Conservatives clinch longtime goal of booting Democrats from leadership ranks in Texas House
Conservative activists in the GOP caucus called any power sharing with the minority party a betrayal of Republican voters. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, addresses the House after being sworn in as House Speaker, on the first day of the 89th Texas Legislative Session at the capitol in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Former Texas congressman John Ratcliffe confirmed as CIA director
Ratcliffe is a native of Heath, Texas, where he served as mayor from 2004 to 2012. Full Story
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![John Ratcliffe, Pres. Donald Trump's selection for director of the Central Intelligence Agency, testifies before a Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025.]()
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Texas Supreme Court tosses state bar case against Ken Paxton
The state bar had sought to sanction Paxton, which could have carried a punishment ranging from a private reprimand to disbarment. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, speaks to the media Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, during a press conference following arguments in the case “Free Speech Coalition, Inc., et al. v. Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas,” at the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to detain undocumented immigrants accused of even minor crimes passes with some Texas Democratic help
The bill, named for Laken Riley, a Georgia student killed by an immigrant, adds legislative muscle to President Trump’s immigration enforcement push. Full Story
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![U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers stand near an aircraft on which Venezuelan migrants will be repatriated as part of an immigration enforcement process, at the Valley International Airport, in Harlingen, on Oct. 18, 2023.]()
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Texas budgets pitch vouchers, teacher raises, border security
Both chambers set aside $1 billion for a voucher-like education savings account program — double what was on the table two years ago — in a sign that supporters are emboldened after recent electoral gains. Full Story
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![The Texas State Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Migrants at Texas border in shock after Trump canceled their asylum appointments
Hours after Trump’s inauguration, his administration canceled appointments allowing migrants to enter the U.S. to request asylum, leaving many of them stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border. Full Story
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![Margelis Tinoco Lopez was in line for her 1pm CBP One appointment when President Trump was sworn into office and issued an executive order that immediately canceled all CBP One appointments, including her own. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 21, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Ethics Commission dismisses complaint against state GOP chair, lawmaker says
Rep. Cody Harris had accused Abraham George of improperly threatening to send mailers and censure lawmakers who backed Rep. Dustin Burrows as House speaker. Full Story
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![Texas GOP Chair Abraham George holds a press conference on the states of the state capitolfollowing the vote for the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives on the first day of the 2025 Texas Legislative Session in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Texas and the second Trump administration
Matthew Choi, our Washington correspondent, joins the gang to discuss what lies ahead with Trump back in the White House. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of his second presidential term, in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2025.]()
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More than 100 Texans active in the Jan. 6 insurrection among those pardoned
A Texan was the first to breach the Capitol and many others joined the assault. The presidential pardon helps cast all of them as folk heroes. Full Story
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Oil companies leaked less methane in West Texas, a new report says. Environmentalists are skeptical.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and is 80 times the potency of carbon dioxide. Full Story
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![An array of pumpjacks operate outside of Tarzan on Sept. 15, 2023. Tarzan is an unincorporated town north of Midland, about halfway between Andrews and Big Spring. in Martin County.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Border security, birthright citizenship, asylum: How Trump’s moves could overhaul immigration
The president is making good on his campaign promise with attempts to beef up security at the border and limit immigration. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders and pardons for January 6 defendants in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025.]()
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Legislature should clarify Texas abortion law to protect mothers at risk
Patrick on Sunday said the Legislature should amend the language of the state’s near-total abortion ban to address confusion over when doctors may terminate pregnancies. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at the Texas GOP Convention on Thursday, May 23, 2024, in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Cecile Richards, longtime Planned Parenthood president, dies
Richards, the eldest daughter of Gov. Ann Richards, forged her own path as a tireless advocate for women across Texas and the United States. Full Story
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![Former president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards speaks at a rally in Austin on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
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Trump praises Abbott at inauguration, promises to militarize border and build wall
Texas has already militarized the border under Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump gives his inaugural address during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS -
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to extend Texas’ DEI ban to K-12 schools
In 2023, Texas passed a DEI ban at the state’s public universities. Now Abbott wants the state to stop funding diversity programs in K-12 schools. Full Story
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![High school students between classes in the hallway at the high school in Buffalo on March 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats hope to benefit after boosting Dustin Burrows to House speaker
The Democrats’ short list of possible benefits: A leader who learned to keep promises, a chance at chairing committees, and what they see as more chances for a fairer playing field. Full Story
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![State Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, hugs fellow Reps. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and David Cook, R-Mansfield, after Burrows won the vote for the next Speaker of the Texas House Of Representatives on the first day of the 2025 Texas Legislative Session in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton investigation could come to an end under Trump
Donald Trump and the Texas attorney general have forged a friendship over the years, one that has been cemented in their shared political and legal struggles and their willingness to come to each other’s aid at times of upheaval. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump, center, greets Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, right, at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Nov. 20, 2019.]()
Credit: Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
State employees suspected of stealing from low-income Texans' public assistance accounts
Seven human services employees were fired after a string of fraud and theft — and the largest data breach in agency history. Full Story
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![The fresh produce section of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo, Texas, on June 29, 2023.]()
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Feds refer Texas’ Harvey funding discrimination case to Justice Department
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed its finding that Texas unfairly favored white residents in rural areas when it distributed $1 billion in Harvey aid in 2021. Full Story
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![Texas Land commissioner George P. Bush speaks to Texas House of Representatives Committee on Urban Affairs hearing on Harvey in Houston Monday, October 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Split senate panel approves Scott Turner to lead HUD
Picked to lead the housing agency under Trump, the former Texas House member tells senators there is a housing crisis. Democrats say they want to act only after a background check. Full Story
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![Former Texas state Rep. Scott Turner, nominated to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the second Trump Administration, speaks during a discussion regarding school choice at the America First Policy Institute in Washington on January 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Oliver Contreras/Sipa USA via REUTERS
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