Cruz introduces weather radio modernization bill with a new focus on flood communications
This comes after Cruz voted in favor of the spending megabill that rescinded funds for NOAA. Full Story
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Gabby Birenbaum is the Washington Correspondent for the Texas Tribune. She covers the Texas congressional delegation and the impact of federal policy on Texas. Gabby previously covered Washington for The Nevada Independent, where she wrote the weekly D.C. Download newsletter and covered the 2024 presidential election and competitive Senate race. Prior to The Nevada Independent, Gabby worked at The Washington Monthly and Vox. Gabby graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and political science. She is a native of Arlington, Virginia and is based in Washington, DC. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, watching movies and being a long-suffering fan of DC sports teams. Her work is supported by a partnership with Report for America.
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks with television personality Dr. Phil McGraw on the day of a roundtable discussion with first responders and local officials along with with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after catastrophic floods, at the Hill Country Youth Center in Kerrville on July 11, 2025.]()
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Draft Texas congressional map pits Democratic incumbents against each other, spelling possible primary clashes
Multiple Democratic members have been packed into blue districts in Austin, Dallas and Houston to make way for newly crafted Republican districts in those areas. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Republicans unveil new congressional map that looks to pick up five GOP seats
The first draft of the lower chamber’s new redistricting map targets Democratic members of Congress in the Austin, Dallas and Houston metro areas and in South Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Carla Astudillo -
Cornyn calls for special counsel investigation into Obama’s handling of 2016 Russia probe
The Texas senator maintains that Russia did meddle in the 2016 election but that there was no collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. Full Story
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![President Barack Obama is greeted by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and John Cornyn, R-Texas, as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol to meet with Senate Republicans, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 2013.]()
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Texas hospitals, clinics spared the worst of GOP Medicaid cuts. An expected rise in the uninsured rate could change that.
Texas clinics, in particular, are worried about their ability to meet patient needs once people begin losing insurance under changes from Republicans’ recent megabill. Full Story
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![An American flag flies in front of Ralls Family Medicine in Ralls on Sept. 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Texans will pay higher power bills as clean energy development slows because of tax credit cuts, economists say
The One Big Beautiful Bill drastically shortens the timeline for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits. This will impact even Texas, where wind and solar power have boomed and power demand is rising. Full Story
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![A solar project on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Ector County.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Tejano singer Bobby Pulido forms exploratory committee for South Texas congressional bid
The music star is considering challenging Rep. Monica De La Cruz in a district emblematic of the GOP’s gains with Latino voters. Full Story
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![Tejano music star Bobby Pulido joins then-Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke during a campaign rally at HEB Park in Edinburg on May 1, 2018.]()
Credit: Douglas Young for The Texas Tribune -
GOP Army veteran announces challenge to Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in South Texas congressional district
The prospect of Eric Flores’ candidacy has excited Republicans in Texas and Washington, due in part to his military and law enforcement credentials. Full Story
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![Army veteran and attorney Eric Flores has announced he's challenging U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, in South Texas' 34th Congressional District.]()
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1.7 million Texans could lose health coverage under expiring tax credits, ACA changes in GOP megabill
Having never expanded Medicaid, Texas avoided most of the looming federal cuts other states will face. But the Affordable Care Act is a different story. Full Story
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![The nurse’s office at the Ector County Youth Center on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Odessa. The office does not have any attached restroom, causing residents to return to their rooms to use their toilets for drug tests, and during weekly doctor’s visits, the office can become quite cramped when three to four people are using the room at a time.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Harlingen doctor becomes first Democrat to challenge GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz for South Texas congressional seat
The 15th Congressional District is the only Republican-held seat in Texas that Democrats are targeting under the current map. Full Story
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![Dr. Ada Cuellar.]()
Credit: Dr. Ada Cuellar for Congress Campaign