Vice President J.D. Vance cancels South Texas visit ahead of Port of Brownsville event

Vice President J.D. Vance’s planned visit to South Texas has been canceled just days before he was scheduled to speak at the Port of Brownsville, according to a social media post from Republican congressional candidate Eric Flores.

Flores, the Republican nominee for Texas’ 34th Congressional District, announced the cancellation on Sunday. 

“We have been informed that, due to a change in the Vice President’s official schedule, the planned visit to South Texas will no longer take place,” Flores wrote on X. “We know many people from across South Texas were looking forward to this event, and we share your disappointment. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome the Vice President to South Texas in the near future.”

Flores did not provide additional details about the scheduling change.

The vice president had been scheduled to speak Tuesday at the Port of Brownsville in what would have been his first known visit to the Rio Grande Valley since taking office.

As previously reported by the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal, the visit was expected to spotlight the Port of Brownsville’s growing importance as a national manufacturing, energy, and trade hub following a string of major economic development announcements.

Those include Saronic Technologies’ planned $3.2 billion autonomous shipyard, the proposed America First Refining project, and Cameron County’s recent receipt of a presidential permit clearing the way to acquire a 50% ownership stake in the Brownsville & Matamoros Bridge.

The visit also carried political significance beyond the port. 

It came as business leaders across the Valley have raised concerns over increased immigration enforcement actions, labor shortages, and higher construction costs tied to tariffs, even as the Brownsville area continues to attract billions of dollars in new investment.

It remains unclear whether the cancellation affects only the public event at the Port of Brownsville or the vice president’s broader travel schedule. 

No additional information had been released as of Sunday evening.