Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott just released two opinions expected to force Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Women’s Health Program, which provides family planning, but not abortions, to Medicaid patients.
Greg Abbott
Perry, Doggett and Their $830 Million Feud
Six months after Congress established the $10 billion Education Jobs Fund to help states retain and hire teachers, Texas is one of only two states that has not received its money. Whether the state will gets it depends on a game of political chicken between Gov. Rick Perry and a certain Austin Democrat.
The Week in Texas Politics Recap: 1/31 to 2/4
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We’ve made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome.
The Texas Tribune Weekly TribCast: Ep 65
In this week’s TribCast, Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben discuss the budget’s structural deficit, the effort to repeal health care reform, the back-and-forth over House District 48 and if 2011 will be the year Texas bans smoking.
Abbott: Why “Obamacare” is Unconstitutional
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says the reason is simple: Never before have Americans been mandated to buy a product for a specific reason.
Abbott: No Limits To Congressional Authority?
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says there will be no limits to congressional authority if the constitutionality of health care reform is upheld.
Capitol Insecurity
When Andrew Cuomo took office as governor of New York earlier this month, he ordered the removal of the security barricades limiting access to his stateโs Capitol. โThis Capitol has become a physical metaphor for the isolation and alienation of our people,โ he said in his inauguration speech. He could easily have been talking about Texas.
Who’s Next?
Kay Bailey Hutchisonโs announcement that she won’t run again for her U.S. Senate seat wasn’t entirely unexpected, but it still has the potential to overturn the state’s political apple cart. To separate the would-bes from the could-bes in a 2012 race, weโve created a guide to certain, likely and plausible candidates โ as well a few who are plausible only to us here at the Trib.
The General at War
Rick Perry might be the state official most publicly doing battle with the the federal government, but Greg Abbott is quietly leading the charge on behalf of Texas. The Attorney General, who was just sworn into his third term in office, talked recently with Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune.
Pomp, Circumstance, Consequences
The 82nd Texas Legislature convenes in Austin this week, and while itโs not as much fun as the circus โ usually โ itโs more important and does have its share of comedy and drama.


