MICHAEL BURGESS

The North Texas Republican and former OB-GYN is leaving office after 22 years having made his mark on health insurance and energy policy.

Divisions among Republicans are in stark display, some of Texas’ most senior members of Congress are retiring and Democrats are hoping to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz.

The two social conservatives are leading with money and endorsements in the crowded GOP primary to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess of Lewisville.

With help from two other ultraconservatives, the Texas Republican’s seat on the Rules Committee has let him press for red-meat priorities, even in traditionally bipartisan legislation.

Viktor Orbán appeared at the convention in Dallas after saying last week that Europeans “do not want to become peoples of mixed race.” Texas officials attending, though, stayed focused on criticizing Democrats.

Final congressional approval of a $40 billion Ukraine aid bill seems certain within days.

The House has emphatically approved a fresh $40 billion Ukraine aid package that beefs up President Joe Biden’s initial request.

All Texas Democratic members backed the bill, along with five Republicans: U.S. Reps. Michael Burgess of Lewisville, Michael Cloud of Victoria, Lance Gooden of Terrell, Louie Gohmert of Tyler and Chip Roy of Austin.

With vaccination rates lagging in red states, Republican leaders have begun stepping up efforts to persuade their supporters to get the shot, at times combating misinformation spread by some of their own.

House Democrats has approved legislation that they say would help close the gap between what men and women are paid in the workplace, though the measure faces little chance of overcoming Republican opposition in the Senate.

Labor and delivery are thought of as the riskiest times for new mothers, but many women die in the months after giving birth. The legislation gives states the option of extending Medicaid coverage to women with low to modest incomes for a full year after childbirth. Maternal health advisory groups in 19 states, from Texas to Massachusetts, and Washington to Tennessee, have recommended such an extension. AdSome Republicans who disdain the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package say they would like to see the maternal health provisions made permanent. “We must strive to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce maternal mortality,” said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, who cosponsored legislation with Kelly, the Chicago Democrat, in the last Congress.

The National Football League said it will reconsider its donations but did not commit to suspending them. “We are re-evaluating our political giving policies through the Gridiron PAC,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the AP in a statement Wednesday. Others, like MLB, have postponed political giving to both political parties altogether. The Office of The Commissioner of Major League Baseball Political Action Committee has donated $669,375 to Senate and House candidates since the 2016 election cycle, with 52.4% of that money going to Republican candidates, according to The Center for Responsive Politics. Since the 2016 election cycle, MLB has made contributions to two senators and nine representatives who were among those opposing certification of Biden's victory.

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, during a hearing at the U.S. Capitol in response to COVID-19 outbreak in May. Credit: Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERSU.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, conceded his bid to be the Republican leader on the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday. The pair were vying for the role of ranking member — the minority party's top member on the committee. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has one of the most sweeping jurisdictions of all House committees, including all sectors of American commerce. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, is running to be chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Burgess' aim is to be the top Republican — known as ranking member — on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, while Castro is seeking the chairmanship of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The House Energy and Commerce Committee leadership is one of the most coveted roles on Capitol Hill. His top rival in the race is Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a popular Washington state member who once served in House leadership. Last month, he secured a fifth term in Congress, and he is an emerging leader within the Texas Democratic delegation. Republicans sharply cut into the House Democratic majority this year.

U.S. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, and U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville. Credit: The Texas TribuneNeed to stay updated on coronavirus news in Texas? But Burgess suggested that he didn’t think that Trump was hiding the danger the virus posed. Burgess said he even applied to be a part of the clinical trials for the vaccine on the National Institutes of Health website. “I do think there will be an available vaccine in the month of October, late in the month of October,” Burgess said.

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, speaks to a reporter in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 1, 2017. Burgess is running to be the GOP leader of the House Energy and Commerce Committee next term or, if the 2020 elections break Republicans' way, the chair. Ultimately, though, Burgess' father moved to the United States with an aim to avoid the Canadian national health system. Despite the fact that Burgess' Republican competition included Armey's son, Burgess won the seat and has mostly run uncompetitive general election races in the heavily Republican seat since he was sworn in in 2003. His chief rival for the post, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, is formerly the top-ranking female in the House GOP caucus.