Lloyd Doggett, U.S. Congressman representing Texas’s 37th district, used his Twitter account on May 20, 2026, to criticize current federal and state policies regarding immigration detention, public health infrastructure, and energy dependence.
On May 20, Doggett posted that “Texas facilities have held nearly 18,000 ICE detainees in April–more than twice any other state. Over 70% of people in detention have no criminal record. Trump and Abbott are tearing students, parents, and workers from Austin. Editorial Board writes what many in our community”. The post highlighted concerns over the scale of immigration detention in Texas compared to other states.
Later that day, Doggett addressed national security issues related to public health agencies: “Another Trump national security failure—having dismantled much of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), withdrawn from the World Health Organization, and greatly reduced support for local public health agencies, our families have much less protection against Hantavirus, Ebola,” referencing diminished disease prevention capacities.
In a subsequent tweet on the same date, Doggett turned attention to energy policy: “Republicans’ fossilized thinking keeps us energy dependent & vulnerable. As Trump continues his reckless war with Iran and gas prices soar, we should learn from Ukraine’s successfully adopting renewable energy as part of its defense against Russia’s attacks. Freedom from fossil”.
Doggett has represented Texas’s 37th district since 1995 after succeeding J.J. Pickle in Congress and previously served in the Texas Senate between 1973 and 1985. He is a long-term Austin resident who was born there in 1946. In recent elections—2024 and 2022—he defeated Jenny Garcia Sharon by significant margins: winning more than seventy percent of the vote both times.
Doggett holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin—a BA earned in 1967 and a JD completed in 1970.
