What the Trump Administration Could Mean for Texas

“The old Pottery Barn rule is in effect here: You broke it, you bought it. It doesn’t make a difference whether he is actually as conservative.”
 

By Texas StandardNovember 9, 2016 12:15 pm

What’s been gangbuster business for cable news is set to continue for another four years as the nation comes to grips with the implications of a Trump administration. The most salient question – how will this affect us here in Texas?

Evan Smith, CEO of the Texas Tribune, KUT Austin senior editor Ben Philpott, and Katie Leslie, Washington correspondent for the Dallas Morning News joined the Standard for a roundtable on how the new order will impact the most important state issues: immigration, energy and women’s health.

Smith says he has to take Trump at his word on the president-elect’s promise to build a border wall.

“Even in the face of enormous criticism, not only from Democrats but from people in his own party, he doubled- and tripled-down on the promise to build a wall,” Smith says.

In energy policy, Leslie says she wouldn’t be surprised to see Republicans take on the Environmental Protection Agency.

“I think that certainly they’ve got the wind at their backs now to take a real whack at the EPA, but I don’t know exactly when that would happen or what that would look like,” Leslie says. “I’ve certainly heard from many Republicans who say we’re going to see agencies closed and regulations rolled back across the board. I suspect the EPA would be a main target for that.”

Smith is expecting to see issues related to abortion wind up back in the Supreme Court – especially since Trump will select at least one justice. Smith even floated the idea that Ted Cruz could be selected as a Supreme Court justice.

“The Republicans in Texas are going to take the election of Trump as a sign to gun the engine on their portfolio of issues related to abortion, reproductive health, women’s health and all that,” Smith says.

Philpott says it’s anyone’s guess which campaign promises Trump will fulfill.

“I agree with Evan that, yeah, we’ve got to take Donald Trump on his word, but at the same time, a lot of his supporters don’t take him on his word,” Philpott says. “So we’ll see which Trump we get.”

Smith agrees. He says Trump’s ideological compass is still in question – and that’s something his electorate will have to deal with.

“The old Pottery Barn rule is in effect here: You broke it, you bought it,” Smith says. “It doesn’t make a difference whether he is actually as conservative.”

Post by Sunny Sone.