The 2023 Texas Tribune Festival in photos
Here’s a look back at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival through the eyes of Tribune photographers. Full Story
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![Evan Smith meets backstage with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, before the start of the closing keynote at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, TX on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Delayed passage of farm bill stirs uncertainty for Texas agriculture
The must-pass package of legislation known as the farm bill, which is renewed every five years, funds critical crop insurance and loans to farmers and food to low-income families. Full Story
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![Farmworkers work fields of dead vegetables at Johnson’s Backyard Garden, east of Austin, on Feb. 22, 2021. The organic farm experienced a near-total loss of their crops after a winter storm ravaged Texas.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Latino Democrats call on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign after bribery indictment
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar pushed back on the New Jersey Democrat’s defense that he was being targeted for his ethnicity. Full Story
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![Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chair U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14, 2023.]()
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Texas’ ban on certain drag shows is unconstitutional, federal judge says
Senate Bill 12 would have prohibited performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics in front of children. Critics sued the state, saying it violated the First Amendment. Full Story
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![Drag queen Scarlett Kiss performs at Long Play Lounge in East Austin on June 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton’s deputy demands back pay for months the attorney general was suspended
Comptroller Glenn Hegar said he disagreed with Paxton’s interpretation of the law and suggested he seek a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton sits between his attorneys Tony Buzbee, left, and Mitch Little, right, during final prosecutor arguments as both sides have rested in the suspended Attorney General's impeachment trial September 15, 2023 in Austin.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
“We are not going away”: Paxton whistleblowers vow to continue legal fight in court
On Monday, the former state employees argued that Paxton has failed to uphold key parts of the settlement agreement, including a $3.3 million payment and a promise to apologize. Full Story
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![From left: Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and Blake Brickman, whistleblowers in the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, speak at a press conference in the state Capitol on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. A fourth whistleblower, David Maxwell, was not present but in agreement with remarks.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
A unique Texas legal rule lets the attorney general’s office supersede some judges’ orders
Lawyers criticize a provision they say erodes the separation of powers between Texas’ executive branch and its courts. It’s been used repeatedly this year as Texans try to block new state laws from going into effect. Full Story
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![Amanda Zurawski, middle, addresses the press following the first day of testimony for Zurawski v. State of Texas outside the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in Austin on July 19, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats hint at disunity ahead of possible October special session
State Rep. John Bryant said Democrats will need to work together to block the “school choice” bill in October. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune managing editor Matthew Watkins moderates a panel with Texas House Democrats Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, and John Bryant, D-Dallas, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Two Texas Democrats detail how they hope to topple U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who will meet in the 2024 Democratic primary, talked about gun laws, abortion and bipartisanship in separate Texas Tribune Festival panels. Full Story
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![From left: State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, and U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas. The two are running to be the Democratic nominee to face Ted Cruz in the 2024 senatorial race.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune | Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones urges Texans to get organized, learn from history
In an interview for The Texas Tribune Festival, the journalist urged Texans to organize in response to the state’s book bans and restrictions on public school lessons. Full Story
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![UT journalism professor Kathleen McElroy speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones about confronting racial injustice, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texans in U.S. House describe GOP in chaos ahead of likely government shutdown
Texas Democrats decry Republican infighting that has halted attempts to approve annual spending bills and avoid a federal government shutdown. Full Story
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![Sewell Chan (not shown), editor-in-chief for The Texas Tribune, speaks with U.S.representatives Tony Gonzales (left), R-San Antonio, and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Sarah Stogner announces second campaign for the Texas Railroad Commission
After losing in a Republican runoff last year, Stogner said she plans to challenge incumbent Chair Christi Craddick as a member of the Forward Party. Full Story
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![Sarah Stogner of the newly-formed Texas Forward Party speaks during Open Congress at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Paxton prosecutors blame politics for trumping evidence in attorney general’s impeachment trial
Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin said his team was naive in its belief that “principle would win out over politics.” Full Story
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![Texas Tribune politics reporter Patrick Svitek moderates a panel with Harriet O’Neill, Erin Epley, Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin about Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Sen. Joe Manchin leaves the door open to potential third-party presidential run in 2024
The West Virginia Democrat said running as an independent would help bring a divided nation together, not hand the election to former President Donald Trump. Full Story
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![Tribune co-founder Evan Smith speaks with U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, about his political plans at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
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Watch Colin Allred speak at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival
The Democratic congressman from Dallas talked about the race he hopes to run against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024. Full Story
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![Watch Colin Allred speak at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival]()
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Watch Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly speak at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival
Giffords, a former U.S. representative, and Kelly, a U.S. senator, spoke to Katie Couric about combating the epidemic of gun violence. Full Story
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![Watch Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly speak at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival]()
Credit: Reagan Mcgregor Hicks/Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz urges passage of a school choice measure in Texas
The junior U.S. senator from Texas talked with the Tribune’s Patrick Svitek on why he should be reelected to a third term. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune political reporter Patrick Svitek asks U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz why he should be reelected to a third term at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
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Watch former U.S. Justice Department officials speak at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival
Mary McCord and Andrew Weissmann sat down with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes in a recording of Hayes’ “Why is this Happening?” podcast. Full Story
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![Watch former U.S. Justice Department officials speak at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival]()
Credit: Reagan Mcgregor Hicks/Texas Tribune -
Federal judge sides with West Texas A&M University president who canceled campus drag show
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that the student fundraiser featuring drag performers was not protected, raising the stakes for a battle over First Amendment rights and drag shows. Full Story
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![Students rallied against the university president’s decision to cancel a drag performance at West Texas A&M University on March 23, 2023.]()
Credit: David Bowser for The Texas Tribune -
Paxton critics pile on, calling impeachment trial rigged
House Speaker Dade Phelan wrote an op-ed for his hometown newspaper, saying the “fix was in from the start,” while other Republican officials are calling for Phelan’s resignation. Full Story
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![The state Capitol early in the morning of Sept. 6, 2023, the third day of the impeachment trial in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune