Ken Paxton could face public trial in whistleblower lawsuit after judge’s ruling
A Travis County judge denied the attorney general’s attempt to decide the case without a jury. 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 -
House panel advances impeachment charges against Mayorkas with Texas Republicans backing
A member of the president’s cabinet has not been impeached in nearly 150 years. The full House is expected to vote next week. Full Story
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![U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas listens to U.S. Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz near the border with Mexico in La Joya on May 17, 2022.]()
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Under Ken Paxton, Texas’ civil Medicaid fraud unit is falling apart
After the chief of the attorney general’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division was forced out last year, two-thirds of attorneys have quit the unit, leaving it at its smallest size since Paxton took office. Full Story
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![Nearly two-thirds of the lawyers for Texas’ Civil Medicaid Fraud Division have quit under Attorney General Ken Paxton, which former staffers say will leave the elite unit less equipped to weed out fraud and abuse in the Medicaid system.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans who defied Gov. Greg Abbott on school vouchers face mounting primary attacks
As promised, the governor is going after members of his own party after some of them tanked his top legislative priority. Full Story
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![A protester, left, pauses to leave a boot at the steps of the Governor's Mansion during a rally to "boot vouchers" on Oct. 7, 2023. Hundreds gathered to protest two days before a special session was slated to begin on Oct. 9, 2023.]()
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Texas Supreme Court pauses depositions in Paxton whistleblower case
The ruling by the all-Republican court came after former President Donald Trump told justices to leave Paxton alone. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, speaks with defense attorney Dan Cogdell before starting the ninth day of his impeachment trial in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Austin.]()
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Texas' standoff with the feds in Eagle Pass is igniting calls for secession and fears of violence
The calls for Texas to defend itself and defy the federal government have set fire to a long-simmering fight over states’ rights, emboldening right-wing figures. Full Story
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![A Texas National Guard humvee parked at the gates of Shelby Park, in Eagle Pass, on Jan. 16, 2024. Texas has closed off Shelby Park, cutting access to federal agents to part of the Texas-Mexico border and escalating tensions between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Donald Trump endorses challenger to Republican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan
Phelan’s reelection campaign has become a referendum on the power of the far-right faction of the state Republican Party. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump speaks at an event at the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg, on Nov. 19, 2023, after Gov. Greg Abbott announced his endorsement of President Trump. “We need Donald J. Trump back as our president of the United States of America,” the governor proclaimed.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Voters in northeast Texas choose Jill Dutton over Brent Money for special election runoff
The contest has served as a bellwether in the Texas GOP’s warring factions. Full Story
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![Jill Dutton, Republican candidate for House District 2, the seat formerly held by Brian Slaton, who was expelled from the Texas House.]()
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Texas Supreme Court hears legal challenge to ban on gender-transition care for kids
A fight over allowing transgender children to access puberty blockers and hormone therapies could hinge on justices’ interpretation of parental rights. Full Story
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![People line the railing on all three levels of the outdoor rotunda of the state Capitol in Austin, and wave signs during the "Fight for our Lives" rally in opposition of anti-LGBTQ+ bills on March 27, 2023.]()
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Texas man arrested after threatening House Speaker Dade Phelan
Texas Department of Public Safety arrested Daniel Troy Leblanc earlier this month after the Orange County resident made “terroristic threats” on social media. Full Story
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![A news headline on the side of The Examiner building in downtown Beaumont on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024.]()
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Texas GOP increasingly considers push to close its primaries
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has talked openly about targeting states like Texas that have open primaries to get a boost over Trump. Full Story
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![Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event ahead of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary election, in Conway, South Carolina on Jan. 28, 2024.]()
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National Democrats back Michelle Vallejo for 15th congressional district
The U.S. House Democratic campaign arm added Vallejo to its “Red to Blue” program, which supports promising candidates challenging Republican incumbents. Full Story
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![Democratic congressional candidate Michelle Vallejo for TX-15 speaks at a rally with former President Bill Clinton in Edinburg on Nov. 7, 2022.]()
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T-Squared: Sign up for The Texas Tribune’s Voting Help Desk
Try our new text messaging line that guides you through the voting process. Full Story
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Democrats Colin Allred, Roland Gutierrez show contrasts during U.S. Senate primary debate
During potentially their only primary debate, Gutierrez suggested Allred was pandering to Republicans, while Allred defended his bipartisanship as necessary to winning in GOP-dominated Texas. Full Story
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![Candidates running for the U.S. Senate in the Texas Democratic primary participate in a debate in Austin on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. From left: state Rep. Carl Sherman, D-DeSoto; U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas; and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP vice chair challenges Matt Rinaldi for party leadership
Dana Myers has been critical of the party’s ties to Defend Texas Liberty PAC, a hard-right group that’s been tied to white supremacists. Full Story
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![Former State Rep. Matt Rinaldi spoke to Tarrant county Tea Party supporters in Grapevine for an event called Spread the Red on Oct. 17, 2018.]()
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Colin Allred looks to protect advantages in crowded race to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who is trailing Allred in money and polls, is positioning himself as the chief progressive in the race. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is one of the Democratic candidates for theU.S. Senate.]()
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Texas attorney general requests transgender youths’ patient records from Georgia clinic
This is at least the second time Ken Paxton’s office has sought such records from an out-of-state provider since Texas banned transition-related care for kids. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Collin County Labor day picnic in Plano, Texas on Sept. 2, 2023, just days before his impeachment trial.]()
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Hispanic and teen fertility rates increase after abortion restrictions
More than 16,000 babies were born in Texas in 2022 than in 2021, a new study from the University of Houston shows. Full Story
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![Over 100 people gather for an abortion rights rally at the federal courthouse in San Antonio on May 3, 2022, after a Supreme Court opinion draft that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked the night before.]()
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“Hold the line”: Republicans rally to Abbott’s defense in border standoff with Biden
From the Texas House to former President Donald Trump, Republicans around the country defended Gov. Greg Abbott’s challenges to the Biden administration's border policies. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott, displays SB 1900, one of six bills he signed during a border security bill signing session at the state capitol in Austin on June 8, 2023. The bills signed include SB 423, SB 602, SB 1133, SB 1403, SB 1484, and SB 1900. “Washington D.C. has failed to do its job to secure the border,” Abbott said. “As a result, Texas has had to take unprecedented steps in responding to the crisis caused by the Biden administration on the border, and in response the Texas legislature has stepped up to make sure that we will be able to more robustly respond.”]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Republican senator who voted to acquit Paxton wants Senate to consider reopening impeachment proceedings
The bombshell request by retiring state Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, comes after Paxton decided to stop fighting a whistleblower lawsuit whose claims factored into his impeachment trial. Full Story
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![State Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, sits on the floor during the afternoon session of Day 1 of the Ken Paxton impeachment trial in the Texas Senate.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune