to receive taxpayer-funded benefits. Under the Biden administration’s border policies, abuse of these programs by illegal aliens increased. In 2023, 48% of households headed by illegal immigrants received food-related welfare benefits, and 17% of illegal immigrant households use SNAP. Current law does not include welfare fraud in its list of offenses that make an alien deportable or inadmissible to the United States. This is why I introduced the Deporting Fraudsters Act, which will help stem this abuse. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill without delay.
ICYMI: GOP senators push to deport illegal immigrant welfare ‘fraudsters,’ ban them from US permanently
On Friday, the Senate unanimously passed the Monetary Enhancement for Distinguished Active Legends (MEDAL) Act to increase the monthly pension for living Medal of Honor recipients to $67,500 annually. Legislation that I introduced this year as a way for this nation to say, ‘We see you,’ ‘We remember you,’ and ‘We will not forget what you have done. I would like to recognize the nine Medal of Honor recipients who currently live in the Lone Star State, as well as the 139 Medal of Honor recipients who were either born in, entered the service from, or died in Texas. These are America’s heroes, and they are heroes for the great state of Texas.
The MEDAL Act, previously passed unanimously by the U.S. House of Representatives, will now go directly to the President’s desk to be signed into law. Showing that when it comes to honoring our nation’s very greatest heroes, we are united, and we speak with one voice.