The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
The extra $300 federal benefit will end June 26 for jobless Texans. Abbott also cut off another federal benefit that extended aid to gig workers, self-employed people and others who aren’t traditionally covered by unemployment insurance. Full Story
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Heider Garcia, the Tarrant County elections administrator, and Isabel Longoria, the Harris County elections administrator, discussed the future of voting in Texas, a state with some of the nation’s most restrictive voting rules. Full Story
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Bush has a unique history with Trump as the only prominent member of his famous political family to back the former president. Meanwhile, Paxton has tightly aligned himself with Trump in recent months. Full Story
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In a period of sagging vaccination rates — particularly among staunch conservatives — state Sen. Bob Hall used his platform to promulgate debunked anti-vaccine conspiracies and push claims that have largely been eschewed by the medical community. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers are entering the last two weeks of this legislative session, with some of their biggest promises unfilled. Don’t fret: They do a lot of their work only when deadlines loom. Full Story
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Roy announced Thursday that he was seeking the post but was quickly denounced by former President Donald Trump. Full Story
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Polling suggests that along with an increasing number of vaccinated people without masks, there will be many others who are unmasked but unvaccinated — posing a public health hazard to themselves and to other unvaccinated people with whom they come into contact. Full Story
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House Bill 1399 would have banned gender-confirmation surgery, hormone therapy and puberty suppression treatments for Texas' transgender children. Full Story
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Roy was among a small handful of Texas Republicans who voted against overturning the election in January. Full Story
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House Bill 4509 would mandate that students study documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. The bill’s author added speeches from Black historical figures after criticism at a hearing last month. Full Story
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By midnight Friday, House members have to grant preliminary approval to many bills originated in the lower chamber. There's likely not enough time to get to them all. But there are ways to revive measures so they still become law. Full Story
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House Bill 1927 would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun. Full Story
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The runoff pits Wright's widow, Susan Wright, against state Rep. Jake Ellzey of Waxahachie. Both are Republicans. Full Story
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On this week’s TribCast, Matthew talks to Alexa, Cassi and Patrick about proposals in the Legislature to add new restrictions on voting and to allow the permitless carry of handguns. Full Story
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The Austin Republican has expressed skepticism about installing Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as the new GOP conference chair, suggesting she's not conservative enough. Full Story
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House Bill 1024 allows beer, wine and mixed drinks to be included in pickup and delivery food orders, securing a revenue stream made available to restaurants during the pandemic when their dining areas were forced to close. Full Story
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Two Texas Republicans — U.S. Reps. Lance Gooden and Chip Roy — were vocal about their desire to remove Cheney before Wednesday's closed-door vote. But most members of the delegation kept their cards close to their chests. Full Story
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Twitter sued the attorney general Ken Paxton following his launch of an investigation into the social media platform after it suspended President Donald Trump’s account. Full Story
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The judge found the National Rifle Association was trying to use its move to Texas to avoid a lawsuit by the New York attorney general that accused the gun rights group of financial abuses. Full Story
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A key deadline passed Monday without action in the Texas House on casino legislation backed by the gaming empire Las Vegas Sands. A measure to allow sports gambling looks similarly doomed. Full Story
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