Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been excoriated by social conservatives in the state for his refusal to make ending the practices of child genital manipulation, child chemical castration, and child gender transitions part of the 2021 legislative agenda. Now, despite National File exposing Abbott’s significant funding from the pro-trans lobby, he is blaming the Texas House and suggesting he may take further action from the executive branch.
Abbott first promised to make child gender transitions a part of his platform in 2019, when he tweeted about the case of then 7-year-old James Younger, whose mother began forcing him to wear girls’ clothes and painting his nails when he was only two. In 2019, Abbott tweeted, “FYI the matter of 7 year old James Younger is being looked into by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Department of Family and Protective services.”
FYI the matter of 7 year old James Younger is being looked into by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. #JamesYounger
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) October 23, 2019
Partly due to Abbott’s inaction, James’ parents have been in a lengthy legal dispute over the boy’s future, with his father Jeff Younger insisting the child has no interest in transgenderism when they are together, and his mother winning key legal fights that may lead to the child’s forced genital mutilation, chemical castration, and eventual gender reassignment to female. Abbott has been silent on the issue for nearly two entire years. (READ MORE: See National File’s Exclusive Interview With Jeff Younger)
Since then, National File has exposed that Abbott, his Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan – all Republicans – received a combined $1.7 million from a political action committee linked to a transgender clinic for Central American immigrants, run by one of Texas’s most well connected and wealthy Democrats.
Now, Abbott appears to be blaming the Texas House of Representatives, saying that the chance of the Texas House passing laws to protect children was always “nil” and, instead, “We have another solution that will adress that problem that will be announced shortly,” and specifically that “the solution should be announced within the next week,” as reported by Texas Scorecard.
When asked why the odds of the Texas House, which National File has been told is indirectly controlled by Abbott’s influence, would struggle to pass such legislation, Abbott replied that “I can’t answer for that other than I can game the odds,” and again added, “I have another way of achieving the exact same thing, and it’s about a finished product as we speak right now and may be announced as soon as this week.”
Abbott’s political opponents in the upcoming 2022 Republican primary election have seized on the issue, and would likely view this potential concession on Abbott’s behalf as a political victory. After Abbott failed to make this part of the agenda for the 2021 special legislative session he called, both Don Huffines and Allen West released statements condemning the Texas governor for his inaction.
West, who championed the issue for the entirety of his tenure as Chairman of the Texas GOP, said, “First of all, if the 87th legislative session was a resounding success, why does one need to have a special session?” West added, “I found it very disconcerting that several of the Legislative Priorities of the Republican Party of Texas such as ending taxpayer-funded lobbying, school choice, monument protection, and ending child gender modification were not listed as agenda items.”
Similarly, Huffines said “Abbott’s refusal to add legislation to the call that protects vulnerable Texas children from Left-wing sickos who want to cause them irreversible harm and legislation banning the use of taxpayer dollars to lobby the legislature are glaring omissions that show how far out of touch he is with everyday Texans.”
Chris Ekstrom, a former U.S. House candidate who has lobbied repeatedly for legislation protecting children, previously told National File that “Greg Abbott just doesn’t care about the sadly abused children of deeply misguided parents that allow little girl to have her breasts removed at 12, 13, 14, at puberty.” He added, “Greg Abbott doesn’t care that an insane female doctor wants to turn her youngest son into a girl. Greg Abbott promised Texans that we wouldn’t become like California, but it’s happening every single day he is governor.”
