Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush told a House committee that badly-needed relief money would be delayed even more if the federal government shuts down.
Congress
Read the latest Texas Tribune coverage of Congress, from the state’s lawmakers in Washington to key legislation and political debates shaping Texas and the nation.
Posted in
Guides
Hey, Texplainer: What would a government shutdown mean for Texas?
A shutdown is poised to take place unless Congress passes a new spending bill and President Donald Trump signs it into law by Jan. 19. That could mean closed parks, furloughed workers and the temporary closure of NASA in Texas.
Posted in
Economy
U.S. Rep. Will Hurd announces “narrow and bipartisan” bill to save DACA
Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, on Tuesday said he would file legislation to protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation and beef up border enforcement. The move comes as federal lawmakers face a Friday deadline to pass a measure to keep the federal government functioning.
Posted in
Politics
Texas Democrats react with outrage to Trump’s “shithole” comment — with one calling for impeachment
After President Donald Trump reportedly questioned why the United States should offer protections to immigrants from “shithole” countries, Democrats and some Republicans from Texas expressed outrage. One Democratic congressman from Houston said he’d push for impeachment.
Posted in
Congress
Texas delegation splits on warrantless N.S.A. spying
While the 36 Texans in the U.S. House largely voted along party lines to reauthorize a key NSA surveillance program, some Republican voted against it and two Democrats voted for it.
Posted in
Congress
For Texas DACA recipients, court ruling is a small win — but a bigger fight remains
Texas immigrants and their advocates said they’re pleased that a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in place. But they said they remain focused on the push in Congress to make the program permanent.
Posted in
Economy
Trump administration policy shift could force tens of thousands of Salvadorans to leave Texas
The federal government announced Monday that the Temporary Protected Status for Salvadoran immigrants will not be renewed after being in place since 2001. There are more than 260,000 Salvadoran immigrants with the status in the United States, including more than 36,000 in Texas.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
Texas poised to end dry spell of electing new women to Congress in 2018
Dozens of women from Texas are running for Congress this year, and several are drawing attention as serious contenders, prompting predictions that the state will elect the first freshman female to a full term in Congress in 22 years.
Posted in
Guides
Hey, Texplainer: U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold got his name off the 2018 Republican primary ballot. How did that happen?
U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold announced he wasn’t running for re-election last month, days after the deadline to withdraw his name from the March 6 primary ballot. Yet his name was still omitted. How did that happen?
Posted inCongress, Demographics
Puzzling shapes: Travel across one gerrymandered Texas congressional district
Revisit our animated tour of Texas Congressional District 35, which wiggles its way from Austin to San Antonio, swallowing specific neighborhoods while avoiding — or splitting — others, all in the name of partisan political advantage.
