Airports across the country have experienced shortages of air traffic controllers and security workers, who have gone weeks without pay amid the shutdown.
Gabby Birenbaum
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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Graphics and data reporting
Texas ACA insurers hike monthly premiums by 35% on average
The amount Texans will pay toward their ACA premiums will likely rise more steeply, with enhanced subsidies set to expire.
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2026 Texas Elections
Hunt calls for debate with Cornyn, Paxton in Senate GOP primary
The second-term congressman argued that voters should “hear directly from the candidates,” beyond the millions already being poured into paid advertising.
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Graphics and data reporting
The federal shutdown will halt November SNAP benefits. Here’s what you need to know.
In Texas, 3.5 million Texans — including 1.7 million children — rely on SNAP, also referred to as food stamps, each month.
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Redistricting Texas 2025
This newly drawn Houston district could unearth tensions between Democrats of color
A primary challenge to Rep. Sylvia Garcia underscores Latino Democrats’ fears of being unrepresented in Harris County.
Posted in
2025 Texas Elections
In special election for Houston congressional seat, candidates confront a bewildered electorate
Voters in the heavily Democratic district have expressed confusion about who can vote — after the boundaries were upended by a GOP gerrymander — and what November’s special election is for.
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2026 Texas Elections
Rep. Wesley Hunt pitches himself as a younger Ken Paxton in U.S. Senate primary bid
Hunt, 43, said his entry into the race to defeat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn guarantees that a “conservative warrior” will be Texas’ next senator — and that only he and Paxton fit the bill.
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2026 Texas Elections
Cornyn heads into fall with big cash advantage over GOP primary challengers Paxton, Hunt
Texas’ senior senator outraised his foes across his campaign operation, though some of the money is ineligible to be transferred to his main account.
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2026 Texas Elections
Texas GOP lawyer and former FEC chair Trey Trainor announces run for Chip Roy’s seat in Congress
The longtime GOP operative has spent decades as a lawyer for Texas Republicans and conservative causes.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt announces run for U.S. Senate, joining Cornyn, Paxton in primary
The Houston congressman is giving up his safe seat after just two terms, scrambling the contest between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
