Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day declaring many diversity, equity and inclusion programs unlawful and used it to criticize U.S. Sen. John Cornyn during a competitive Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat. Cornyn accused Paxton of abusing his office, while legal experts said the attorney general’s opinion is nonbinding guidance, not a change in law. Universities, businesses and civil rights groups in Texas are reviewing the opinion and its possible impact.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday ordered Texas state agencies to investigate potential fraud in the state’s Medicaid program, following federal findings of possible Medicaid fraud in other states under the Trump administration. In a letter to officials overseeing Medicaid, Abbott directed agencies to strengthen anti-fraud safeguards, review operations for vulnerabilities, coordinate with federal and state investigations, and report their findings and corrective plans to his office. The directive expands Abbott’s earlier push for tougher anti-fraud efforts in state programs to specifically target Texas Medicaid and aligns state actions with nationwide federal initiatives to detect and prevent Medicaid fraud.