The new speaker’s power over the budget and committee assignments is expected to bolster established Republican leaders and some Democrats who supported the winner.
Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker’s race
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Courts
Criminal appeals court to rehear election wrongdoing case involving Washington County Republican
The Court of Criminal Appeals will rehear a case it threw out last year. Three of the judges became targets of Attorney General Ken Paxton over another ruling and lost reelection.
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Criminal Justice
Texas should close prisons and jails with staffing challenges, state oversight panel says
A report found up to 70% of guard positions were unfilled at some prisons. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has a 26% staff turnover rate.
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TribCast
TribCast: Power and influence under the pink dome
The Texas Tribune’s politics podcast digs into what the speaker’s race tells us about the next 140 days in Austin.
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Congress
Former Texas congressman vows to keep politics out of CIA as director
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Republican U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA.
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Politics
U.S. Supreme Court weighing constitutionality of Texas’ age-verification requirement for porn sites
The Supreme Court’s decision on Texas’ law, which adult entertainment website attorneys said were the most overreaching in the country, could determine the fate of similar laws in more than a dozen other states.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas GOP chair claims church-state separation is a myth as lawmakers, pastors prep for “spiritual battle”
Abraham George’s comments are the latest sign of the state GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith.
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Environment
The air in 12 Texas counties exceeded federal soot standards. Only four may face consequences.
Critics say TCEQ is erroneously using a federal rule to exclude counties that are failing federal soot rules.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Rep. Dustin Burrows voted Texas House speaker in blow to insurgent GOP movement
Burrows defeated Rep. David Cook with a coalition of Republican and Democratic votes.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Republican infighting flares after Burrows elected speaker
The Texas House kicked off the 2025 session by electing an establishment Republican to lead the chamber, drawing criticism from within the GOP.
