War in Iran. On Tuesday, President Trump announced that the temporary ceasefire with Iran, originally set to expire this week, would be extended indefinitely until the U.S. and Iran agreed on a peace proposal.  Both countries continue to block the Strait of Hormuz.  On Wednesday, the Pentagon informed Congress that it could take six months to fully clear the Strait of all naval mines—a cleanup effort that cannot commence until the war ends.  Later that day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan.  This week, the Senate voted on a war powers resolution to remove the U.S. Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities against Iran.  Just last week, the House voted on a similar war powers resolution.  Although neither of these measures passed, they are fundamental to our system of checks and balances.  As President Trump continues to act unilaterally to engage in a war of choice against Iran, Republicans in Congress have ceded their Constitutional authority to the President, rather than doing the job they were sent to Washington to do.

UAE Bailout.  This week, it was reported that the Trump Administration has opened talks with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about a financial currency-swap over economic losses from the U.S.-Iran war.  The conflict has damaged Emirati oil and gas infrastructure and shut off their ability to sell oil using tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, depriving it of a key source of dollar revenues.  It is worth nothing that the UAE has made major investments in the Trump family’s business ventures, including millions in crypto, real estate, and investment deals. 

Global Repercussions on Immigration.  As I have mentioned previously, the Trump administration continues to attempt to strip protections for our immigrant neighbors in Houston and across the country, including those who have Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the U.S. because of conditions in their home countries.  This week, I signed a discharge petition to extend the TPS designation for Venezuelans for another 18 months.  Under these protections, more than 600,000 law-abiding Venezuelans across the country would be protected from losing their ability to live and work in the United States, and from being sent into harm's way amidst the ongoing political instability and economic crisis in Venezuela.

This week, House Republicans continued to take up legislation that fails to address Americans’ concerns regarding the war in Iran, surging gas prices, and access to affordable health care.

On Wednesday, the House considered the Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act, H.R. 4690, a bill to repeal efficiency standards for federal buildings without replacing them with a new standard.  I voted against this bill, which passed the House 215-202. 

Also on Wednesday, the House considered a bill amending the Clean Air Act.  The Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act, H.R. 6387, modifies the definition of ‘exceptional events’ under the Clean Air Act, making it easier for communities to demonstrate that an exceptional event caused a specific air pollution concentration.  Because the Clean Air Act already provides pathways for states to exclude data influenced by exceptional events, this bill really opens the door for states to claim common weather occurrences like droughts and hot days as reasons to ignore dangerous pollution, artificially reducing reporting on the severity of air pollution problems.  I voted against it, but it passed the House 220-198. 

On Thursday, the House considered the Harnessing Energy at Thermal Sources (HEATS) Act of 2026, H.R. 5587, to allow geothermal energy projects to waive federal permits.  I am a big fan of geothermal, and excited about this work that is going on here in Houston to develop geothermal energy.  But this bill would weaken the Department of the Interior’s authority to ensure that geothermal development of public resources is conducted in a safe and sustainable manner.  I voted against it, but it passed the House 231-186. 

In what seemed the most dishonest vote of the week, the House considered a resolution “expressing support for rural communities across the United States as stewards of the environment, major suppliers of United States energy resources, critical providers of food production and manufacturing capacity, and drivers of national economic stability, and recognizing the work of the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress in support of those vital communities,” (H.Res. 1182) – basically a pat on the back for Congressional Republicans for a bill they passed in this Congress that has caused great harm to rural communities—undermining access to health care, cutting food programs, and more—and offers nothing but offer empty words.  I voted against it, but it passed the House 220-196.  

On a brighter note, early in the week the House passed the Mystic Alerts Act, H.R. 7022 by voice vote (no recorded votes were taken).  The Mystic Alerts Act improves Americans’ access to wireless emergency alerts by requiring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to encourage mobile service providers to adopt satellite alerting capabilities—technology that allows more people to receive life-saving alerts even if they lack cellular service.  As I have said here before, and as we know approaching summer, we are still heartbroken and grieving the loss of people and the destruction of communities along the Guadalupe River last summer, a disaster made worse by communication gaps and failures.  This bill is a small but important way to provide a meaningful response to the devastating floods and learn from the tragedy so that communities across the country do not have to experience the same pain and loss that Texans did last year.  I was glad to partner with Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33), and Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01) in this effort and we will continue the work to get this bill signed into law.

As a reminder, you can always find a list of all of the votes I have taken for the district on my website.

On Wednesday, Congressman Troy Carter (LA-02) and I introduced the Zealously Eliminating Legal Decisions of Ineptitude and Negligence (ZELDIN) Act, H.R. 8440, to establish guardrails on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin’s authority to terminate federal grants and abandon enforcement actions that protect communities from carcinogens for the remainder of the Trump administration.  This legislation would prevent grant cancellations for political reasons, restore public health rulemaking standards, and require Congressional oversight of carcinogen lawsuit dismissals.

Administrator Zeldin has abandoned federal lawsuits protecting communities from toxic chemicals, canceled grants that Houston families and local governments depend on, and dismantled the standards that ensure environmental rules are grounded in science and public health—often without legal authority and always without accountability.  The ZELDIN Act strengthens oversight and the legal requirements necessary to rein in this out-of-control Administrator, and I am glad to work with Congressman Carter to introduce this important legislation.

If enacted, the ZELDIN Act would:

• Require a mandatory legal review before any grant termination.  Last year, the Trump administration canceled $250 million in federal funding for solar and battery storage in Harris County—a grant issued during the Biden administration that would have helped families save an average of $468 per year in energy costs.  The ZELDIN Act would prevent future grants like these from being canceled for political purposes;
• Preserve funding during legal disputes. The EPA has been pulling back awarded funds even while grant recipients are still challenging terminations in court or through administrative appeals, effectively ending legal disputes before they can be fairly resolved.  The ZELDIN Act, would halt this practice;
• Restore public health and economic analyses by requiring EPA to assess the public health and economic effects of major rules before finalizing them, a standard practice the Trump administration has abandoned, weakening the factual foundation for health-protective regulations;
• Require Congressional review of carcinogen lawsuit dismissals by establishing a joint Congressional review process before EPA could dismiss a lawsuit or withdraw a referral of claims involving the release of carcinogens, ensuring those decisions are made with proper oversight; and
• Hold EPA accountable by creating penalties for an Administrator who violates the act and gives individuals aggrieved by a violation of the act the right to pursue damages in court.

Also this week, I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson to abandon a plan to bring a modified version of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act, H.R. 1329, to the House floor unless it is restored to the original bipartisan version that many Democrats cosponsored and is paired with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino Act, H.R. 1330. 

This week, everyone in the Texas Democratic delegation joined together in sending a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting a meeting with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to discuss the Department's proposed plans for Big Bend National Park and lack of coordination with state and local governments.  Last week, the Texas Democratic Delegation also sent a letter to Secretary Mullin opposing the construction of a border wall and detection technology in and around Big Bend National Park, which threaten to destroy Big Bend's natural scenic beauty and disrupt the local economy and livelihoods of the people in West Texas.

On Tuesday, the House the Energy & Commerce's Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) fiscal year 2027 budget with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  I used my time to press Secretary Kennedy on the administration’s cuts to medical research and the impacts of these cuts on the United States’ position as a world leader in research.  Here in Houston, we know how devastating these cuts are.  You can watch my full q&a with Secretary Kennedy below.

On Wednesday, the House Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy held an oversight hearing with the Commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).  The NRC plays a vital role in ensuring new nuclear technologies are safe for commercial deployment.  We’ve seen disturbing evidence of the Trump administration attempting to weaken the commission’s independence and inject politics into their sensitive work.  I questioned the Chair of the Commission about this interference.  You can watch my full remarks below.

This week, I was glad to have a chance to visit with Houstonians in town for all kinds of reasons.  On Monday, my staff and I were lucky enough to receive a briefing from Dr. Stephen Klineberg, the founding director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, on the annual Kinder Houston Area Survey.  The survey shows the demographic, geographical, and sociological changes of the Houston region since its inception in 1982.  (I can’t believe we forgot to take a picture!)

I appreciated the chance to sit down with Texas State Representative Suleman Lalani, who represents much of Fort Bend County in the Texas Legislature.  I was glad to meet with representatives from Avenue, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), and the Houston Gulf Coast Building & Construction Trades Council.  I also met with Grid Action to talk about permitting reform, pictured below.  Modernizing our grid through permitting reform is essential to our economic and national security.

I also got to see several Houstonians when I participated in a fireside chat with the Energy Leadership Institute (ELI) EnGen Program.  The program brings mid-career energy professionals to D.C. to hear from policymakers about the energy policy landscape and opportunities and challenges they will face in this space.  I was glad to join my fellow Texan, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), for this conversation.

In Washington, Team TX-07 held more than four dozen meetings with constituents and groups advocating on their behalf, including the American Physical Therapy Association, the Rail Passengers Association, and the U.S. Council on Muslim Organizations, pictured below.  Back home in the district, our team was out and about across the district, helping constituents and attending community events, including a meeting with Tammi Wallace, President & CEO of the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce; a listening session with the National Asian Pacific Islander American Museum Commission; and a community benefits meeting at the Chinese Community Center, pictured below.