Author: Sky York Journal

Sky York Journal Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) publicly admitted for the first time Wednesday evening to having a sexual relationship with his former staffer, who later died by suicide. “I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said during an interview with radio host Joe Pagliarulo. “Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife Angel,” he added. “I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has.” The Texas congressman had previously denied the allegations of an affair on several occasions and said…

Sky York Journal The Trump administration is waging war on Iran without congressional authorization, violating a key constitutional principle while further sidelining a supposedly co-equal branch of government, experts told TPM. But there’s one veto Congress retains to stop Trump’s ongoing assault in Iran: appropriations. It’s the biggest and sole remaining source of real leverage that Congress has to compel an end to the war with Iran, Brian Finucane, a senior adviser at International Crisis Group and a former lawyer in the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, told TPM. “The ultimate war power is the power of the…

Sky York Journal About an hour into the Republican gubernatorial debate in Iowa earlier this year, Adam Steen, who is one of the leading candidates in the primary, made an eye-popping claim.  “We need to decimate the chemical abortions,” Steen said. “You talk about water quality, what’s happening in our water because of that, those chemical abortions that are coming through there.” The comment received relatively little notice apart from a few mentions on social media. However, Steen’s claim was notable both as an indication of how far to the right the GOP gubernatorial hopefuls are running in a state…

Sky York Journal This article is part of TPM’s ongoing “Creating the Enemy Within” project, tracking the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on dissent. As the Trump administration brings anti-Trump activists up on terrorism charges, it’s finding that one state has already cleared a path.  In Texas, state prosecutors are using a 2023 anti-terrorism law to investigate and charge what the Trump administration has deemed an “Antifa cell” in a parallel federal prosecution. The investigations center on events surrounding a July 2025 demonstration outside the Prairieland, Texas, ICE detention facility during which a responding police officer was shot. Trial…

Sky York Journal On Sunday, two days after President Donald Trump ordered the start of “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran, John Hagee, the 85-year-old televangelist and founder of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), delivered a sermon at his Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. Standing in front of a banner that read “God’s Coming… Operation Epic Fury,” Hagee thanked Trump, “whose wisdom and courage has crushed the enemies of Zion.” He then quickly pivoted to a familiar refrain for anyone who — like me — has followed Hagee’s career since he founded CUFI in 2006: that the American and Israeli…

Sky York Journal Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) — who has recently been accused by multiple people of having an affair with a former staffer and pressing her for sexually explicit photos — and YouTuber and pro-gun influencer Brandon Herrera — AKA TheAKGuy — will face off in a runoff after neither candidate won a majority of the votes in the GOP primary for the 23rd Congressional District. The three-time congressman Gonzales got 43.4 percent of the votes while Herrera secured 41.7 percent. Other candidates got single-digit percentages of the vote. The runoff is scheduled for May 26 and will be…

Sky York Journal State Rep. James Talarico (D) will be Democrats’ standard-bearer in November, as they try to take advantage of President Trump’s unpopularity and a potentially deeply flawed Republican opponent to do the impossible — finally, finally flip Texas blue. Talarico beat Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D), a primary battle that quickly became overlaid with some of Democrats’ most pressing questions in the Trump age: Is it better to double down on your base, or appeal to the squishy middle? Who is actually electable? Is social media king? The Associated Press made the call early Wednesday morning. Little daylight separated…

Sky York Journal Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has three more months to extend his Senate career beyond the two decades he’s already served, fighting to represent his longtime constituents who may have already left him behind. Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) will battle on to a late May runoff, as neither topped 50 percent in Tuesday’s election. The runoff was expected after Rep. Wesley Hunt (R) jumped into the race late, forcing a three-way split. The Associated Press made the call just before 11 p.m. ET. Cornyn’s sins are more aesthetic than policy-based — he touts in his…

Sky York Journal Congressional Democrats who have been in classified briefings have been denouncing the lack of detail they have received from the Trump administration regarding military actions against Iran. They have specifically pointed to what Democrats describe as a lack of evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat to the continental U.S. that would necessitate military action. The so-called Gang of Eight — which includes House Speaker Mike Johnon (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton (R-AR) and ranking member Mark Warner (D-VA), House Minority…

Sky York Journal Taking a cue from the Trump administration amid its ongoing efforts to suppress the vote and perpetuate the myth of non-citizen voting, red state lawmakers are introducing restrictive proof of citizenship bills in their state legislatures.  Experts tell TPM it is no coincidence that these various state-level bills have advanced just as the Trump administration struggles to get Congress to pass both the SAVE America Act and the Make Elections Great Again Act, which both seek to mandate documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration in federal elections. “You’re seeing states sort of take that policy agenda…