How the political tide turned on Mark Welsh, the four-star general ousted as Texas A&M president

6 takeaways from our investigation into the ouster of Texas A&M’s president

By Kate McGee and Nicholas Gutteridge, The Texas Tribune December 11, 2025 This week, The Texas Tribune published a story detailing the political forces that contributed to the ouster of Texas A&M’s president Mark Welsh, the four-star general who was ultimately deemed unfit to manage the flagship university in College Station. Welsh, who was beloved by faculty and students, was pushed out shortly after a video was published online showing him de…

Why Texas A&M president Mark Welsh lost his job

The A&M Board of Regents came to want a more explicitly conservative leader who would shut down controversy before it reared its head, as they grew weary from the steady drumbeat of online posts accusing the university of embracing liberal ideology.

How the political tide turned on Mark Welsh, the four-star general ousted as Texas A&M president

The A&M Board of Regents came to want a more explicitly conservative leader who would shut down controversy before it reared its head, as members grew weary from the steady drumbeat of online posts accusing the university of embracing liberal ideology.

The Fall of Mark Welsh

It’s about the domination of every social and political institution: During the short meeting at the Texas Capitol, Abbott peppered Welsh with questions about the comments Texas Scorecard had dug up, and about Welsh’s views on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Abbott was apparently unsatisfied by Welsh’s answers, according to five people briefed on the encounter. “There’s no doubt the governor was looking for somebody that was conserva…