Texas Tribune
In Texas, natural disasters increase domestic violence risks
by Lisa Woelfl, Greg Morton and Jessica Klein, The Fuller Project, The Texas Tribune – 2024-03-29 05:00:00
SUMMARY: Michelle J. Abdelnoor was one of many Texans who experienced heightened intimate partner violence during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, which left thousands without power or water. Trapped with her abusive boyfriend, Abdelnoor endured aggressive behavior as he tried to avoid leaving physical evidence of abuse. Research indicates that natural disasters can worsen such violence and make it harder for victims to seek help. This issue is compounded by the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change. After Uri, the call volume to crisis centers surged. However, there is no comprehensive national database capturing the impact of natural disasters on intimate partner violence, hindering a full understanding and effective response.
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HOUSTON – When a deadly winter storm struck in February 2021, tens of thousands of Texans were stuck inside with no power and, often, no water. Michelle J. Abdelnoor was trapped with her abusive boyfriend.
She tried to leave on the first day of the five-day storm, when he blamed her for the time he spent in jail after he was convicted of assaulting her in 2020. But he convinced her to stay, arguing the snow-and-ice storm was even worse at her parents' home north of Houston than in his downtown house.
He quickly became abusive, she said, pushing her, lightly slapping her face, holding her down and pulling her hair. He tried to disguise his threats as jokes.
“I could see in his face and eyes that he just wanted to hurt me physically, but he would stop himself,” the 39-year-old Abdelnoor said in an interview. She suggested he was trying to avoid doing anything that would leave physical evidence on her body. “It was almost worse mentally, because I didn't know at what point he was going to explode.”
When she tried to escape, he blocked her path, she said. The storm intensified her sense of danger. “The level of toxicity and abuse was condensed,'' Abdelnoor said. “The accusations or outbursts of anger that would have taken three weeks were condensed to five days.''
The winter storm, called “Uri,'' killed 246 Texans.
While Abdelnoor survived, her experience illustrates the heightened risk of intimate partner violence prompted or exacerbated by natural disasters. Research shows that in the United States, such violence starts or worsens during and after natural disasters, like the one that befell Texas three years ago.
Michelle Abdelnoor on Oct. 22, 2023, outside her apartment near Houston. Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 trapped her inside the Houston home of her abuser for five days.
Credit:
Lisa Woelfl for The Fuller Project
“Often, abusers will point to the environment and the circumstances and say, ‘Well, that's what made me snap. We're stuck at home. We're cold. We have no power. We can't eat,'” said Christina Allen at FamilyTime Crisis and Counseling Center in Humble, Texas.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reported in January that natural disasters “worsen the frequency and severity of (intimate partner violence)'' and make access to care and support “even more critical.''
Storms, floods, wildfires and other natural disasters make it difficult for victims to access help, leaving them even more vulnerable to abuse.
Meanwhile, disasters like these are becoming more frequent and extreme as climate change worsens. A study published in the journal Atmospheric Environment projects that wildfires alone will grow by up to 170% in the western part of the country during the next three decades. Floods, hurricanes and other storms also are projected to increase 25% to 50% during that period.
The latest National Climate Assessment, published in November, found the U.S. experienced 18 weather-related disasters that did more than $1 billion in damages in 2022. Nevertheless, the National Academies report said “scant evidence exists” that federal disaster response teams or volunteer organizations are prepared to respond to intimate partner violence during emergencies.
A complete understanding of the impact of natural disasters on intimate partner violence isn't possible in the U.S. because there is no comprehensive national database or even standardized emergency call data detailed enough to quantify it. Only a fraction of police departments publish their 911 call data online.
Surveys and studies are hard to compare because researchers often use varying terms and questions when asking about intimate partner violence, the National Academies report found.
The same is true for police departments, which sometimes record intimate partner violence under the umbrella of family violence.
Sue Curry, who chaired the National Academies committee that authored the report, said the lack of awareness and training put women, who are most often the victims of intimate partner violence, at greater risk.
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Mississippi women who were either married or living with their partners were nearly twice as likely to report severe physical abuse than during the six months before the hurricane, according to a study for the journal Violence and Victims. After the hurricane, 8.3% of women reported abuse compared to 4.2% beforehand. Men reported no increase in physical violence, but both men and women said they were more likely to experience psychological abuse by a partner after the storm.
A separate survey of people forced to relocate to Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer parks in Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina found that, 274 days after they were displaced, the rate of intimate partner violence was nearly three times higher than the U.S. baseline rates, the Annals of Emergency Medicine reported.
Researchers studying the effects of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 in Texas found a significant increase in psychological intimate partner violence, climbing to 47% from 36% among study participants, they reported in Social Work Research.
After Uri hit Texas in 2021, a national advocacy organization that provides cash grants to victims of intimate partner violence surveyed those applying for help. The organization, FreeFrom, found that one in four applicants reported that the abuse began or got worse during the storm.
As climate change advances, “women are definitely more at risk,” Jennifer First, lead author of the Hurricane Harvey study, said in an interview.
Disasters can isolate women
Sybil Winters-Little at Bay Area Turning Point, a Webster, Texas, provider of services to domestic violence victims, said it can be hard for victims to find a private moment to call a hotline in the midst of a disaster because workplaces and schools close and they often are living with their abusers.
“When it's all about power and control, if you can isolate your victim from all of their resources, their family, their support system, it's easier to prey upon them,” said Heather Bellino, CEO of the Texas Advocacy Project, which provides free legal services to survivors of violence. “And there's less opportunity for them to call for help and get out.”
A Fuller Project analysis of family violence calls to police departments shows they dropped during hurricanes Harvey and Ida and lagged in the aftermath.
Hurricane Harvey caused at least $125 billion worth of damage and killed 88 people in Texas. The hurricane hit Houston on August 26. In just a few days, 20 trillion gallons of water fell on the city. The day after, only 14 calls related to family violence reached the Houston Police Department, the Fuller Project analysis showed. In the three weeks following the hurricane, police received an average of 61 calls per day, significantly less than the 80 average daily calls during the same period in the ensuing five years.
During the nine days of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana in late August of 2021, family violence calls for help to the New Orleans Police Department dropped to their lowest levels of 2021. The police received about 35 calls per day, down from an average of about 44 calls per day during the same period in the previous five years.
Joseph Fernandez, an expert in disaster preparedness and emergency response at Florida International University, explained that those affected by a natural disaster are generally asked not to call emergency services unless they absolutely have to. “We can't come out. Calls get parked,'' he said. “Then, as (the storm) lightens up, (911) calls go through the roof.”
Sometimes victims want to seek help but they can't. Disasters can destroy infrastructure. The New Orleans 911 call center crashed, for instance, when Hurricane Ida hit in 2021, leaving calls for help unanswered. “It is a very common issue,” Fernandez said.
In the five days when the winter storm trapped Texans in their homes and cut off electricity, not a single victim tried to get to the FamilyTime shelter, CEO Christina Allen said. But when the power came back, “hotlines were ringing off the hook” and the call volume remained higher than usual for the following two months, she added.
Christina Allen stands outside the Family Time Crisis and Counseling Center in Humble, on Oct. 20, 2023. In the five days when Winter Storm Uri trapped thousands of Texans in their homes and cut off electricity in February 2021, Allen, the center's CEO, said not a single woman tried to get to the shelter. But as soon as the power came back on, she said, “hotlines were ringing off the hook.”
Credit:
Lisa Woelfl for The Fuller Project
Chelcee Thomas, executive director of Live Violence Free, said after evacuation orders for the 2021 Caldor Fire in California were lifted, the number of calls to her organization's crisis line rose. “The fire added another layer of stress,'' she said. “We heard [from clients] that the abuse was more intense, it was more frequent.”
In Kentucky, staff members noticed that calls for help were more urgent after disasters like a 2021 tornado or historic flash flooding in 2023 in the western part of the state, said Mary Foley, executive director at Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center in Paducah. “We noticed that the types of physical abuse that would threaten their lives with choking, stabbing, guns held to the head — anecdotally, those went up.”
In some cases, the abuse turned deadly.
Aaron Richard Nanni and his wife were estranged and planning to divorce, but were forced back into the same house in Conroe, Texas, during the 2021 winter storm.
On Feb. 20, just days after the storm passed, Nanni told his wife that he was leaving the house. When she arrived at the home later that day with Jeremy Entriken, her new partner, Nanni returned. He fatally shot and killed Entriken, then fatally shot himself.
The Texas Council on Family Violence found that intimate partner homicides occurred twice as often in the four weeks after the winter storm compared to the first six weeks of the year. From Jan. 1 to Feb. 12, the organization tallied 13 homicides. In the following four weeks, 26 people were killed.
Storms disrupt protections
Protective orders can help keep victims safe, but data from Houston's Harris County shows Hurricane Harvey disrupted that system. Only two criminal protective orders, which are initiated by the court, were filed on August 27 while the hurricane raged, down from an average of 43 daily filings over the last six years.
“Harvey knocked out our criminal justice center. It literally knocked out the whole building. There were no courts,” said Amy Smith, senior director of operations and communications at the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. That caused a backlog in cases, and defendants out on bond continued to torment their victims, she said.
“Most victims just gave up, failed to cooperate, or requested for the cases to be dismissed, so they could get on with their lives,” Smith said. Some are still waiting for their day in court, six years later, she said.
Courts closed again during Winter Storm Uri in 2021. For five full days, not a single person filed for a civil protective order. “There was a freezing of time,” Bellino said. The storm trapped people in abusive relationships without access to any outside support systems. Even a short disruption of services can have dire consequences. “That can be lethal,” she said.
Michelle Abdelnoor survived five days with her abuser during the winter storm in Texas. Four years later, she is building a new life for herself, with a job in compliance that she likes and two dogs. “I remember telling him at one point: No matter how much you try to break me down, I will always rise in a better situation than you left me.”
This story was produced in collaboration with The Fuller Project, a journalism nonprofit that reports on global issues affecting women, and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland. Woelfl and Morton reported for the Howard Center; Klein reported for The Fuller Project.
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Texas Tribune
UT-Austin offers probation to students arrested in protests
by By Asad Jung, The Texas Tribune – 2024-07-05 17:44:44
SUMMARY: The University of Texas at Austin is disciplining students arrested during pro-Palestinian protests in April by offering “deferred suspension,” allowing students to avoid suspension by proving educational growth. Deferred suspension requires students to take an exam on university rules and avoid appealing the decision. Some students, like Ari Lenahan, see this as a relief compared to harsher penalties faced by peers at other universities. Over 130 protesters were arrested, but Travis County Attorney Delia Garza declined to pursue criminal trespassing charges. The university's heavy-handed response has sparked criticism from students, faculty, and free speech advocates.
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The University of Texas at Austin has begun disciplining students who were arrested in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in April, scolding them for their actions but offering them a path to avoid suspension.
In letters sent out to students this week, first reported by KUT, university officials said it would be appropriate to suspend them for their actions during the protests but would give them the option to take “deferred suspension” instead, a form of probation that would allow students to remain in class and keep the disciplinary action from appearing on their final transcripts.
“Recognizing our commitment to educational growth, we want to offer you an alternative path to avoid suspension by proving that you have learned from this experience,” reads one of the letters obtained by The Texas Tribune.
Students who choose deferred suspension must agree to take an exam testing their knowledge of the university's rules and agree not to appeal the decision. The status would be active until July 7, 2025.
Those who decline that option would be suspended, the letter says. Students may also appeal the disciplinary sanctions through a university hearing.
Ari Lenahan, a UT-Austin student set to graduate in December, said he was relieved the university offered him deferred suspension since students at other universities across the country are facing harsher punishments after participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. He said it may be the best choice for him since he aims to graduate this year.
“It's a lot clearer where I stand now, at least in the university's eyes,” he said.
Lenahan still has a hold on his account preventing him from registering for classes in the fall but said the letter he received Wednesday states any holds will be removed once his case is resolved.
Anne-Marie Jardine, a recent graduate, received a sanction letter concerning her involvement in an April 24 pro-Palestinian demonstration. Jardine was told she would be under deferred suspension for one year if she were to re-enroll at UT-Austin. Jardine said she hasn't received her official diploma from the university yet.
Many other students under investigation have not yet been informed about how the university plans to move forward with their cases. Sam Law, a PhD candidate who was arrested on April 29, said that he expects the university will contact him soon.
More than 130 protesters were arrested at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on UT-Austin's campus in late April. In resolute efforts to dispel the protesters, law enforcement at the time deployed pepper spray and flash-bang explosives and charged students with horses. State troopers were deployed by Gov. Greg Abbott to help quash the protests and had a hand in the arrests.
Those arrested were charged with criminal trespassing but Travis County Attorney Delia Garza declined to pursue those charges.
In the aftermath of the protest, many students, faculty and free speech advocates questioned UT-Austin's heavy-handed response to the protests and criticized state GOP leaders' support of the arrests. Just a few years ago, Abbott had championed state legislation that protected free speech on college campuses, leading free speech advocates to ask who gets to enjoy free speech protections in Texas.
UT-Austin leaders, meanwhile, have vowed to carry out discipline against students who violated campus policies. Seniors in the class of 2024 were afraid their diplomas would be withheld, though they were permitted to join graduation ceremonies in the spring.
Sneha Dey contributed to this story.
Disclosure: University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter 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.
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Texas Tribune
Hurricane Beryl likely to hit Texas coast Monday
by By Emily Foxhall, Berenice Garcia and Stephen Simpson, The Texas Tribune – 2024-07-05 16:47:07
SUMMARY: Texans are being urged to prepare for Hurricane Beryl, expected to make landfall as a Category 1 or 2 storm along the Texas coast on Monday. Currently crossing Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Beryl could hit anywhere from northern Mexico to the mid-Texas coast. Officials stress vigilance and preparation, especially for those along the Gulf coast, and advise stocking up on essentials like food and water. Emergency measures include distributing sandbags and readying evacuation plans. Beryl, an unusually strong early-season storm, has already caused significant Caribbean damage, with forecasters predicting a highly active hurricane season exacerbated by climate change.
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Texans need to prepare for Hurricane Beryl, which is likely to make landfall on the state's coast as a Category 1 or 2 storm on Monday, state emergency officials said.
The record-setting storm was moving across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, leaving forecasters still unsure exactly where along the Texas coast will see the worst rainfall and wind.
As Beryl left behind a trail of destruction across Caribbean islands, state officials urged Texans along the entire Gulf coast to pay close attention and prepare for a dangerous storm, particularly people vacationing during the July 4 holiday weekend.
“Everyone along the coast should be paying attention to this storm,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at a news conference in Austin. Patrick is serving as acting governor as Gov. Greg Abbott travels in Asia on an economic development trip.
Residents should be gassing up their vehicles and making sure they have food and water for themselves and their pets, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said.
“A lot of people are out having fun right now, and that's a good thing, and we want them to continue to do that, but we also want them to prepare,” Kidd said. “We need a prepared community, not a panicked community.”
Boarded windows at the H-E-B Plus! grocery store in Brownsville on July 5, 2024.
Credit:
Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune
Officials in the Rio Grande Valley and Corpus Christi have been distributing thousands of sandbags to help people prepare for potential flooding. South Texans have been eager for rain because the two major reservoirs on the Rio Grande have reached near or record lows in June.
Forecasters on Friday expected Beryl to make landfall anywhere from northern Mexico to the mid-Texas coast. The storm appeared likely aimed for South Texas but experts warned its path could shift north to Corpus Christi or Matagorda Bay.
Tropical storm-level winds would likely arrive Sunday night, according to the National Hurricane Center. Areas from Brownsville to Corpus Christi faced the greatest wind threat under the current forecast.
Heavy rain could begin Sunday and last through Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center predicted four to eight inches to fall along the South Texas coastline, with higher amounts in some spots, and up to six inches from Corpus Christi to Matagorda Bay. Forecasters expected the storm to slow over land, which would increase the risk of flooding.
Rip currents and high seas starting late Friday will make coastal conditions dangerous.
In the Rio Grande Valley, officials were preparing for possible flooding.
The eastern part of Hidalgo County tends to be hit the hardest during heavy rains, but the county was taking steps to mitigate flooding there, said Ricardo Saldaña, Hidalgo County's emergency management coordinator. Officials have placed water pumps near flood-prone areas and worked with contractors to prevent flooding at drainage project sites by covering up excavation holes.
Saldaña warned residents to make their own preparations by stocking up on food and water, preparing an emergency kit, and making arrangements with friends and family to relocate if necessary.
Sandbags at a county facility in Brownsville on July 5, 2024.
Credit:
Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr. recommended that people in recreational vehicles leave county parks.
“If you don't feel safe, evacuate,” said Tom Hushen, Cameron County's emergency management coordinator.
If there is flooding, Hushen said they were prepared to mobilize fire trucks and ambulances to help people evacuate. But high winds could pose another threat. Winds of more than 90 miles per hour could cause those vehicles to topple over. In that scenario, county officials would have to deploy larger vehicles like dump trucks.
Hushen said any power outages would prompt the opening of emergency shelters. He also advised residents to tie down any loose items in their yards and to bring in all patio furniture because high winds could turn those objects into projectiles.
“Listen to the warnings,” Hushen advised residents. “Things could change at a moment's notice.”
Beryl has astounded meteorologists with its strength so early in the summer. Warmer-than-normal ocean temperatures helped Beryl rapidly strengthen into a Category 4 storm in late June — becoming the first recorded Category 4 storm to form in June, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Beryl strengthened into a Category 5 and tore across the Caribbean, causing devastation in Grenada and Jamaica. It pushed onto the Yucatan Peninsula early Friday as a Category 2 storm.
“Beryl is so out of place historically given how early in the season it is and how strong it got,” said Houston-based meteorologist Matt Lanza, who helps write a blog on tropical weather called The Eyewall. “Typically you don't see that sort of thing until August — not the end of June, beginning of July.”
Federal forecasters expect this hurricane season, which began June 1, to be a bad one. They predicted to see 17 to 25 named storms form, which was more than they had ever forecast before a season's start. They believed four to seven of those would be Category 3 storms or stronger.
Climate change driven by people burning fossil fuels is causing oceans to warm and makes hurricanes more likely to be stronger. Scientists also say climate change may make rapid intensification of storms more likely — as happened with Beryl.
“To look at a satellite on June the 30th or July the 1st and to see a storm of Beryl's magnitude is almost unbelievable,” said Michael Lowry, a hurricane expert for WPLG TV in Miami.
Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
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Texas Tribune
Michael McCaul seeks waiver to stay Foreign Affairs chair
by By Isaac Yu, The Texas Tribune – 2024-07-05 05:00:00
SUMMARY: U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul seeks a waiver to extend his chairmanship of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. During his term, McCaul, a Republican from Austin, led efforts to ban TikTok, supported Tibetan self-determination, and condemned the Chinese spy balloon. He also played a crucial role in passing a bipartisan Ukraine aid bill and has been active on global issues, including Ukraine and Taiwan. McCaul aims to maintain U.S. strength abroad amid growing isolationism in his party. Facing a six-year term limit, he needs special permission to continue, with several colleagues aiming for his position. His leadership's fate will be decided by the Republican Steering Committee.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul isn't quite ready to give up his gavel.
In his two years as chair of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Austin Republican has been busy; he spearheaded the charge to ban TikTok, authored one resolution on Tibetan self-determination and led another condemning the infamous Chinese spy balloon. Just last month, he helped shoulder a bipartisan Ukraine aid bill through Congress over many colleagues' loud objections. He's also traveled the globe, shaking hands with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine, receiving a blessing from the Dalai Lama in India, and gifting Taiwan President Lai Ching Te with a cowboy hat.
To keep his leadership post on one of the most coveted committees in Washington, he'll need special permission, having hit his six-year term limit. Several colleagues are already gunning to replace him.
McCaul confirmed last week that he would indeed seek a waiver to serve another term as top Republican on his committee, which would need approval from a steering committee and then the full House Republican caucus.
“It's not time to change horses right now,” McCaul said in an interview. “It's a dangerous time where the world is on fire.”
If his quest is successful, McCaul pledges to keep supporting key allies around the globe and stay aggressive on adversaries like Russia and China. If not, defense hawks in Washington could lose a powerful voice in charge just as the GOP prepares to redefine its approach to foreign policy under a potential second Trump administration.
Closing out his twentieth year in Congress, McCaul is well-connected and one of the most experienced members of the Texas delegation, having chaired the Homeland Security Committee from 2013 to 2019. The Foreign Affairs Committee under his leadership has been the most productive House committee this term, his office said, with 67 measures and 18 bills passed by the full chamber.
McCaul is making the case that his relationships on the Hill — including a friendship with Speaker Mike Johnson that helped push Ukraine aid over the finish line — justify him staying on an extra term.
Johnson had voted against sending aid to Ukraine before becoming speaker, part of a growing wing of conservatives who believed foreign aid came at the expense of funding for border security. McCaul, a steadfast supporter of Ukraine, helped sway Johnson's thinking and the speaker ultimately threw his support behind a package to send $60 billion in aid to boost Ukraine's arsenal against Russia.
The decision was opposed by a majority of Republicans and drew the ire of hardline conservatives, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia, who filed a motion to vacate the speaker, which failed.
“I think I feel compelled to do it not for myself, but I don't think anyone would be able to do what I do or shepherd the [Ukraine] supplemental the way I was able to,” McCaul said.
McCaul has also been a leading China antagonist this term, leading an effort to force the sale of TikTok to an American company. His visits with Taiwanese leaders and the Dalai Lama, who China views as a separatist threat, have drawn strong condemnation and sanctions from Beijing.
His efforts on Ukraine, Taiwan and elsewhere are linked by a desire to project U.S. strength abroad, even as the isolationist wing of his party grows.
“If we abandoned Ukraine and allowed [Vladimir] Putin to take over Ukraine and threaten Eastern Europe, that would be a big mistake, and it would send a message to Chairman Xi [Jinping] that Taiwan's fair game,” McCaul said.
House Republicans set six-year term limits for committee chairs, including years spent as ranking member when the party is the minority. The GOP last voted to keep the term limits at the beginning of the current term.
Waivers are rare. Only one was granted last session, to Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, who stayed an extra term chairing the House Education and Workforce Committee. Before Foxx, the last waiver was granted in 2012, to former Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin.
McCaul's fight comes as Texan influence in the House is on the decline. The state delegation, which includes more Republicans than any other state, will see the retirements of Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, who stepped down from her powerful perch as Appropriations chair, and Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Denton, who will give up the Rules Committee gavel less than a year after gaining it.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, will remain the top Republican on the Budget Committee. And Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville, is currently the only Republican running for the top spot on the Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Committee assignments are determined by the Republican Steering Committee, made up of party leadership and regional representatives, and then approved by the full conference. The 36-member Steering Committee, which always includes at least two Texans, has been stingy with waivers in the past, even when considering chairs like McCaul who have spent most of their time in the minority.
The decision could depend in part on how McCaul's committee feels about his leadership. Foxx had the support of every Republican on her committee in seeking a waiver, including from the next-highest ranking Republican who would have replaced her.
None of McCaul's 26 Republican colleagues on Foreign Affairs have made endorsements yet, but at least three members — Ann Wagner of Missouri, the committee's vice chair, Darrell Issa of California and Joe Wilson of South Carolina — have already confirmed they are running against McCaul for the top spot. The committee includes three fellow Texans: Reps. Nathaniel Moran of Tyler, Keith Self of McKinney and Ronny Jackson of Amarillo, none of whom responded to requests for comment.
It's not immediately clear whether any of McCaul's announced rivals would diverge greatly from his policy positions, and all three supported foreign aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan earlier this year.
Matthew Choi contributed to this report.
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