In this week’s episode we check in with radio host Mark Davis and politics reporter Patrick Svitek about the GOP intraparty fighting over property taxes and Ken Paxton’s impeachment.
Matthew Watkins
Matthew Watkins began serving as editor in chief of the Tribune in September 2024. He is a Texas native, born in Houston and raised in Austin. He attended Texas A&M University and has spent his entire professional career in Texas journalism, including stints at The Eagle in Bryan-College Station and The Dallas Morning News. Matthew joined The Texas Tribune in 2015 has held various roles, including higher education reporter, breaking news editor and politics editor. He has helped guide the Tribune's award-winning journalism that has included coverage of six legislative sessions, multiple election cycles, natural disasters and political scandals. He lives in Austin with his wife, Susan, and their two children.
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TribCast
TribCast: How does Nate Paul’s arrest affect Ken Paxton?
In this week’s episode, we discuss the arrest of Austin developer Nate Paul, what it might say about Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial and whether it makes Paxton more vulnerable to criminal prosecution.
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TribCast
TribCast: The conservative plan to eliminate school property taxes in Texas
On this week’s episode, we speak to the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s James Quintero, who has been at the center of the debate over property taxes this week.
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Texas Legislature 2023
The regular Texas legislative session started with a record budget surplus and ended with an impeached attorney general
The 2023 legislative session started with a $32.7 billion surplus. It was mired in Republican infighting and multiple scandals. Then, the House impeached the state’s attorney general.
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TribCast
TribCast: Disarray in the Texas GOP
In this week’s episode, we discuss the first impeachment proceedings against a sitting attorney general in Texas history.
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TribCast
TribCast: Is a special session of the Texas Legislature inevitable?
In this week’s episode, we discuss the long odds facing the school choice bill and the possibility of Gov. Greg Abbott calling lawmakers back for a special session.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas senator tries new path in bid to revise Texas free-speech law
In a last-minute hearing Wednesday, Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, opened another avenue to get the bill passed, raising alarm among free-speech advocates.
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TribCast
TribCast: The scene in Texas as Title 42 lifts
On this week’s episode, we discuss the situation at the Texas-Mexico border and the failed effort to raise the age at which Texans can buy semi-automatic rifles.
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TribCast
TribCast: Can Texas’ political leaders stop their bickering for the legislative homestretch?
In this week’s episode, we discuss the final three weeks of the Legislature and Colin Allred’s bid for U.S. Senate.
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Texas Legislature 2023
House committee advances tweak to free speech protection law, prompting fear from First Amendment advocates
The change is supported by business groups, but has drawn opposition from media companies, First Amendment lawyers and political groups from across the ideological spectrum.
