RSC Chairman August Pfluger: Undercover Video Shows James Talarico Has Not Changed His Views on Transgender Issues

Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) criticized Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico over undercover footage in which the candidate maintained his views on transgender issues had not changed, arguing that voters could not trust him and questioning his efforts to present himself as a moderate despite his longstanding positions on transgender policies and the oil and gas industry. During an appearance on The Scott Jennings Show, Pfluger, who leads the largest Republican caucus in Congress, discussed the Texas Senate race between Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton after Jennings played undercover footage obtained by the Daily Wire. “The way I fought for trans kids in the legislature is how I will fight for the U.S. Senate, and my position hasn’t changed,” Talarico said in the recording. “I still think these should be local decisions, sport by sport, athlete by athlete, and I think I have the most inclusive policy of any candidate who’s running,” he continued. “So I know things are getting clipped and stuff, but my views, my position hasn’t changed, and I’m going to have your loved ones back.” Jennings then asked Pfluger whether Texans could trust Talarico on transgender issues or other matters. “Scott, absolutely not,” Pfluger responded. “We know that he has been fixated on those issues. We know how he has voted in the Texas legislature, and the only thing that he said that was true there is, ‘My views haven’t changed,’ and they haven’t changed on trans issues, and they haven’t changed on wanting to kill the oil and gas industry, which, by the way, is the most important industry in the state of Texas.” “They haven’t changed on any of his social issues, men and women sports,” Pfluger continued. “And for him to say, you know, something about the local level, my goodness, I mean, are we really going to take a Democrat who’s running for Senate in Texas for that to be true?” “No way. They want to regulate everything from Washington, D.C., and that’s exactly what he intends to do,” he added. Jennings also addressed Talarico’s recent CNN town hall, including exchanges concerning the SAVE America Act and abortion. “It’s a very duplicitous campaign from Talarico. This blatant attempt to mislead people,” Jennings said. “You can tell part of his shtick is trying to get you to believe that maybe there’s a chance he might vote your way,” Jennings continued. The conversation also turned to Michigan Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, whom Jennings characterized as representative of the Democrat Party’s movement toward socialism, open borders, and more radical political positions. “If you like what’s going on in France, then vote for El-Sayed,” Pfluger said. “You know, in 2012, allegedly he was signing documents and letters that were pro, not just Palestinian, but literally pro-Muslim Brotherhood,” Pfluger continued. The congressman contrasted that allegation with his own military service. “Many of me and my colleagues, what we were doing was fighting terrorism, was fighting back against communism in the military. That’s exactly what I was doing in 2012,” Pfluger said. “So his track record, I think, is don’t believe his words, just believe his actions, and his actions paint a picture where he cannot denounce what happened on October 7th,” he continued. Pfluger also addressed El-Sayed’s statements concerning the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, criticizing what he described as a failure to identify the perpetrators as radical Islamic jihadist terrorists. “I’m sorry, but there is no place in the U.S. Senate for somebody who can’t denounce that and can’t clearly talk about the threat that that brings, not just 25 years ago, but what it brings today to our country,” Pfluger said. Pfluger expressed his support for Paxton in the November 3 election. “It’s a tough environment. Obviously, we know that,” Pfluger acknowledged. “But if you don’t want open borders, if you don’t want to kill the oil and gas industry, if you don’t want men playing women’s sports, then there’s only one answer, and it’s Ken Paxton.” “We’ve got to go vote for him. We’ve got to make sure that we keep Texas red,” he added. As Breitbart News reported Tuesday, Texas Children’s Hospital officially opened what Attorney General Ken Paxton described as the nation’s first dedicated detransition clinic following a historic $10 million settlement involving his office and the Department of Justice. The agreement requires the hospital to provide free multidisciplinary detransition-related care for five years, terminate the privileges of three current physicians, permanently bar two former physicians, and implement operational reforms. The settlement followed allegations of improper billing for gender-transition treatments raised by former hospital nurse and whistleblower Vanessa Sivadge, who praised the clinic’s opening as a significant step toward addressing the medical needs of detransitioners. The development highlights the contrasting records of Paxton and Talarico on transgender policies. Paxton has challenged gender-transition treatments for minors and transgender participation in women’s sports, including suing the NCAA over biological males competing in women’s events. Talarico, meanwhile, voted against Texas Senate Bill 14 in 2023, which restricted certain gender-transition procedures and treatments for minors, arguing that physicians had a “moral obligation” to treat children experiencing gender dysphoria. He previously described denying children such treatments as “child abuse” and characterized legislation restricting gender-transition healthcare for minors as part of a “Christofascism movement.” Talarico has also argued that modern science recognized six biological sexes, referred to women as “neighbors with a uterus,” and described sex education as “maybe the most important topic” students would learn in school while opposing parental opt-in requirements. During a 2023 podcast appearance, he expressed support for transgender-identifying children who had visited the Texas Capitol, saying, “I love — and I’m just going to say this because it’s on my mind — the trans children who showed up yesterday at the State Capitol to advocate for their humanity.” Talarico’s record has also drawn criticism from detransitioner Soren Aldaco, who says she spent four years unsuccessfully attempting to speak with him about legislation concerning gender-transition treatments for minors. Aldaco, who began testosterone treatment at 17 and underwent a double mastectomy at 19 before detransitioning, said during an October 26 appearance on The Katie Miller Podcast that she had attempted to question Talarico at an October 14 CNN and Jubilee Media town hall but was informed that organizers could not accommodate her. “I tried to get in contact with you across five bills, four years and two sessions, and you wouldn’t talk to me about bills that would have even helped people who still currently identify as trans,” Aldaco said.