Also, the widow of Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee publicly endorses Rodney Ellis for the seat and a railroad commissioner breaks down recent recommendations from the Sunset Commission.
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Also, the Texas Association of Business calls for expanded opportunity for full-day pre-K for children already qualified for public pre-K and Gov. Abbott calls for a federal disaster declaration for recent flooding.
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Also, Ted Cruz weighs in on Trump's attacks on the Trump U judge, the GOP places a big bet on Will Hurd in the CD-23 race and the RPT rolls out the welcome mat for disaffected Bernie backers.
Full StoryFor this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about those mounting attacks on presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
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Key meetings and events for the coming week.
Full StoryU.S. Rep. Ted Poe took to the House floor on Thursday to denounce the “pathetic” sentencing of Stanford sexual assailant Brock Turner and to demand the removal of the judge who oversaw the case.
Standing on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday morning that his office launched a lawsuit against Delaware over millions of dollars he argued are owed to Texas and 20 other states.
Representatives from Uber and Lyft urged lawmakers to adopt statewide regulations for the ride-hailing industry during a Texas Capitol hearing on Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, a Bryan Republican, said Wednesday he won't formally endorse his party's nominee, real estate magnate Donald Trump, but he does plan to vote for him.
Donald Trump on Wednesday ruled out picking former rival Rick Perry as his running mate but said there could still be a role for the former Texas governor in a Trump administration.
U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela's colleagues see him as a quiet, hardworking congressman, not a bomb-throwing firebrand. So they're still marveling that the Brownsville Democrat wrote the infamous letter that chapped Donald Trump's ass. Known on Capitol Hill by his nickname “Fil,” he is an enigma and a head scratcher. And with this fiery burst of a letter, the question for many this week was, “What does Fil want?”
The Travis County GOP has voted to limit the power of incoming chairman Robert Morrow, a controversial figure whose surprise election earlier this year shook up local politics in Texas' fifth-largest county.
The Texas-based judge that earlier this year put a hold on President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration decided on Tuesday to also suspend a controversial punishment he had recently issued to the administration’s attorneys.
Slowly but surely, Republican donors in Texas are beginning to come around to the man who bested many of their favorite presidential candidates, including the state's junior senator. Uncertainty still reigns in some corners of the Texas GOP, though — not necessarily whether to back Trump, but how to do it.
Disclosure: Uber and Lyft have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
A top aide to U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is joining Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Carlos Sanchez, Castro's chief of staff, will serve as Clinton's deputy political director. Sanchez will work under national political director Amanda Renteria to manage the campaign's regional political directors.
Also, a speechwriter for U.S. Housing Secretary Julián Castro is joining Clinton's presidential campaign. Greg Bell, Castro's director of speechwriting, will start working for the Clinton campaign later this month, according to a Clinton aide. Bell will serve as a speechwriter under Clinton's director of speechwriting, Dan Schwerin.
State Rep. César Blanco, D-El Paso, is getting a promotion of sorts. The lawmaker, now the interim director of the Latino Victory Project, is stepping up as the group’s president, Cristobel J. Alex, leaves to join the Clinton presidential campaign.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has hired as a senior adviser Sherry Sylvester, who was for 10 years the public face of tort reform advocacy group Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick has been appointed to the National Petroleum Council for 2016-17. Per an announcement from the oil and gas regulating agency, Craddick will advocate for the states during the making of public policy at the federal level.
Leo Lopez has been named the Texas Education Agency’s new chief school finance officer, a post that will put him in charge of the agency’s state funding division. In a previous stint at TEA, he administered for six years the state’s Foundation School Program. He begins his new duties on June 27. The TEA is also promoting Al McKenzie to director of state funding from manager of the Foundation School Support unit.
Dale Laine, the president and chief operating officer of the Texas Cable Association, is stepping down, effective June 30. After leaving the TCA, Laine said, he plans to continue to work with his clients at Laine Strategy Group and practice government affairs consulting.
Deaths: Karen R. Johnson, 72, who in a long career in public service was, among other things, president and CEO of United Ways of Texas for nearly 13 years, president of Entergy Texas, executive director of the State Bar of Texas and, more recently, a board member of the Texas State History Museum Foundation. A memorial service is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. at St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin. A reception will be held afterward at the Austin Club.
Disclosure: The Texas Cable Association, United Ways of Texas, the State Bar of Texas, Sherry Sylvester and Karen Johnson have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
