When Will Blake Farenthold Give Taxpayers The $84,000 He Promised To Repay

This week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune.

By Rhonda FanningJanuary 5, 2018 1:28 pm, , ,

Time for the week that was in Texas politics with Emily Ramshaw, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune.

Promised repayment to taxpayers of an $84,000 settlement made with a staffer of Texas Congressman Blake Farenthold hasn’t yet been made. Ramshow says Farenthold, who chose not to seek reelection in the wake of the revelation about the payment, promised to reimburse the government for the expense. That hasn’t happened yet.

“Farenthold says he is waiting on legal advice over whether he actually should reimburse that money from his own pocket,” Ramshaw says. “It would be an interesting bait and switch if he doesn’t, considering he led folks to believe he was going to go ahead and repay that $84,000.”

The coming midterm elections could see an increase in the number of Texas women in Congress, Ramshaw says. And there hasn’t been a new female member of Congress since 1996. Fifty women are running for Congress in Texas.

A report this week says that the maternal mortality rate in Texas, while not good, isn’t as bad as previously reported.

“The reality is, the state’s maternal mortality numbers are as bad as the state’s data,” Ramshaw says.

Listen to the full interview in the audio player above.