The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
Two Texans — a Jewish man, a Muslim woman — want more support from the federal government to bring their loved ones home. Their families are stuck in a war zone, along with hundreds of other Americans. Full Story
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This isn’t the first time a state audit flagged such discrepancies. Last year, the state found similar inconsistencies when reviewing Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, and Collin counties’ 2020 elections. Full Story
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Jackson Lee has sought to rally her party’s base, vowing to stand up to “MAGA Republicans.” Whitmire has relied on a more bipartisan coalition while also defending his Democratic credentials. Full Story
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The few private schools that offer special education for disabled students have strict conditions and are clustered in metropolitan areas. Full Story
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If approved, the new fund would provide tens of millions of dollars to the University of Houston, Texas Tech, Texas State University and University of North Texas. Full Story
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Democrats fumed when Republicans tried to block more amendments on a bill that would create a new state crime for illegally crossing the border into Texas. Full Story
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Amarillo's city council said it will continue to study the issue. The city is one of just a few in Texas to reject the policy pushed by anti-abortion activists. Full Story
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Violations could bring a $50,000 fine under an amendment adopted Wednesday. The bill’s sponsor said the ban would be the strongest in the nation. Full Story
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Chris Russo has anonymously aligned himself with Nick Fuentes’ white supremacist movement on various social media platforms under the username “Optics Respecter.” Full Story
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All Texas Republicans in the U.S. House voted for Louisiana’s Mike Johnson to be speaker, ending a stalemate that has left the chamber leaderless for three weeks. Johnson is a deeply religious conservative who won the support of the party’s disparate factions. Full Story
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Vouchers are the governor’s top legislative priority. But he has signaled opposition to a proposed House compromise that would tie them to increased funding for public schools. Full Story
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Republicans showed a more clear divide, giving the Senate higher marks than the House for how the attorney general’s impeachment was handled. Full Story
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DEI efforts have become a lightning rod for debate in American higher education. At the private Houston university, officials admit impact is hard to measure — but they also see progress from their work. Full Story
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Sessions dropped out of the race after a first round of voting within the Republican conference. Williams entered the race after the apparent front-runner, Tom Emmer of Minnesota, failed to reach the 217-vote threshold, but later on Tuesday evening and the Texas lawmaker was also out. Full Story
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Jackson Lee is running for Houston mayor, and the recording of her expletive-laden rant toward an employee was sent from an anonymous email account to multiple news organizations, three days before the start of early voting. Full Story
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While Fuentes’ unapologetic hate mongering has made him one of the nation’s best-known white supremacists, he was merely the latest in a long line of people who have been embraced by Defend Texas Liberty and its close allies. Full Story
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As Gov. Greg Abbott expands his special session agenda to include public education funding, some still take issue with the governor tying new money for teacher raises and school safety to a voucher program. Full Story
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More than two weeks after the influential PAC’s leader met with a Hitler admirer, Lt. Gov. Patrick said the GOP must ”root out” antisemitism. Patrick had initially said he’d keep the PAC’s money. Full Story
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Sessions is the longest-serving representative running to become U.S. House Speaker. He previously led the House Republican campaign arm through a record-breaking victory, but he still faces a steep battle to secure the gavel. Full Story
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Conroe is one of the fastest growing school districts in the state. It and other districts say they need voters to OK bonds to keep up with the influx of students. Full Story
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