Congress

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, gave a rollicking speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington — one peppered with cheers and jeers. His target? The "bipartisanship" that leads to foreign and financial policies he argues curb the country's liberty.

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For our latest TribLive conversation, I sat down with the soon-to-be-ex railroad commissioner and declared 2012 U.S. Senate candidate to talk about why he's running, what he thinks of his potential primary opponents and how his campaign will or won't be impacted by his race.

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The 2012 U.S. Senate candidate discusses whether his race will be a factor in the primary campaign.

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The 2012 U.S. Senate candidate explains the reason he's entered the race — and addresses the question of whether Kay Bailey Hutchison is a consistent conservative.

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The 2012 U.S. Senate candidate on whether he believes climate change exists.

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After officially announcing his candidacy for U.S. Senate at our TribLive conversation this morning, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams took issue with the presumed frontrunner status of his potential GOP primary opponent, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Full Story 

If the race to succeed Kay Bailey Hutchison is over before it begins — if the lieutenant governor and his vast personal wealth have this locked up — why are so many credible candidates saying they'll run? Because they see an opportunity.

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Republican Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones will officially begin — or revive, rather — her campaign to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Tuesday.

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What happens if Gov. Rick Perry or Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst decide to run for federal office and win, creating a vacancy — or two — in Texas? That sound you hear is a herd of GOP pols rushing to update their resumes.

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Today, Gov. Rick Perry added two more issues — voter ID legislation and a call for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget — to his list of "emergency items" that state legislators can begin deliberating on right away.

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Ted Cruz, who served as Texas Solicitor General from 2003 to 2008, is the latest to officially throw in for the race to replace GOP U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

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The race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison may only be days old, but at least one candidate in the crowded field is already pulling out the big guns.

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Minutes after learning of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's decision not to seek re-election, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst demurred when asked whether he would run for her seat. Full Story 

The Democratic congressman from El Paso on what life will be like with the Republicans in control of the U.S. House, why the information released by WikiLeaks shouldn't be public, whether we should be sending troops to Mexico and why Gov. Rick Perry talks so much about spillover violence.

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The 112th Congress will convene Wednesday with new faces at the helm of a number House committees. Jennifer Stayton of KUT News talked with U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, who will take over as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, about the issues on which he expects to find bipartisan support, the assertion that Americans won't work certain jobs and why he supports a repeal of the new health care law. Full Story 

Texas lawmakers have vowed to cut their way to a balanced budget, in the face of a shortfall that could be as high as $25 billion. But their task pales compared to the federal government, which ran a deficit of almost $ 1.3 trillion last fiscal year. As KUT’s Matt Largey reports, a lot's at stake for Austin when the next Congress gets down to business on the next federal budget. Full Story 

For the seventh consecutive decade, Texas will gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial apportionment process, which means extra clout after the 2012 elections. With Republicans in control of redrawing the state's congressional districts — and adding the four new seats — they stand to benefit the most. 

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U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, speaks out against "don't ask, don't tell" with a story about his time in the military — when an “overt homosexual” soldier misread a signal, apparently, and went to the wrong “straight” soldier’s bunk.

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Texas won big Tuesday with the release of 2010 census data. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune takes a look at the numbers, which will have legislators redrawing state maps to add four new congressional seats.

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Texas won big Tuesday with the release of 2010 census data. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune takes a look at the numbers, which will have legislators redrawing state maps to add four congressional seats. Full Story