On the recordMay 1, 2025
Mr. Speaker, I do want to take one second before I yield to my friend from California to honor a dear friend of mine who passed away a couple weeks ago, Diana Denman. Often called the godmother of the Texas Republican Party, she passed away on April 17 at the age of 91. I don't do a lot of the floor speeches on individuals because I feel like if I do them for one or two and I don't do them for everybody that I represent that gets tough. Obviously, veterans, police officers, there are things that rise to the occasion. Diana was a legendary mentor not just to me but to many of my friends, many of the people that work for me, many of my staff. She played a major role in the political evolution in Texas where Texas went from a historic southern Democrat State to a bastion of conservative Republican politics and a warrior for freedom across the globe. I was proud to have her support, but more importantly, I was proud to have her friendship. She worked closely with some of my dear friends in politics and former bosses like Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Rick Perry, both of whom are dear friends of mine. She led a storied life. She rode her horse into the lobby of The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. She acted in Hollywood where she would go on to meet future President Reagan when she was in Hollywood in that Golden Age. She held many positions in the Reagan administration in the 1980s, and she stood strong against the Soviet Union and Soviet aggression around the globe.…





