Almost none of the state’s major Republican officials have weighed in on the killing of a Houston man by federal agents, and U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Houston said she had not spoken with Gov. Greg Abbott.
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
Health care
Texas’ ACA enrollment shrinks by 4% after tax credit expiration, new federal data shows
As of February, 21% of Texans who enrolled in a plan through the federal marketplace did not pay their first premium.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Ken Paxton tops $9 million in a personal best fundraising quarter, campaign says
The GOP Senate candidate raised more between April and June than he had in all prior quarters combined.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
As Democrats eye South Texas upset, Bobby Pulido faces scrutiny over ex-bandmate’s child sex offense
The Tejano musician has been dogged by a series of headlines regarding his former accordionist, a registered sex offender. Pulido has insisted he did not know about the man’s rap sheet.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Supreme Court decision loosening campaign finance rules could be boon for Paxton in Senate race
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.
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.”
