Texas is witnessing a substantial increase in ballots cast during the early voting period for the primaries, with Democrats outpacing Republicans statewide. Scott Presler said the figures are “not good” for Republicans. “We’re getting crushed in Texas, as democrats expand their early voting lead. Pass the SAVE America Act or lose big this November,” he said. Not good! We’re getting crushed in Texas, as democrats expand their early voting lead. Pass the SAVE America Act or lose big this November. 869,118 732,144 +136,974 pic.twitter.com/rTTm9M2hsr — ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) February 25, 2026 Spectrum News explained further: Over 750,000 Democrats have voted, which is more than the entire early voter turnout in 2022, and turnout is especially high in the Dallas area. Over 600,000 Republicans have cast their votes, which is equal to about two-thirds of those who voted early in all of 2022. And along the Rio Grande Valley, turnout appears to be high. “There’s a group of people that normally vote Republican, a significant number of those are also voting in the Democratic primary this time,” said Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University. Voters who have not previously voted in a primary but have a previous general election voting history make up the majority of Democratic primary voters so far. “I think Democratic energy is leading to high turnout on the Democratic side and Republican lethargy is explaining the reduced turnout on the Republican side, because lots of Republicans watch the mass deportation exercise, the ICE raids in Minneapolis and that sort of thing. And say, ah, you know, I’m not there. I’m not quite there. I’m Republican, I support Trump, but I don’t support that,” said Jillson. In the Republican primary, experienced party voters make up most of the party’s early voters. One Republican says he’s not worried about turnout. “We see a lot of people show up on the day,” said Andy Hogue with the Travis County Republican Party. “Don’t be a drive-by voter. Cast an informed ballot. Know what you’re voting on.” “Democrats are outvoting Republicans in early voting for the March 3rd primary. If Texas falls, the nation falls,” Presler previously warned. Democrats are outvoting Republicans in early voting for the March 3rd primary. If Texas falls, the nation falls. 544,894 440,996 + 103,898 pic.twitter.com/E7fVMisfyn — ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) February 22, 2026 “Democrats have now cast 1.5x as many ballots as they did during all of 2024 early primary voting,” VoteHub stated. Democrats have now cast 1.5x as many ballots as they did during all of 2024 early primary voting. Current total (change from yesterday): 869,118 (+114,353) pic.twitter.com/F8d1vu7KHB — VoteHub (@VoteHub) February 25, 2026 “Republicans have cast about 60% of their total 2024 early primary vote, almost exactly in line with their pace at this point that year,” it added. Republicans have cast about 60% of their total 2024 early primary vote, almost exactly in line with their pace at this point that year. Current total (change from yesterday): 732,144 (+89,463) pic.twitter.com/g2zlTRYNcD — VoteHub (@VoteHub) February 25, 2026 In the closely-watched Texas U.S. Senate Democratic primary, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) maintains a narrow lead against state Rep. James Talarico. Our Texas U.S. Senate Democratic primary average has been updated with two new polls. Crockett maintains a narrow lead. Jasmine Crockett: 45.3% James Talarico: 41.1% pic.twitter.com/n1I2z6U9kv — VoteHub (@VoteHub) February 25, 2026 More from The Texas Tribune: Democratic Party officials are particularly enthused by record-breaking turnout in places like Harris County, the state’s most populous base of Democratic voters, and Tarrant County, the state’s most populous purple county, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet recently won a 14-point victory in the Senate District 9 special election runoff, in a district that President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024. “Tarrant, like Texas, often has the lowest voter participation of any urban county in the United States, so we have a large amount of room to grow that allows us to put up big numbers,” said Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party. “The fact that Tarrant County voters are waking up day after day and … putting up bigger numbers than Republicans … absolutely leads us into November with a really strong turnout and engagement.” The competitive primary for U.S. Senate between state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, and the unpopularity of President Donald Trump among Democratic voters could both be driving the Democratic turnout, Engle said. “We know that primaries are what draw the most enthusiastic voters, but by definition, the most enthusiastic voters are a small group,” Engle said. “What is going to be most telling about this election on the Republican side … is Republican apathy.” Turnout in the Republican primary may lag behind Democrats, but it is still higher compared to recent midterm elections — and it’s ahead of Republican turnout through the first seven days of the 2020 presidential primary elections, according to Secretary of State data.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he’s suing the Trump administration over the changes made to the CDC’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule. “I’m suing the Trump Administration to challenge their illegal overhaul of the @CDCgov’s long-standing recommendations for children’s vaccinations. Donald Trump and RFK Jr.’s blatant disregard for science threatens public health and erodes trust in our institutions,” Shapiro said. “My Administration will continue to rely on qualified experts like the @AmerAcadPeds to lead the guidance Pennsylvanians receive to keep themselves and their families healthy,” he added. BREAKING: I’m suing the Trump Administration to challenge their illegal overhaul of the @CDCgov's long-standing recommendations for children's vaccinations. Donald Trump and RFK Jr.’s blatant disregard for science threatens public health and erodes trust in our institutions. My… — Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) February 24, 2026 “This is a publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit. By law, the health secretary has clear authority to make determinations on the CDC immunization schedule and the composition of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The CDC immunization schedule reforms reflect common-sense public health policy shared by peer, developed countries,” HHS Rapid Response stated. This is a publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit. By law, the health secretary has clear authority to make determinations on the CDC immunization schedule and the composition of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The CDC immunization schedule reforms reflect… https://t.co/66Ti9PHgp3 — HHS Rapid Response (@HHSResponse) February 25, 2026 Altogether, 15 states have joined the lawsuit over the changes made to the recommended childhood vaccine schedule. “California is co-leading a multi-state lawsuit against the Center for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and others for violating federal law and advancing vaccine policies unsupported by science,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office stated. AGs from AZ and CA sue feds over childhood vaccine overhaul https://t.co/CJCGnu8hGC — John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) February 25, 2026 More from Newsom’s office: Last month, Governor Newsom announced that California became the first state to join the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN), strengthening public health preparedness and rapid response coordination as the Trump administration pulled the U.S. from WHO. In December 2025, Governor Newsom announced the launch of the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange (PHNIX), a new California-led initiative to modernize public health infrastructure and maintain trust in science-driven decision-making. To lead this work, the state engaged some of the nation’s most respected public health voices, including Dr. Susan Monarez, former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Debra Houry, former CDC Chief Medical Officer; and Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, founder and CEO of Your Local Epidemiologist, to work with and advise California’s public health leaders. In October 2025, Governor Newsom joined 14 other Governors in launching the Governors Public Health Alliance, a new non-partisan hub coordinating public health leadership across the country. The Alliance helps to strengthen emergency preparedness, improve communication, facilitate sharing data and expertise, and ensure states and territories can respond quickly and consistently to emerging health threats. In September 2025, California also joined the states of Oregon, Hawaii, and Washington in launching the West Coast Health Alliance. Through this partnership, the four states have coordinated health guidelines by aligning immunization recommendations informed by respected national medical organizations, allowing residents to receive consistent, science-based recommendations they can rely on — regardless of shifting federal actions. “California is going back to court because the Trump administration is violating federal law and pushing a reckless, unscientific childhood vaccine schedule that puts kids’ lives at risk. These changes ignore decades of medical evidence and will lead to outbreaks of diseases we’ve already beaten. We will not stand by while politics overrides science and endangers our children. Just as we’ve done before, we’re standing up — alongside 14 other states — to defend the law, protect public health, and keep our kids safe,” Newsom said. 15 States Sue RFK Jr. Over Changes To Vaccine Schedule https://t.co/CbnuKvHHDS — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 26, 2026 The Epoch Times explained further: A separate lawsuit, lodged in 2025 by health organizations, also seeks to block the revised schedule as well as Kennedy’s remaking of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who heard from the parties during a hearing in Boston earlier in February, has not yet ruled on the request as he considers whether to allow Children’s Health Defense, an organization previously founded by Kennedy, to intervene in the case in support of the government. Government lawyers have said in filings in that case that the vaccine schedule was reasonably updated based on recommendations from top health officials, including Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, acting director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. President Donald Trump ordered a comparison of the U.S. vaccine schedule with those of other countries, and it showed the United States was a global outlier among peer nations in routinely recommending vaccines against hepatitis A and certain other diseases, Hoeg said. A memorandum signed by then-CDC Acting Director Jim O’Neill said the update was needed to increase public trust in vaccines. The government has also said Kennedy’s replacement of vaccine advisory committee members was legal because members hold a variety of jobs and have put forth “complex and nuanced perspectives.” The attorneys general of 14 states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin—all Democrats, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, also a Democrat, are the plaintiffs in the new suit.

The Justice Department announced the arrest of a former U.S. Air Force officer and pilot, charging him for “providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).” Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., also known by the call sign “Runner,” was arrested in Jeffersonville, Indiana. “Brown is expected to have his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana on February 26, 2026,” the Justice Department stated. “The United States Air Force trained Major Brown to be an elite fighter pilot and entrusted him with the defense of our Nation. He now stands charged with training Chinese military pilots,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “When U.S. persons – whether military or civilian – provide training to a foreign military, that activity is illegal unless they have a license from the State Department. The National Security Division will use all tools at its disposal to protect our military advantages and hold to account those who would violate the AECA,” Eisenberg added. FBI Director Kash Patel called the arrest a “major story.” “The FBI and our partners have arrested a former U.S. Air Force Pilot who was allegedly training pilots in the Chinese military,” he said. Major story… the FBI and our partners have arrested a former U.S. Air Force Pilot who was allegedly training pilots in the Chinese military pic.twitter.com/Y7razDr16y — FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) February 26, 2026 The Justice Department explained further: As alleged in the complaint, since at least in or around August 2023, Brown willfully conspired with foreign nationals and U.S. persons to provide combat aircraft training to pilots in the Chinese Air Force, known as the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). This training was a defense service under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Brown, a U.S. person under the ITAR, lacked the required license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) to provide that training to foreign persons or foreign military units. Brown served for over 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, leaving active duty in 1996 with the rank of Major. During his lengthy military career, Brown commanded sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons delivery systems, led combat missions, and served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on a variety of fighter and attack aircraft, including the F-4 “Phantom II,” F-15 “Eagle,” F-16 “Fighting Falcon,” and the A-10 “Thunderbolt II” (Warthog). Brown then served as a commercial cargo pilot and, most recently, as a contract simulator instructor for two different U.S. defense contractors training U.S. military pilots on flying the A-10 and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. According to the complaint, in or around August 2023, Brown began arranging the terms of his contract to train Chinese military pilots, using a co-conspirator to negotiate with Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who in 2016 pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors and steal sensitive military and export-controlled data for the PRC. He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Su Bin and his company PRC Lode Technology Company were also added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2014. Throughout these communications, Brown consistently stated his intent to train PRC military pilots in combat aircraft operations. In the resumé he prepared for his application, Brown wrote his “objective” as “Instructor Fighter Pilot.” A co-conspirator told Brown that he hoped Brown would be assigned to “my base, but otherwise you’ll go where is the local equivalent as the [U.S. Air Force] Weapon School.” Later, he stated to a co-conspirator that, upon his arrival in China, “Now…. I have the chance to fly and instruct fighter pilots again!” In December 2023, Brown traveled to China to begin his work training PRC military pilots. After his arrival, Brown answered question for three hours about the U.S. Air Force on his first day in the PRC and then, on his second day, prepared and presented a brief about himself for the PLAAF. Brown remained in China until he traveled to the United States in early February 2026. “Gerald Brown, a former F-35 Lightning II instructor pilot with decades of experience flying U.S. military aircraft, allegedly betrayed his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “The Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former members of the U.S. armed forces to modernize China’s military capabilities. This arrest serves as a warning that the FBI and our partners will stop at nothing to hold accountable anyone who collaborates with our adversaries to harm our service members and jeopardize our national security,” Rozhavsky added. CASE UPDATE from @NewYorkFBI: Former U.S. Air Force Pilot Arrested for Providing Defense Services to the Chinese Military https://t.co/JhwhJHS83v@FBILouisville @FBIIndianapolis and @FBILosAngeles provided assistance in this case. pic.twitter.com/3KElqci05y — FBI (@FBI) February 25, 2026 “As an Air Force Officer, Brown took an oath to defend our Nation against all enemies foreign and domestic, he broke that oath, and betrayed the country, jeopardizing the safety of our servicemembers and allies,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “We will hold Brown, and anyone conspiring against our Nation, accountable for their actions. The Department of Justice and my prosecutors are steadfast in our commitment to use every lawful tool available to keep American military expertise where it belongs – here in America,” Pirro continued. Read the full press release HERE.

The Trump administration is allegedly considering an executive order that would require banks to collect citizenship information, such as passports, from account holders, according to multiple outlets. Kush Desai, a spokesperson for the White House, told Semafor that “any reporting about potential policymaking that has not been officially announced by the White House is baseless speculation.” The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the alleged order under consideration. Exclusive: The Trump administration is considering an order that forces banks to collect citizenship information from customers https://t.co/Tu8oIHbqrk — The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 24, 2026 Semafor shared further: It is unclear where the Treasury Department, which did not comment for this story, stands on the proposal. Already, the industry is pushing back out of concern that the potential move — via presidential order, not legislation — would be costly and complicated to implement. Illicit finance laws require financial institutions to collect some personal information on their customers, but not citizenship details specifically. One financial services lobbyist called the idea a “complete nightmare” logistically. The lobbyist also warned of potential pushback from GOP voters: “The admin might think this is a good idea until Joe MAGA in Alabama is asked to present his papers.” “Verifying every bank customer’s citizenship status would be unworkable,” said another person familiar with the recent talks. “Such a mandate could force every bank in America to solicit documentation that many everyday Americans do not have on hand. To put that into perspective, the US government has spent the last 20 years trying to encourage adoption of the REAL ID, and even that form of documentation does not constitute proof of citizenship.” “Any requirement that a deposit holder has to be a U.S. citizen, [banks] wouldn’t be happy about, because that would mean they lose some business from foreign nationals, and it might be valuable business,” Chi Chi Wu, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, told Axios. Wu said the Trump administration likely wouldn’t be able to unilaterally implement the requirements. “The potential order would mandate passports or other documentation, though officials say the plan is still under consideration amid criticism,” One America News wrote. The Trump administration is weighing a proposal to require banks to verify customer citizenship as part of its immigration crackdown, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The potential order would mandate passports or other documentation, though officials say the… pic.twitter.com/jkG68ULKsI — One America News (@OANN) February 25, 2026 Axios has more: The administration would probably instead go through the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), a law that governs how administrative agencies can change regulations, Wu says. That process could take a year or two. The Right to Financial Privacy Act has a baseline rule that “the government can’t just ask a bank to give over financial records,” Wu notes. “They have to have some sort of reason for it,” such as a subpoena. Under the “know your customers” rule, financial institutions are required to collect certain information to prevent money laundering. Those rules don’t require the verification of citizenship. There is no rule preventing banks from opening accounts for noncitizens in the U.S. Some banks require a Social Security Number to open an account, but several major ones don’t, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Banks would likely push back against any such move, Wu says.

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