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Abby Livingston joined The Texas Tribune in 2014 as the publication's first Washington bureau chief. In this role, she covers members in the Texas congressional delegation and campaigns back in the home state. A seventh-generation Texan, Abby grew up in Fort Worth and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to the Tribune, Abby worked for NBC, CNN, National Journal and Roll Call. At the Tribune, she won the 2017 National Press Club Award for Washington regional reporting and the Society of Professional Journalists' 2018 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Washington correspondence. Abby is a contributing writer to the Almanac of American Politics and frequently appears on MSNBC, CNN and Sirius XM radio. She also had a role on an episode of "The Bold and The Beautiful." In keeping with the Trib’s great history of hiring softball stars, Abby is a three-time MVP (the most in game history) for The Bad News Babes, the women’s press softball team that takes on female members of Congress in the annual Congressional Women’s Softball breast cancer charity game.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the Supreme Court's decision not to halt the law "an injustice" and Vice President Kamala Harris promised the administration would defend abortion rights. Full Story
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Looking relieved but exhausted, 1,200 Afghan refugees arrived this week at El Paso’s Fort Bliss. Meanwhile, Texans remain on the ground in an increasingly dangerous Afghanistan. Full Story
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The federal bill seeks to reinstate sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were written to protect people of color. Texas House Democrats see it as a way to prevent implementing provisions of a Texas voting restrictions bill moving through the state Legislature. Full Story
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Texas Republicans have doused the Biden administration in criticism. Democratic Texans in Congress have had varied reactions — but some also fault for the president for a frantic scramble after the Taliban swiftly took control. Full Story
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The Taliban has taken control of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city, which led to a crush of civilians at the Kabul airport desperate to leave the country on Monday. Full Story
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McCaul, the highest ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says Biden ignored intelligence briefings and underestimated the Taliban's strength. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz blocked a last Democratic attempt to pass federal voting rights legislation this summer. The Senate left town but is expected to pick up the issue again in the fall. Full Story
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The Senate approved a $1 trillion, bipartisan bill that also earmarks money for broadband internet access. It’s not yet known how much money set aside for the country’s aging electricity infrastructure could go to Texas’ main power grid. Full Story
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It was unclear what the Houston Democrat did to spur the arrest, though she said, “I engaged in civil disobedience.” Full Story
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Both Republicans in Austin and Democrats in D.C. have engaged in the political drama over the past two weeks, with the two camps battling it out on cable news interviews and social media over the quorum bust and who is to blame for it. Full Story
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Over the past few days, the Texas delegation has met with nearly all of the most powerful Democrats in Washington, save for President Joe Biden. But there is not yet clear movement to revive the congressional Democrats’ federal voting legislation. Full Story
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The fundraiser comes just a day after Manchin met with Texas House Democrats on Capitol Hill who are desperate for his support of the congressional efforts which could preempt the statewide GOP’s push to pass bills that would restrict voting access for Texans. Full Story
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Texas Democrats said they are urging Congress again to pass federal voting laws, acknowledging that Gov. Greg Abbott would continue to call special sessions until the GOP elections bill was passed. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confirmed on Twitter that he called for the event to be canceled. Abbott, Patrick and other GOP leaders are board members of the State Preservation Board, which oversees the Bullock museum. Full Story
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Trevor Reed, a 29-year-old resident of Granbury, was arrested in August 2019 on specious grounds, according to news reports and American diplomats, and his supporters say he’s being held on trumped-up charges because he’s a retired Marine. Full Story
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Their Texas swing is part of a larger effort by senior administration officials who are fanning out across the country this week to encourage vaccinations ahead of the administration’s self-imposed goal of hitting a 70% countrywide vaccination rate by July 4. Full Story
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“Whatever Beto decides to do is the domino that affects everybody," said Royce Brooks, executive director of Annie’s List, the Texas Democratic women-in-politics group. Full Story
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While a majority of the Democratic-controlled Senate backed the bill, enough Republicans banded together to use the filibuster to block the bill from receiving an up-or-down vote. Full Story
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All Texas Democratic members backed the bill, along with five Republicans: U.S. Reps. Michael Burgess of Lewisville, Michael Cloud of Victoria, Lance Gooden of Terrell, Louie Gohmert of Tyler and Chip Roy of Austin. Full Story
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After temporarily derailing a GOP priority voting bill, Texas Democrats looked to Washington this week to make the case for a federal legislation to overhaul elections and reinstate protections for voters of color. Full Story
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