News from the South - Texas News Feed

6 things to know about Alex Fairly

Published

4 months ago

May 12, 2025

Staff Editor

feeds.texastribune.org – By Kate McGee – 2025-05-12 05:00:00

By Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune

May 12, 2025

“6 takeaways about Alex Fairly’s journey into Texas GOP politics” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

Alex Fairly, an Amarillo businessman, is the newest Republican megadonor making waves in the Texas capitol.

Last week, The Texas Tribune published a story about his sudden rise as a major powerbroker and one of the most prolific donors to GOP legislative candidates.

The story details Fairly’s involvement in last year’s turbulent Republican primaries through this year’s contentious race for House Speaker. Initially, Fairly aligned with ultraconservatives in an ongoing GOP civil war challenging more establishment Republicans. Fairly spent heavily to try and oust former House Speaker Dade Phelan — who critics labeled a Republican in Name Only, or a RINO — from the Legislature. Fairly also advocated against current Speaker Dustin Burrows in the race for House leader and spent millions supporting hardline conservative candidates for 19 House seats across the state.

[Texas megadonor Alex Fairly joined forces with the GOP’s ultraconservative wing. He didn’t like what he saw.]

But Fairly told The Texas Tribune in an interview that once he started digging into the speaker race, he didn’t like what he saw. He concluded that he had been misled about much of Texas Republican politics by the well-organized political operation funded largely by oil billionaire Tim Dunn, one of the most feared and influential conservative figures in Texas politics.

Here are six takeaways from our coverage:

Fairly was the 10th largest single contributor to Texas legislative races in 2024

Fairly spent most of his life being apolitical. He didn’t register to vote in Texas until he was 37.

Before 2024, Fairly’s political contributions included only a few big checks to statewide officials, including Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick. He was also a major supporter of U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo.

By the end of that year, Fairly would be the 10th biggest donor in legislative races, giving $2.2 million to 19 House candidates and one Senate candidate across the state, according to a Tribune analysis.

Fairly gave the most money to Phelan’s primary challenger David Covey, funnelling $700,000 to Covey’s campaign, most of which was sent after Covey pushed Phelan into a primary runoff. Overall, Fairly’s giving made up more than a quarter of all of the money Covey raised. The majority of other donations were between $50,000 and $100,000. However, in local House races, that could be a significant contribution. For instance, Fairly’s $150,000 donation to Rep. Denise Villalobos, R-Corpus Christi, accounted for 12% of her total haul. His donations to his daughter’s race — $525,600 — accounted for 43% of her contributions.

Fairly turned down an offer to partner with Tim Dunn

As Fairly’s support for hardliners became more prolific, he got an invitation to meet Dunn at his political headquarters outside Fort Worth.

Fairly said he got a tour of Dunn’s operation, including the network of consulting, fundraising and campaign operations. For years, this operation has worked to support extremely conservative candidates and target those who they deem too centrist in an effort to shift the state further to the right.

Dunn asked Fairly if he’d be willing to partner with him. At the time, Fairly seemed well positioned to be a second Dunn-like figure, who could add pressure and funding to Dunn’s political aims.

Fairly eventually turned down Dunn, saying it wasn’t the right time. He would later come to the conclusion that he opposed what he called dishonest and bigoted attacks used by Dunn’s network, entirely.

A few months later, Fairly went back to Dunn in an effort to try and get him to change the way they try to achieve their common conservative goals.

After trying to oust Phelan, Fairly asked him to meet

A few months after Phelan hung onto his House seat by 389 votes, Fairly asked him to meet. Fairly said it wasn’t a peace offering, but if Phelan was going to remain House speaker, he wanted to see if he would run the House in a different way.

During the tense meeting last August, Phelan and Fairly discussed the best way to manage the lower chamber. Phelan told Fairly was naive about Texas politics.

At one point, Phelan accused Fairly of paying for the ugly tactics used in the campaign against him — including accusing him of supporting Sharia law because he supported a resolution commemorating a Muslim holiday. Fairly ended up apologizing.

After the party’s far-right flank continued to attack Phelan in his quest to be speaker for a third session, he eventually dropped out of the leadership race. A new battle would emerge between Phelan-ally, Dustin Burrows of Lubbock, and Rep. David Cook of Mansfield, who would challenge the establishment Republicans in the House.

After Fairly launched a $20 million PAC with a threat to oust lawmakers who don’t align Cook, he changed direction

In mid-December, the Texas House was embroiled in an ugly fight over who Republicans should support to lead the lower chamber. The House Speaker is the leader of the lower chamber who plays a key role in what bills are passed. More establishment Republicans had aligned behind Burrows while many in the GOP caucus were behind Cook who campaigned on reforming the House to reduce the power of Democrats.

The far-right groups behind Cook, including Dunn’s PAC and the Republican Party of Texas — which is largely funded by Dunn’s PACs — accused Burrows of being a secret liberal. Fairly believed this to be true, and felt Republicans needed to come together behind Cook.

He announced he was pouring $20 million into a new PAC “out of concern that the Texas House still lacks a united Republican majority.”

“These funds will be available to help expand a true Republican majority,” Fairly said. “My strong hope is that we can focus them on expanding victories in the next general election.”

But after a series of meetings with lawmakers, including Burrows supporter and incoming freshman John McQueeney, Fairly started to see how lawmakers were being harassed and targeted by dishonest attacks.

A few days before the start of the Legislature, he released a new statement reversing his stance on the speaker race.

“The vote for Speaker belongs to the members,” Fairly wrote in his statement.

Fairy’s daughter, Rep. Caroline Fairly, had a parallel change of heart about the speaker race.

In the months leading up to the legislative session, Rep. Caroline Fairly was struggling with her own decision over who she would support for House speaker.

She originally sided with Cook, but didn’t agree with the characterizations of Burrows as a liberal, and thought it was hypocritical to attack Burrows for making deals with Democrats when Cook had openly courted Democrats for votes, too.

But she felt she needed to stick with Cook at the risk of being attacked as a RINO. When her dad changed directions with his PAC, she felt she pressure to remain with Cook to avoid criticisms that her father, who was her campaign’s top financial supporter, controlled her seat.

But the morning of the speaker race, Caroline Fairly woke up and said she couldn’t stick with Cook.

“I won’t start my tenure as your representative capitulating to outside pressures to place a vote I disagree with,” she wrote in her statement announcing her decision to switch sides.

Fairly has appealed to Dunn — and Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George — to change their political tactics

Once the legislative session was underway, Fairly went back to Dunn to see if he would consider changing how his operation works.

Over a span of a few months, the two men met multiple times to discuss if there were better ways to achieve conservative goals in the state that didn’t require eviscerating fellow Republicans. He commended Dunn for having a candid and difficult conversation, but wasn’t optimistic anything would change.

Last month, after Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George posted on social media a threat to primary Republican lawmakers who don’t pass all GOP priority bills, Fairly called him and tried to get him to stop.

“[Dunn’s network] is the place where you can get money, whether it’s their money or their friends’ money,” Fairly said he told George. “But … the thing that you live on is choking the life out of you.”

Fairly still hasn’t spent his PAC money. He remains a deeply conservative Republican and is still aligning with hardliners like Paxton. As Fairly considers his next move on the state stage, he says he’s intent to remain his own person, rather than committing to join any specific political faction.

“Everyone puts people in a camp, and because I don’t really just fit in one, it feels it doesn’t make that much sense to people,” Fairly said. “That’s just who I am, and I think I’m really comfortable with it.”

First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/12/alex-fairly-texas-house-tim-dunn-takeaways-republican/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

The post 6 things to know about Alex Fairly appeared first on feeds.texastribune.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

This article presents a detailed account of Republican megadonor Alex Fairly’s involvement in Texas politics, highlighting his shifts in support within the GOP and his critical stance towards certain conservative tactics. The focus on Fairly’s conservative leanings, his support for hardline Republican candidates, and his association with influential conservative figures like Tim Dunn positions the content in a way that reflects a conservative viewpoint. However, the narrative also critiques certain political strategies within the GOP, particularly the more extreme tactics employed by figures like Dunn. While the article provides factual reporting, it gives a nuanced portrayal of internal party conflicts, leaning towards a Center-Right perspective due to its focus on conservative figures and their actions within the Texas political landscape.

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News from the South - Texas News Feed

Trump delays mercury pollution rule, helps Texas power plants

Published

4 hours ago

August 27, 2025

Staff Editor

feeds.texastribune.org – By Elena Bruess, Capital & Main – 2025-08-27 05:00:00

By Elena Bruess, Capital & Main

Aug. 27, 2025

“Texas power plants and chemical companies benefit as Trump eases pollution rules, experts say” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

The nonprofit publication Capital & Main produced this article. It is co-published with permission.

For Donna Thomas, smokestacks are a typical sight from her home in Fort Bend County. Since she was a child, she has seen the coal and natural gas-powered W.A. Parish Generating Station puff clouds of haze during the day and light up brightly at night. The facility — which has been around since 1958 — is both part of the background and all she thinks about.

Thomas is not alone. For decades, residents have expressed concerns over the pollution emitted from the Parish coal plant — a separate facility from the natural gas plant — and called for its closure. The plant, located about 30 miles southwest of downtown Houston, is ranked by Texas environmental regulators as one of the worst polluters in the state for certain hazardous emissions. These include mercury, a toxic heavy metal particularly harmful for children and pregnant people.

This year, mercury has been top of mind for environmental activists and residents like Thomas. In April, President Donald Trump announced an exemption for companies from implementing stricter Biden-era mercury regulations for two years. Of the 163 eligible coal plants, 11 are in Texas and six have been approved, including Parish’s operator, NRG Energy. In Missouri and Illinois, five coal plants have been exempted, and in Pennsylvania, all 12 of the coal plants seeking approval have been approved.

Then in July, Trump exempted chemical companies for two years from Biden’s 2024 HON Rule, a set of regulations that control hazardous air emissions from chemical plants called the Hazardous Organic National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants.

The Trump administration determined the exemptions are in the country’s best interest and represent a burden on industry, and that the technology is not available to meet stricter regulations. Companies like NRG agree.

However, critics say the Biden administration’s 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards — called MATS for short — and the HON Rule were long overdue and the two-year delay in implementing them is merely a tactic to protect industry profit margins at the expense of public health.

Moreover, critics point out that the MATS delay may be giving companies the freedom to ignore toxic air emission rules until the Trump administration repeals the Biden-era regulations altogether. In June, the Environmental Protection Agency under Trump proposed a rule to eliminate the 2024 MATS rule completely.

The two rules together have set off alarm bells for experts and environmentalists in Texas, home to one of the world’s largest petrochemical sectors and 11 coal-powered plants. The exemptions will run from 2027 — when the Biden rules were supposed to take effect — to 2029.

“We know these rollbacks are not good for anyone, especially for those that are community fenceline,” said Thomas, also the founder and president of the Fort Bend Environmental — a grassroots organization focused on environmental justice. “We have around 1,000 homes within three miles of Parish, so that’s going to affect all of them.”

A two-year delay

The EPA has been working on stricter environmental regulations for chemical plants since the early 1990s. Only in 2020 did Biden’s EPA begin drafting new rules in earnest.

But owners of the chemical plants should not act so surprised, said Neil Carman, a former regulator for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

“The chemical industry has known for decades that this was all coming, but they don’t like rules, because it means they have to put on more pollution control and they have to do more leak inspections,” said Carman, now the clean air director for the Texas chapter of the Sierra Club. “These plants will always tell you safety first, safety first, but then you run into this thing called money.”

Of the 79 chemical facilities in Texas requesting exemptions, 15 have been approved, including 13 along the Gulf Coast and the so-called petrochemical corridor.

Carman pointed out that the heads of chemical companies have been in talks with Trump’s EPA since the election. In March, the administration announced that companies could apply for exemption from MATS, HON and seven other sets of emissions standards.

That same month, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin met with Dow Inc. Chair-CEO Jim Fitterling to discuss regulations imposed by the Biden administration, according to public records and emails obtained by the Sierra Club.

In one email sent on March 17, Dow reps asked to discuss “clarity” on the EPA’s recent announcement that it will reconsider the HON rule and “Dow has met with the Office of Air and Radiation regarding an extension of the current compliance deadline, which is impossible to meet.”

In May, Zeldin met with Fitterling and other chemical company CEOs to discuss the industry at large. Then in July, Trump announced the exemptions for HON, including for two chemical plants in Louisiana and one in Seadrift, Texas, operated by Dow and its subsidiary Union Carbide.

In a statement to Capital & Main, a Dow spokesperson said that “safety and integrity are at the core of both companies’ operations” and the “extensions are appropriate and necessary to address the technical challenges and to ensure the continued safe and efficient operation of these facilities.”

Carman doesn’t buy it. He worked as an environmental regulator in Texas for 12 years. Even then, he said, companies never seemed to be able to find the budget to limit their emissions and chemical leaks. For him, it’s still the cost.

“A lot of these are old plants and so when they go in and do all this work,” Carman said, “they have to find a place where they’re going to put in new controls and they have to engineer it. They have to design it all. It’s months of planning, but these rules were out there. They knew they were coming. They just want two more years of delay.”

Limiting mercury

When the EPA implemented the 2012 MATS rule, mercury emissions dropped 86% — or four tons — in five years.

In 2024, Biden’s EPA approved a rule to strengthen MATS by tightening the emissions standards for mercury by another 70% and reducing pollutants discharged through wastewater from coal-fired plants by more than 660 million pounds per year.

The rule could prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths, 2,800 cases of chronic bronchitis and 130,000 asthma attacks, according to the EPA under Biden.

However, in April, Trump approved the exemptions for 47 coal-powered plants across the nation. As of mid-August, 70 are now exempted, including Parish.

“These rules were just so critically important to people’s health,” said Surbhi Sarang, senior attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund. The Trump administration “was doing this process that was just not transparent. I mean, there was no process. Whereas in rulemaking, there’s public comment. This is just like a presidential action that was kind of taken in a vacuum and then announced.”

In response to the exemption, Erik Linden, senior director of communications at NRG, said the time is needed and will be used to evaluate the technology for air quality systems and monitoring equipment for compliance.

“All existing MATS emission controls will be properly maintained and remain in service,” Linden said of the current MATS rules that began in 2012. The exemption would give NRG until 2029 to implement the changes.

However, in July, Trump’s EPA proposed eliminating Biden’s rule entirely by the end of the year. Interested parties had three weeks to submit comments, and the Environmental Defense Fund’s request for an extension was denied.

“Rule-making usually takes 12-18 months if not longer,” Sarang said. “They’re moving very quickly.”

All of this is alarming for residents living near industry. With the extent of the changes to environmental regulations coming down from the Trump administration, there’s a lot for Thomas, the Parish generating station neighbor, to process. But she hasn’t given up. Increasingly, Thomas is talking to her neighbors and fellow residents about fighting back.

This means sending letters to representatives in Texas and in Washington, D.C. Thomas said it pays to be loud.

Parish is “going to do the same thing it’s been doing,” Thomas said. “If the EPA does not put a stop to these [emissions] getting out, then everyone is going to pay for this with their lives and in their water and in their air.”

Disclosure: Environmental Defense Fund and NRG Energy have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

More all-star speakers confirmed for The Texas Tribune Festival, Nov. 13–15! This year’s lineup just got even more exciting with the addition of State Rep. Caroline Fairly, R-Amarillo; former United States Attorney General Eric Holder; Abby Phillip, anchor of “CNN NewsNight”; Aaron Reitz, 2026 Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General; and State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin. Get your tickets today!

TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/27/texas-trump-mercury-rule-mats-coal-power-plants-pollution/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

The post Trump delays mercury pollution rule, helps Texas power plants appeared first on feeds.texastribune.org

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The content focuses on environmental regulations and critiques the Trump administration’s rollbacks of Biden-era pollution controls, emphasizing the potential public health risks and environmental justice concerns. It highlights the perspectives of environmental activists and regulatory experts who advocate for stricter pollution standards, while portraying industry and the Trump administration’s actions as prioritizing economic interests over health and safety. This framing aligns with a center-left viewpoint that supports stronger environmental protections and regulatory oversight.

News from the South - Texas News Feed

It's a love story: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce announce engagement

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20 hours ago

August 26, 2025

Staff Editor

www.kxan.com – Addy Bink – 2025-08-26 12:17:00

SUMMARY: Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are engaged, announcing it on Instagram with a photo of Kelce proposing in a garden and showcasing Swift’s dazzling “Old Mine brilliant cut” ring. The couple, both 35, began dating in 2023 after Kelce attended Swift’s Eras Tour. Despite early challenges, including Kelce’s unsuccessful attempt to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his number, their relationship blossomed. Swift has supported Kelce at numerous games, including two Super Bowls, while Kelce frequently attends her concerts. Their relationship has garnered massive media attention and was featured in ESPN’s documentary “The Kingdom.” Kelce’s parents praise their bond as genuine and deserving.

Read the full article

The post It's a love story: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce announce engagement appeared first on www.kxan.com

News from the South - Texas News Feed

We're excited for National Dog Day!

Published

1 day ago

August 26, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – KHOU 11 – 2025-08-26 07:44:49

SUMMARY: To celebrate National Dog Day, the studio welcomed three dogs: Mac, Sandy, and Leo. Sandy sports a playful lipstick kiss from Kim Castro, while lively one-year-old Leo kept everyone entertained. The dogs’ owners, also producers, shared that it’s usually breakfast, walk, or nap time for them. The studio enjoyed the furry therapy vibe and encouraged viewers to treat their dogs with special offers from PetSmart (buy one, get one 25% off on treats), Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar (coupon with dog bowl and entree), and free Puppuccinos from Starbucks. Viewer-submitted dog photos added to the joyful celebration of our furry friends.