Good morning, it’s Monday, July 21, 2025. In today’s edition, Texas lawmakers return for consequential special session; Dems plot redistricting revenge; states add jobs as feds cut workforce:
Top Stories
TEXAS: The Texas legislature returns to Austin for a special session tackling a host of Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) top priorities. Lawmakers have introduced several bills to address the disastrous flooding in Hill Country earlier this month, including improving early warning systems and strengthening emergency communications.
Abbott also wants lawmakers to take up new restrictions on products that contain THC, after he vetoed an outright ban earlier this year. Legislators have filed bills to restrict abortion-inducing medication and lobbying by local governments, along with a bill to require people to use bathrooms that align with their biological sex rather than their gender identity.
But it’s not clear Democrats will show up. Republicans plan to redraw the U.S. House map, in an effort to maintain control of Congress, and Democrats have hinted at a walkout in protest. Without the 62 Democrats, Republicans won’t be able to reach a quorum, grinding legislative business to a halt. (Pluribus News)
The harsh reality: Democrats have walked out over redistricting twice before, in 2003 and 2021. In both cases, Republicans got their way, eventually.
REDISTRICTING: U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeen Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and his political team are exploring their own potential redistricting, in states like California, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Washington, in an effort to counter the GOP’s moves in Texas. Jeffries said he would meet New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) next month to discuss the maps in his home state. (CNN)
ECONOMY: President Trump’s efforts to cut the federal workforce have resulted in about 69,000 fewer federal workers since the beginning of the year, a force reduction of about 2.3%. But at the same time, state and local governments are adding more jobs; state governments have added 66,000 positions since January, while local government payrolls have swelled by 119,000 positions. (Pluribus News)
Washington, D.C., has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 5.9%.
PUBLIC SAFETY: South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) will call lawmakers back into special session on Sept. 25 to consider whether to build a new 1,500-bed men’s prison in the Sioux Falls area. A task force recommended the facility be build at a cost of $650 million. (South Dakota Public Broadcasting)
CYBER SECURITY: Microsoft on Saturday issued an alert about “active attacks” on server software used by state government agencies to share documents within organizations. One research company found hackers targeted at least one state legislature in the eastern United States. The hack is known as a “zero day” attack because it targets a previously unknown vulnerability. (Washington Post, Reuters)
In Politics & Business
2028: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) will headline the Missouri Democratic Party’s annual Truman Dinner fundraiser on Sept. 20 in St. Louis. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) His trip follows his recent travel to South Carolina, where he pitched himself as a winner in red states.
KANSAS: Senate President Ty Masterson (R) will run for governor, he said Sunday. Masterson will face Secretary of State Scott Schwab (R), Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt (R) and former Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) in the GOP primary. Gov. Laura Kelly (D) faces term limits. (Kansas Reflector)
CRIME BLOTTER: Minnesota Sen. Nicole Mitchell (D) has been found guilty of felony burglary and possession of burglary tools. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy (D) called on Mitchell to resign; her departure would leave the Senate with an even split, 33-33, between Democrats and Republicans. (Minnesota Reformer)
PEOPLE: Florida Rep. Joe Casello (D) died suddenly Friday from a serious heart attack. Casello, 73, was serving his fourth term in office. (Florida Politics) Our condolences to the entire Florida political family.
By The Numbers
36.8%: The share of office space in downtown Denver that are vacant, according to CBRE, the real estate services company. Businesses secured just 1.1 million square feet of new leases in the second quarter, down 40% from a year ago. (Colorado Public Radio)
$2.8 billion: The amount of tax revenue Pennsylvania took in from casino-run gambling in Fiscal Year 2024-2025. That’s the most the state has ever earned from gaming taxes, up from $2.54 billion the previous year. (State Affairs)
2.12 million: The number of cattle in Montana in early 2024, according to federal data. Cows still out number humans, population 1.14 million, by a nearly two-to-one margin. (Montana Free Press)
Off The Wall
Say goodbye the the Kentucky legislative chambers. The General Assembly will convene in temporary chambers for at least the next three years as the Capitol in Frankfort undergoes extensive renovations. The temporary digs have no public galleries; the public will be able to watch the legislature via a livestream from next door. (Kentucky Lantern)
The first day of a golf tournament at the Sendai Classic Golf Club in Japan was canceled last week after a bear was spotted on the course. It was the second time in the last two months a tournament in Japan has been postponed over a bear sighting, after another incident in Komatsu in May. (UPI)
We hear the bear had a great round.
Quote of the Day
“When a kid in Vermont understands that there’s a housing and affordability crisis, that’s when you know it’s bad.”
— Dean Roy, 14, who is collecting signatures for a run against Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) in 2026. Roy is running as a member of the Freedom and Unity Party. Vermont doesn’t set age limits for officeholders. (VT Digger)