Texas clarified when abortions are OK and aligned with RFK Jr. on health this legislative session
Amid a quiet legislative session for health, lawmakers’ priority legislation reinforced the U.S. health secretary’s agenda. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3ff5057d8c8ecf14a04e6903e75528b0/0501%20Measles%20HHS%20Lab%20IPL%20TT%2016.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/1130_Eleanor_Klibanoff_2x3.jpeg)
Eleanor Klibanoff is the law and politics reporter, based in Austin, where she covers the the Texas Legislature, the Office of the Attorney General, state and federal courts and politics writ large. She also co-hosts the weekly politics podcast, TribCast. Eleanor previously spent three years as the Tribune’s women’s health reporter, covering abortion, maternal health and LGBTQ issues. Before coming to Texas, Eleanor worked for the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, where she reported, hosted and produced the Peabody-nominated podcast, “Dig.” Eleanor was born in Philadelphia and raised in Atlanta, and attended The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Latest Contributions
-
![An entire floor of the Texas Department of State Health Services Labortory building in Austin, Texas is dedicated to newborn screening. May 1, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
Aaron Reitz, former top DOJ official and Paxton aide, launches bid for Texas attorney general
Reitz, formerly a key cog in Texas’ conservative legal pipeline, once said the AG’s office is at war with “the forces that want to destroy the American order.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/68ef4924a39ca3ac6d2c8c7afd707f60/Aaron%20Reitz%20KC%20TT%2002.jpg)
![Then-Texas Deputy Attorney General of Legal Strategy Aaron Reitz speaks during a press conference in the William Clements Building in Austin on June 9, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Trans Texans brace for life under strict sex definition law
Texas has strictly defined man and woman, leaving trans Texans in legal limbo. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/029c4c44e7d98cb2314259d7852c9fe5/0526%20Trans%20Bills%20LW%2003.JPG)
![Leo Tyler Castillo-Anguiano poses for a portrait underneath an overpass in downtown San Antonio on May 26, 2025. Behind him is artwork of a woman holding a transgender symbol like a rosary, connecting the city’s predominant Catholic faith with a message of alliance with the transgender community.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Undocumented students ask judge to let them challenge sudden loss of in-state tuition
Their filing says the lawsuit that struck down in-state tuition for undocumented students was “contrived” to keep their voices out. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dcc9547b3bf9f1d2c718343c4507b641/Campus%20Voting%20DR%20TT%2055.JPG)
![Students on the University of Texas at Arlington campus in Arlington on Sept. 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ abortion bans are here to stay despite narrow clarification
Legal challenges have failed, elections haven’t moved the needle and the fight for a narrow clarification shows how immovable these laws are. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/814d71609b8e0b665656412e817097c0/ATX%20Roe%20Overturned%20SF%2024.jpg)
![Protesters chant on Congress Ave. in front of the Texas State Capitol building at a pro-choice rally Friday, June 24, 2022 in Austin, TX. The Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade Friday leading to national protests in response from pro abortion advocates. The announcement of the overturning would trigger an immediate ban on abortions in several states, including Texas. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ swift surrender to DOJ on undocumented student tuition raises questions about state-federal collusion
Experts say Wednesday’s action to eliminate the long-standing policy could be a “collusive lawsuit,” where the state and feds worked the courts to get a desired outcome. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ede1f6c22c2ad24e68f2191f514c87f9/0924%20Texas%20State%20Capitol%20SS%20TT%2035.jpg)
![The Texas State Capitol on Sept. 24, 2022 in Austin, TX.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ undocumented college students no longer qualify for in-state tuition
Within hours of a federal lawsuit targeting Texas’ policy of letting undocumented students qualify for lower public tuition rates, the 24-year-old law was no more. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3d336410cf72665ddb57373fd44f430e/UT%20Austin%20Covid%20File%20TT%2012.jpg)
![Students walk through campus at the University of Texas at Austin on Aug. 25, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Did lawmakers improve Texas’ infrastructure?
Will Texas be able to keep the lights on and water flowing til the next legislative session? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/652523002da2db31d9162c1ff98c9833/TribCast%20June%203.jpg)
![A crew worker attempts to extinguish a leakage as they work to upgrade pipes and valves at a North Alamo Water Supply Corporation water plant in Donna on July 18, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
In final act, Texas Legislature boosts judges’ pay and lawmaker pensions
House and Senate members agreed that judges needed a pay raise. But they spent the final hours of the legislative session debating whether Texas lawmakers should also benefit from the boost. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/84c801011ffe67b1e396a2ef2bc6fc37/0602%20Judge%20Raise%20EG%20TT%2001.jpg)
![State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, answers questions from state Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, regarding a conference committee report which would raise the base pay for Texas judges.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Long-awaited raise for Texas judges in limbo over legislative pension clash
A bill to increase judicial salaries from $140,000 to $175,000 a year stalled amid a disagreement over lawmakers’ own retirement benefits. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5b7dd9b019330e90782176b8ac35e6c0/0410%20House%20Budget%20Day%20LW%2021.jpeg)
![Members of the Texas House of Representatives during their budget discussion on April 10, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune