Over the last two weeks, President Trump has continued to take numerous actions and make statements that matter to people across our community.  I have heard from hundreds of constituents this week concerned about developments in Washington, and I address some of the key concerns raised here.  As discussed in more detail below, I share these concerns and have been meeting with and working with constituents and colleagues this week in Washington (and last week at home) to address them.

It is important to know that Republicans control the U.S. House and Senate and have largely supported President Trump’s executive orders and actions.  As a result, the Congress as a body has not taken any meaningful steps that I know of to assert its own authority or to challenge illegal and unconstitutional actions the President and his administration have taken.  Groups across the country, however, are challenging these actions in courts across the country.  A useful summary of the many cases and challenges can be found at Democracy2025.org. 

Federal Funding Pause.  Last Monday, January 27, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which oversees federal agencies and administers the federal budget, released a memo to all federal agencies that effectively paused all federal grant programs.  Nonprofits and other groups and individuals that rely on federal funding for critical programs across our community and across the country scrambled to make sense of which programs were affected. On Tuesday, funding portals were closed.

After a lawsuit challenging the OMB memo enjoined the actions outlined in the memo, the Trump administration rescinded the OMB memo right before the funding pause was set to take effect last Wednesday.  According to the White House, however, President Trump’s Executive Order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” which directs federal agencies to pause the distribution of funds made possible in the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as well as other executive orders, remains in effect. 

As a reminder, the Houston region has received more than $1 billion in federal funding for projects across our community stemming from these two bills.  Some of these projects have been completed, while others are still in progress, causing confusion as to whether these projects will be delayed or canceled without this funding.  Last week, I joined my colleagues in writing a letter to Acting Director of OMB Matthew Vaeth requesting an itemized list of programs, projects, and activities that have been put on hold because of this order.  We have not received an answer.

Tariffs on Mexico and Canada.  Last weekend, President Trump declared a national emergency and imposed a 25 percent blanket tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico (and a reduced 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy).  The implementation has been temporarily postponed, but I joined my Democratic colleagues in sending letters to the Trump administration expressing deep concerns regarding how these tariffs would destabilize trade relations with the United States’ top trading partners and increase prices for hardworking American families.  We demanded that these tariffs be rescinded immediately and that President Trump end this senseless trade war and work on a trade deal that benefits all Americans.

Unauthorized Access to Confidential Data.  This week, we learned that Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who the White House has designated a “special government employee,” has obtained access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system.  The Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Service manages this system, which contains highly confidential information and is responsible for administering $6 trillion per year in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, tax refunds, and payments to government contractors.  It contains highly sensitive details about hundreds of millions of Americans, including Social Security numbers and business financial records.  This system also serves as a payment intermediary for almost every federal agency accounting for nearly 90 percent of all government spending.  Civil rights groups and nonprofits have filed legal challenges against Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for this unlawful breach.  Without oversight or approval, these efforts are a direct threat to the national and economic security of Americans.  

In response, I have done a couple of things this week.  First, I joined a group of my colleagues in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing concern that Elon Musk and unvetted DOGE employees were granted access to the payments system.  Second, I joined House Democrats as a cosponsor of the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, a bill to protect the nation’s payment system from reckless and unlawful interference.  The bill will ensure that anyone accessing the system has lawful authorization, a reliable track-record of professional service, necessary and appropriate security clearance, no conflicts of interest and ethics guardrails; impose criminal penalties for individuals with personal financial conflicts of interest accessing the system; and ensure Congress and the public have notice of any unauthorized access and an assessment of any cyber and national security risks or interference with federal payments.  This should not be a partisan issue. I hope our Republican colleagues will join us.

Statements about the Future of Gaza.  In remarks during a White House press conference this week, President Trump stated that the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip should be relocated and that the United States should take control of the territory, saying it could be the “Riviera of the Middle East.”  I have joined with colleagues to urge President Trump to retract his remarks.  At a time when the United States must work with Israel and our regional partners to promote peace and stability in the Middle East, President Trump’s dangerous remarks threaten to undermine the ongoing ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, as well as impair the United States’ standing in the world.  President Trump’s comments are antithetical to the long-standing policy of the United States supporting a two-state solution to the conflict as the best way to ensure an enduring peace for Israelis and Palestinians.  The United States must remain committed to a diplomatic solution that advances the rights of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, safety, security, and dignity.

I also heard from people across our district about many other developments, including actions to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); fire federal workers; freeze hiring for air traffic controllers, disband the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, and fire the heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard; as well as the President’s statements about DEI and his speculation that such efforts contributed to the plane collision in Washington last week, demeaning the service members who lost their lives in service to our country and insulting the hardworking people who work tirelessly to keep us safe in the skies. 

I have responded with colleagues on these and various other issues as discussed below.

This week, the House principally considered two bills on the floor.  First, the HALT Fentanyl Act, H.R. 27, which, if enacted, would classify all fentanyl-related substances (a class of substances that have chemical structures similar to fentanyl but are not identical) as Schedule I Controlled Substances.  There is widespread agreement and concern about the need to combat the supply of illicit fentanyl across the country.  I agree and this legislation supports the idea in concept.  In practice, however, it does not actually make the changes we need to address the fentanyl crisis in this country and provides no resources for those on the frontlines to detect and intercept illicit drugs entering the country or programs for the prevention and treatment of addiction.  It also imposes mandatory minimum sentences, a deeply problematic public policy that, in my view as a lawyer, we should be working to reverse, not enact.  For these reasons, I voted no on this bill, but I will continue working with my colleagues on other legislation to address and combat the supply of illicit fentanyl in our community and across the country. The bill passed the House by a vote of 312-108. 

This week, the House also considered the Protecting American Energy Production Act, H.R. 26.  This bill would prevent the President from banning hydraulic fracking in states without first receiving approval from Congress.  Hydraulic fracking has made the recent shale revolution possible, and turned our country from a net importer of crude oil to a net exporter.  While no recent President has made any comments on banning the practice, and while I do not expect President Trump to ban fracking, I voted yes on the bill to ensure our energy security and maintain our status as a net exporter of energy.  The bill passed by a vote of 226-188.

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

On Wednesday, with more than 200 original House cosponsors, I introduced the Right to Contraception Act to guarantee in law the right of Americans to use contraception that works for them.  The same day, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced this legislation in the U.S. Senate, and we held a joint press conference with our co-lead sponsors and leading national advocates (which you can watch here).

The Right to Contraception Act is a response to real threats to accessing birth control in Texas and across our country and reflects the position of the vast majority of Americans who rely on contraception of all kinds to plan their families and their lives.  Efforts to restrict access to birth control are about taking away the freedom, dignity, and autonomy of all Americans.  I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and do everything I can to protect and restore the health, privacy, dignity, and autonomy of women and families across our country, and this is one critical way.

I co-sponsored several other pieces of legislation on issues important to our community this week, including: 

• the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, H.R.1101, as discussed above, to ensure that any individual accessing the Treasury’s payment system has lawful authorization and appropriate security and ethics guardrails;  
• the NO BAN Act, H.R. 924,  to prevent future travel bans by the Trump administration on the basis of religion;
• the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act, H.R. 846, to prohibit deceptive advertising and disinformation by crisis pregnancy centers; 
• the Global Health, Empowerment and Rights Act, H.R. 764, to permanently repeal the global gag rule, which prohibits international organizations from receiving foreign assistance if they provide abortion services or related information; 
• the Cover Outstanding Vulnerable Expansion-eligible Residents (COVER) Now Act, H.R. 608, to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to partner directly with local governments to expand Medicaid coverage; 
• the Close the Medigap Act, H.R. 610, to prohibit discriminatory pricing and coverage denials for patients seeking supplemental Medigap coverage;
• the Stop the Wait Act, H.R. 930, to eliminate the Medicare and disability insurance benefits waiting periods for disabled individuals; 
• the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act, H.R. 768, to direct the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in public schools nationwide;
• the Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act, H.R. 469, to authorize the Architect of the Capitol to create a time capsule and have it buried on the west lawn of the Capitol; 
• the Rosie the Riveter Commemorative Coin Act, H.R. 429, to direct the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins in recognition and celebration of the women who contributed to the U.S. home front during World War II; 
• a bill to rename the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Dallas, Texas as the “Eddie Bernice Johnson VA Medical Center,” H.R. 499;
• a resolution recognizing the cultural and historical significance of Lunar New Year in 2025, H.Res. 75;
• a resolution expressing strong disapproval of the President’s announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, H.Res. 68;
• a resolution expressing support for the Nation's local public K-12 schools and condemning any actions that would defund public education or weaken or dismantle the Department of Education, H.Res. 94; and 
• a resolution condemning the pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police Officers, H.Res. 116.

Letters are another way that members of Congress communicate with each other and with the executive branch.  In addition to committee activity, they provide opportunities to exercise oversight and communicate concern, especially for the party out of power that cannot control what happens in committees or on the House floor.  Over the last two weeks, I have joined my colleagues in sending several letters on issues important to our community, including: 

• a letter Matthew Vaeth, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Kevin Hassett, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council, demanding the Trump Administration release a list of all programs, projects, and activities currently frozen under an executive order signed on January 20, as discussed above; 
• a letter to Matthew Vaeth, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Dr. Dorothy Fink, Health and Human Services Acting Secretary, expressing concern over the funding freeze's impact on health care policy, including health insurance programs, biomedical research, drug and device regulation, and public health;
• a letter to Tala Hooban, Acting Director of the Office of Head Start, and Dr. Dorothy Fink, Health and Human Services Acting Secretary, to express concerns over the delayed grant payments to Head Start centers nationwide and ensure these programs expeditiously receive the funds that they are owed;
• a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing concerns regarding the Trump Administration's intentions to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as an independent agency; 
• a letter to Denise Carter, Acting Education Secretary, requesting a meeting regarding the Trump Administration’s reported efforts to dismantle the Department of Education; 
• a letter to Matthew Memoli, Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health, expressing concerns about how the various Trump administration initiatives are negatively impacting the National Institutes of Health, clinical trials, and cancer research; 
• a letter to the Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) expressing concerns about recent efforts to pare down the Office of Research of Women's Health (ORWH) website and demanding they restore access to critical data sets on women's health;
• a letter to President Trump expressing concerns regarding his Executive Order to impose a 25 percent blanket tariff on Canadian imports and a 10 percent tariff on imported Canadian oil and urging him to rescind the tariffs; 
• a letter to President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jeremy Pelter, Acting Secretary of Commerce, and Juan Millan, Acting General Counsel for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, expressing concerns regarding the U.S. tariffs imposed on Mexico and Canada and urging the Trump Administration to rescind the Executive Order immediately; and
• a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing concern that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has granted Elon Musk and his “DOGE” team’s access to the federal government’s payments system (as discussed above).

This week, I met with cabinet secretaries and representatives of the Government of Alberta.  At a time when the U.S.-Canada relationship faces challenges, it was important and helpful to meet with these government leaders to talk about how we can work together on shared interests and challenges and to reaffirm the importance of our bilateral relationship with one of our closest trading partners.