Now permitted to spend freely in coordination with GOP candidates, national Republican committees can use their flush war chests to help candidates like Paxton close fundraising deficits.
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.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
First-of-its-kind GOP midterm convention coming to Dallas in September, Trump says
The Republican National Committee has not yet announced the midterm convention or its location, but it has teased the event as an opportunity to put Trump on the ballot.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Paxton breaks with Texas GOP’s anti-IVF platform, saying he supports the procedure
Delegates to the Texas GOP convention recently adopted a platform calling in-vitro fertilization destructive to fetal life.
Posted in
Screwworm in Texas
USDA defends screwworm response amid congressional fingerpointing
There is bipartisan agreement that the country is not producing nearly enough sterile flies to combat the flesh-eating parasite, which threatens to wreak havoc on Texas’ livestock industry.
Posted in
Congress
Ted Cruz bill to regulate college sports in NIL era advances
The Texan said he hopes the proposed changes, written with a Democratic senator, can save athletics from a stark separation between the haves and have-nots.
Posted in
Congress
Former employee’s ethics complaint alleges age discrimination in Rep. Troy Nehls’ office
The former deputy chief of staff’s complaint to the House Ethics Committee said two other older workers had similar complaints. Nehls’ office dismissed it as “baseless lies.”
Posted in
Immigration
Proposed ban on Big Bend border wall fails in U.S. House funding panel
Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar sought to bar the Trump administration from using federal funds to build border barriers in the national park, which is rarely traversed by migrants.
Posted in
Screwworm in Texas
Screwworm outbreak hits vacant Texas congressional district, as leading candidates scramble to assist
Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet scheduled a special election for the 23rd Congressional District, which was previously represented by disgraced ex-Rep. Tony Gonzales.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Talarico lands endorsement from lawyer who defended Paxton in impeachment, securities fraud cases
Dan Cogdell, who represented Paxton for nearly a decade in two high-profile cases, said his former client “has lost sight of his core mission.”
Posted in
Congress
Eight Senate Republicans broke ranks this week. John Cornyn, spurned by Trump in his primary, didn’t.
The Texas senator’s defeat to Ken Paxton sparked talk he’d join the “YOLO Caucus” of Republicans defecting from Donald Trump. This week, he sided with Senate GOP leadership on every key vote.
