Gov. Greg Abbott endorses Donald Trump during border trip
Abbott made the presidential endorsement after he and Trump served meals to service members deployed for Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s sprawling border security mission. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump greets and shakes hands with Gov. Greg Abbott at the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg, on Nov. 19, 2023, after the governor announced his endorsement of President Trump. “We need Donald J. Trump back as our president of the United States of America,” the governor said.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas school board launches investigation into how a trans student was stripped of his role in musical
The Sherman school board also temporarily ended the superintendent oversight of its fine arts programs pending the results of the investigation. Full Story
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![Amy and Phillip Hightower sit with their son Max Hightower in a hotel in Denton on Nov. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House cuts school vouchers out of the education bill. See how lawmakers voted on the measure.
Here’s how each representative voted on an amendment that removed school vouchers from the education bill on Friday. Full Story
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![A state Representative prepares to vote on a bill during session on the House floor at the state Capitol in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
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Prominent anti-LGBTQ+ activist Jared Woodfill running for Texas House
If elected next year, Woodfill also plans to run for House speaker. His campaign accuses his 2024 opponent, conservative state Rep. Lacey Hull, of conspiring with incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan to work against conservatives. Full Story
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![Attorney and former Harris County Republican Party Chair Jared Woodfill listens to Dr. Steven Hotze as they held a press conference to discuss his election fraud claims and answer questions about the arrest of an ex-cop who he hired to investigate the claims Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, in Houston.]()
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“Our public school system is our town”: Why this rural Republican is voting against school vouchers
Despite intense political pressure, Republican Rep. Gary VanDeaver said he won’t support a bill that includes school vouchers. Rural Republicans like VanDeaver have long opposed school vouchers because of the unique role public schools they play in their communities. Full Story
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![State Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, on the House floor on May 7, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House votes to remove school vouchers from massive education bill
The outcome was an embarrassment to Gov. Greg Abbott, who spent seven months lobbying two dozen Republicans who signaled opposition to vouchers in April. Full Story
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![Bonham Middle School students enter the school’s cafeteria for lunch Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. The school is part of the Ector County Independent School District.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Harris County election shows progress. But challenges remain ahead of 2024.
Officials in the nation’s third-largest county had little time to celebrate their successful election before a judge issued a ruling drudged up many of their past mistakes. The county clerk says her team will ensure a successful 2024 election. Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at the West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Pat Fallon says he changed his mind about running for Texas Senate after pleas from his son and Mike Johnson
The second-term congressman pulled out of a run for Senate after both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson courted him into their ranks. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Sherman, during a U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability meeting in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2023.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson/CNP/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas appeals court weighing whether state bar can discipline Ken Paxton for challenging 2020 presidential election
The legal battle stems from the attorney general’s unsuccessful 2020 lawsuit that leaned heavily on discredited claims of election fraud in other states. Paxton’s lawyers argue that the bar’s lawsuit is an attempt to control how he runs his office. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton steps to the podium to make a statement to the press on May 26, 2023, a day before a scheduled impeachment vote. Behind him, from left: Tommy Tran, executive assistant; James R. Lloyd, associate deputy attorney general for civil litigation; Austin A. Kinghorn, associate deputy attorney general for legal counsel; Ryan Fisher, director of government relations; Joshua Reno, deputy attorney general for criminal justice; and Suzanna Hupp, special adviser.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas secessionists feel more emboldened than ever
At a recent conference that featured a sitting state senator, so-called “TEXIT” supporters celebrated their movement’s incremental gains. Full Story
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Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Seeking lower electricity rates, residents in two East Texas towns hope the state will intervene
Livingston and Jasper residents hope a lawsuit will force their municipality-operated utility company to offer lower rates and create more transparency in setting rates. They’re among the 5 million Texans living outside the state’s deregulated market and cannot choose their energy provider. Full Story
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![Power lines outside of Whinstone's Rockdale facility on Oct. 22, 2021.]()
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Texas legislators approve bill allowing police to arrest people who cross the border illegally
The Texas House also voted to spend $1.5 billion on new state border walls, though that measure must be reconciled with the Senate version before it’s sent to Gov. Greg Abbott for consideration. Full Story
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![Migrants standing on the other side of barbwire speak to the Texas National Guard and Texas DPS officers along the banks of the Rio Grande, Tuesday, December 20, 2022, in El Paso, Texas. Over 400 personnel have been sent to this border sector by Governor Abbott after El Paso city officials declared a state of emergency. Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans divided on funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown
Thirteen Texas Republicans opposed the GOP-led legislation, which would keep the government funded as Congress negotiates federal appropriations. The bill passed after nearly all Democrats came to back it. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks to reporters as he arrives for a House Republican caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon drops Texas Senate bid, will run again for Congress
Fallon, who made the decision 24 hours after filing to run for his old Texas Senate seat, did not say why he changed his mind. His staff said the congressperson would provide more information later. Full Story
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![Senator Pat Fallon on the senate floor. Jan. 9, 2019.]()
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Burnet County judge allows Ken Paxton whistleblower lawsuit to proceed
Lawyers for employees fired by Paxton’s office after they reported him to the FBI say they plan to begin issuing subpoenas in the case. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton holds a press conference at the Houston Recovery Center on October 26, 2021.]()
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Republican Pat Fallon to give up Congress seat and run for his old Texas Senate post
Fallon served in the Texas Senate for two years before running for Congress. He won’t see reelection in the U.S. House. Full Story
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![State Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, at his desk on the Senate floor in 2019.]()
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Longtime U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess will not seek reelection
Burgess, a Dallas-area Republican who comes from a family of doctors, was a key critic of Democratic efforts to overhaul the country’s health care system. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, questions witnesses during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on June 23, 2020. Trump administration health officials will tell lawmakers that their agencies are preparing for a flu season that will be complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.]()
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Ken Paxton names administrative law expert with conservative bona fides Texas’ solicitor general
Aaron Nielson will take a one-year leave of absence from BYU’s law school to lead the influential unit within the attorney general’s office. Full Story
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![Aaron Nielson has been appointed Solicitor General by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
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Pope removes Tyler’s Bishop Joseph Strickland after opposition to church reforms
Bishop Strickland, a Pope Benedict XVI appointee, has been a fiercely vocal critic of Pope Francis’ efforts to reform the Catholic Church. Full Story
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![Catholic bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas walks during a procession to protest the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the pro-LGBTQ+ group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on June 16, 2023.]()
Credit: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports via REUTERS -
After controversy, Texas school board says transgender student can sing in school musical
After Max Hightower scored a role in the seminal American musical, administrators changed their policy on performers’ gender. After backlash, the school board directed the school to produce the original version “Oklahoma!” — not a youth version that cut Hightower’s solo. Full Story
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![Max Hightower, 17, poses for a portrait in a hotel in Denton on Nov. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune