Vela was first elected in 2012 and represents much of the South Texas Gulf Coast.
Abby Livingston
Abby Livingston joined The Texas Tribune in 2014 as the publication's first Washington bureau chief, and departed August 2022. In this role, she covered 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.
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Politics
U.S. Rep Chip Roy rebuked after using hearing on violence against Asian Americans to attack China over coronavirus
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee held the hearing to discuss discrimination just two days after police say a white man went on a shooting rampage targeting Asian women in Atlanta.
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Politics
Three Texas Republicans vote against awarding Congressional Gold Medals to police who protected Capitol during insurrection
U.S. Reps. Michael Cloud of Victoria, Louie Gohmert of Tyler and Lance Gooden of Terrell voted against the resolution. Gohmert reportedly took issue with the characterization of the attack in the resolution as an “insurrection.”
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Coronavirus in Texas
Joe Biden signs COVID-19 relief bill that will give millions of Texans $1,400 checks
The bill, which also includes billions in aid for state and local governments, now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.
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COVID-19 Recession in Texas
U.S. House passes $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package, but minimum wage hike isn’t likely to survive
The provision to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour isn’t likely to make it through the Senate. But the package the House passed offers a blueprint for what is expected to be a staggering round of government spending.
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Winter Storm 2021
President Joe Biden to visit Houston on Friday after winter storm
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Biden would “meet with local leaders to discuss the winter storm, relief efforts, progress toward recovery and the incredible resilience shown by the people of Houston and Texas.”
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Winter Storm 2021
Ted Cruz says leaving Texas during winter disaster was “obviously a mistake” as he returns from Cancún
First spotted at an airport by a social media user who posted his photo, there was an immediate outcry overnight that a U.S. senator would travel out of the state amid the worst storm in many Texans’ lifetimes.
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Politics
Cornyn, Cruz join GOP colleagues in successful acquittal of Trump
The U.S. Senate voted to acquit the former president on Saturday after a five-day impeachment trial in which several Texans played a key role. The state’s two Republican senators voted to acquit, as they did during Trump’s first impeachment trial.
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Politics
Texans factor heavily in Democrats’ impeachment case against Donald Trump
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro served as an impeachment manager. And multiple rioters from Texas were referenced in descriptions of the violence at the Capitol.
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Politics
U.S. Rep. Ron Wright dies weeks after testing positive for coronavirus
Wright, a Republican from Arlington, had been living with cancer for years. He was hospitalized for COVID-19 about two weeks ago.
