Experts in the News

While the Texas GOP's role in last week's statewide power outage has drawn a lot of negative attention, their “one saving grace” is they won’t have to face voters again until November 2022, said political science fellow Mark Jones. “Much will depend on how long people’s memories are — and what else occurs in the interim.”

Criminal justice reforms that address systematic racial inequality in Texas have broad-based support — from men and women, across racial and ethnic groups and across generations — suggesting "this is not a red vs. blue issue or one pitting rural and suburban Texans against urban residents. Texans support these proposed reforms," wrote political science fellow Mark Jones in a co-authored commentary. 

Although not a certainty, a conviction of President Trump in the U.S. Senate is a reasonable possibility, said political science fellow Mark Jones. "The best way [for Republicans] to get him out of the picture is to prevent a 2024 presidential bid."

Local and Texas state governments are preparing for protests that could be unlike any in modern state history, said fellow Mark Jones. Past incidents have been disruptive but "never threatening."

Following the violent attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, there have been ongoing discussions of using the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office. Political science fellow Mark P. Jones explained how the 25th Amendment works and how likely it is to be invoked.