Stephen Neukam, The Texas Tribune

The political action committees for Valero Energy and the National Association of Realtors announced after the attack that they were suspending all political contributions.

But this election cycle, those companies and several other corporations have lavished funds on Texas Republicans who voted against certifying the election in 2020, plus a handful of new candidates who continue to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s presidency. On the day of the insurrection, 17 Texans in Congress voted against certifying the election results — including Sen. Ted Cruz, who is not up for reelection this year, and 16 House members. (Of the House members, Rep. Louie Gohmert, of Tyler, is not seeking reelection, and Rep. Ron Wright, of Arlington, died in February 2021.) Many of those candidates continue to cast doubt on the election results, which have been affirmed by multiple audits, court decisions and even members of former President Donald Trump’s administration.

This year in Texas, AT&T-affiliated PACs have given at least $28,500 to lawmakers who objected to the certification of the 2020 election. Those lawmakers who received the funds are Republican Reps. Jodey Arrington of Lubbock, John Carter of Round Rock, Roger Williams of Austin, Michael Cloud of Victoria, Pete Sessions of Waco, Beth Van Duyne of Irving, Ronny Jackson of Amarillo and Lance Gooden of Terrell....

As GOP lawmakers continue to antagonize the Biden administration over its immigration policies, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that his handling of the southern border could be “grounds for impeachment.”

Cruz, along with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, sent a letter to Mayorkas on Tuesday blasting him for “gross dereliction of duty” and citing record-high numbers of crossings at the southern border.

“These astronomically high numbers are due in no small part to the political decision to rescind a number of President Trump’s policies that were stemming the flow of illegal aliens and illicit drugs across the southern border,” Cruz and Graham’s letter said. “Withdrawing the Remain in Mexico policy, ending Title 42 expulsions, terminating border wall construction contracts, and countless other decisions, coupled with your own lax border policies, act as ‘pull’ factors that have encouraged millions of aliens to undertake the dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border.”...

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz vehemently defended Texas’ gun laws at The Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday, engaging in a spirited debate with audience members about semi-automatic rifles, mass shootings and school security.

Cruz, in an onstage conversation with the Washington Examiner’s David M. Drucker in Austin, blasted Democrats for their response to mass shootings, saying the party wants to take firearms away from law-abiding citizens.

At the conclusion of the interview, some attendees repeatedly booed and heckled Cruz as he answered an audience question seeking his ideas on how to limit or prevent mass shootings. Cruz, like many Republican officials, adamantly opposes a ban on semi-automatic rifles. He cited the example of Stephen Willeford, the man who grabbed a rifle and ran to First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs when he heard about a shooting there, helping to end the violence that left 26 victims dead....