President Donald Trump visited Houston for a two-day trip last week that included a fundraiser for Attorney General Ken Paxton and an event at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).<\/p>\n
Trump rallied donors in Houston on Thursday, August 27, to support Paxton\u2019s campaign for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n
Paxton, locked in a close race<\/a> with state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin), has been the subject of hand-wringing from some national Republicans who are nervous about his chances. Recent polling has consistently shown<\/a> him tied or behind Talarico.\u00a0<\/p>\n Exacerbating the worries is fundraising<\/a>, which shows a stark gap between the U.S. Senate candidates.<\/p>\n Talarico has been raising so much money that he\u2019s had to return over $1 million in excess contributions<\/a>. His campaign raised about $32 million during the second quarter of 2026, which he touted as the largest amount ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate during the second quarter of an election year, and, as of July 15, he had over $21 million cash on hand.<\/p>\n Paxton, by contrast, raised just under $9.2 million in the same reporting period \u2014 celebrating it as the \u201clargest fundraising quarter for any non-incumbent GOP Senate candidate\u201d \u2014 and had about $7 million cash on hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n This has spurred a significant advertising gap between the two candidates. According to The Texas Tribune, as of mid-July<\/a>, Talarico had spent over $27 million on advertising, compared to just $1.3 million for Paxton.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), whom Paxton handily defeated<\/a> in a bitter primary runoff in May, has been critical of his former opponent\u2019s fundraising<\/a> abilities, saying in an interview that \u201cPaxton\u2019s a poor campaigner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s lazy and doesn\u2019t raise money. And he basically is not offering a very compelling case for his election,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cit ain\u2019t looking good right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cornyn is notably helping raise money for other Republican candidates in tight races, though much of it has been for congressional candidates in other states.<\/p>\n Some Republican strategists have urged an intervention<\/a> from MAGA Inc., Trump\u2019s super PAC that\u2019s sitting on $403 million cash on hand. That hasn\u2019t happened<\/a>, but Trump\u2019s Houston fundraiser is a sign that he\u2019s engaged with the race and looking to help Paxton close the gap.<\/p>\n Trump waited until the second day of early voting in the GOP primary runoff to finally issue his endorsement<\/a> for Paxton, after months of teasing an endorsement and saying that he liked both Paxton and Cornyn as candidates.<\/p>\n According to an invitation obtained<\/a> by The New York Times, tickets to the Houston fundraiser started at $10,000 per person. While how much was raised by the fundraiser was not immediately known, John Link, senior vice president of data at the political intelligence and analytical firm AdImpact, told Houston Public Media<\/a> he expected \u201cjust about $440 million in total spending\u201d by the time ballots are cast in November.<\/p>\n NASA<\/strong><\/p>\n The day after the fundraiser, the president visited NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center for a medal ceremony.<\/p>\n Each crew member of the historic Artemis II lunar flyby mission in April was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by Trump on Friday, joining the ranks of 34 astronauts since 1978, including Neil Armstrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n The event was held in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, which has been used for training purposes for nearly six decades.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump was preceded by a handful of speakers, including Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche, Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Brian Babin (R-TX-36), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Ted Cruz (R-TX), and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who introduced Trump to the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n During his introductory remarks, Trump announced<\/a> that he\u2019d be signing an executive order onstage establishing a presidential commission to begin the process of creating the U.S. Space Academy.\u00a0<\/p>\n The commission, which will be chaired by Isaacman \u2014 who flanked the president as the order was signed \u2014 will assist Trump in fostering the Space Academy, where the primary goal will be to \u201cdevelop a professional corps of civically grounded leaders prepared to advance American interests within the space domain,\u201d per the executive order<\/a> published by the White House on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump will announce the location soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n