Congress

While television and conservative talk radio continue to marginalize his presidential candidacy, unrest and anxiety over the nation’s economic woes festers, and a passionate and energized base of young people supporting him grows. It's long past time to take him seriously.

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On the day he announced his intention to form a 2012 presidential exploratory committee, Texas congressman Ron Paul, R-Surfside, sparred with Stephen Colbert about the Fed, the debt ceiling and whether he and his sons are the "Libertarian Kennedys."

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Three years ago I interviewed the apparent 2012 Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate — then a retired lieutenant general hawking a memoir — for Texas Monthly. You can read the nearly 2,700-word Q&A here.

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At this morning's TribLive conversation, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was unwilling to distance himself from controversial remarks about Planned Parenthood by his colleague, U.S. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona.

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To avoid government shutdown, congressional Democrats agreed to repeal an amendment that would have prohibited Texas from using federal funds to replace, rather than supplement, state funding of schools.

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Not much, unless you're one of the state's 130,000 civilian federal employees — or you’re scrambling to get your taxes done.

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Texas has the largest GOP delegation in Congress, and those members have high seniority, spots on key committees and seats at the leadership table — evidence, observers say, of the state’s sway inside the Capitol.

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These maps visualize the number of years members of the U.S. House of Representatives have served, with darker shades representing longer seniority.

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The U.S. Department of State on Tuesday said U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual has agreed to stay in Mexico City to help the two governments organize a transition.

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A Houston attorney and radio commentator is floating the idea on a Facebook page and a website. No other Democrat can win, he says.

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Last night, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, appeared on the PBS NewsHour to discuss a controversial hearing over the perceived radicalization of Islamic youth.

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Exiting Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert has released a lengthy (as in, more than three minutes) video on YouTube explaining why the Republican is running for U.S. Senate.

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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Reps. Randy Neugebauer and Sam Johnson are among the most conservative members of Congress, according to National Journal's annual ranking of votes.

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Not even two months into his first term, U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, is the subject of an ad campaign from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

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In the latest round of the political feud over $830 million in federal funding, House Republicans, led by U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, passed a bill Saturday that attempts to block the enforcement of the Texas-specific Education Jobs amendment.

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

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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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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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