- Several people in Texas on student visas have had their legal status to be in the country terminated in recent days. On Friday, the Associated Press reported two students at the University of Texas and three at Texas A&M University had been affected. On Tuesday, the Texas Tribune reported the number of international students at Texas A&M with revoked visas had grown to 11. University officials say they discovered the state department had revoked their students’ visas by checking a federal database. Unlike higher profile student visa cases, these students do not appear to have been involved in pro-Palestinian protests. Universities across the country are reporting student visas being revoked for no clear reason. A&M officials told the AP their affected students only had minor issues on their records, such as a speeding ticket.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced he will challenge Senator John Cornyn in the 2026 Republican primary. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider says Paxton made the announcement on Laura Ingraham’s program on Fox News.
Paxton had been hinting at a run for months before making it official. Mark Jones of Rice University’s Baker Institute says Paxton will make a formidable competitor to Cornyn among Republican primary voters.
“Paxton is taking a calculated risk, though with November voters. We need to keep in mind that Ken Paxton has never faced a credible Democratic challenger in his three statewide attorney general bids, running against second-tier or unknown candidates who had campaigns that at best had $1 million altogether to spend. The U.S. Senate race in November of 2026 is going to be a completely different animal.”
Jones says Paxton’s announcement will set off a fierce competition among Republicans for the attorney general’s nomination. Paxton does not have to resign as attorney general to run for the Senate. I’m Andrew Schneider in Houston.
