Analysis: The 2025 Texas House, from right to left
Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on votes cast during the 2025 regular session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1357a5b42276b2b722b878cabb9bb560/0523%20House%20Gallery%20File%20BD%20TT%2006.jpg)
-
![The Texas House on May 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
With only 8% built, Texas quietly defunds state border wall program
Texas officials suggested the federal government could pick up construction. However, during President Trump’s first term, his administration built about one-third of what the state was able to put up in the same amount of time. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9fab72db1b4770f2d1b99a0879f4dec5/0923%20Texas%20Border%20Wall%20BL%20TT%20207.jpg)
![A section of state-built border wall under construction near the banks of the Rio Grande south of Laredo in Zapata Co. on Sept. 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Some Texans fear a looming THC ban could return them to opioids, illegal options
Texas hemp users stockpile products and consider moving out of state as ban looms, saying the medical marijuana program is currently an untenable alternative. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ae3d51b8621c9c6f1e8d9811830ebee5/0615%20THC%20BAN%20IMPACT%20IS%20TT%2006.jpg)
![Wesley Barnes, 55, stands for a portrait at his home in Onalaska, Texas on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Barnes, a Gulf War veteran who has long struggled with pain, tried legal opiates and illegal THC over the years before finding affordable and effective relief in legal hemp flower beginning in 2018.]()
Credit: Ishika Samant for the Texas Tribune -
South Padre Island officials worried about FEMA’s potential disaster spending cuts
The Trump administration is proposing limits to the recreational facilities — including beaches — that are eligible for federal assistance. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Seal_SouthPadre_05.JPG)
![The beach in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge on South Padre Island.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers laid the foundation for a housing boom. Here’s how.
The Legislature passed laws allowing smaller homes on smaller lots and making it harder for neighbors to block new housing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1b586d184a6284f35f080c3d4bcb5dcd/Housing%20North%20Austin%20AI%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Houses in a North Austin neighborhood on Oct. 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
After El Paso joined Abbott’s border crackdown, the number of dead migrants in the New Mexico desert surged
Since El Paso joined Operation Lone Star in 2022, migrant remains discovered in the desert west of the city have increased every year, even as they have declined in every other border sector. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4a73d0518563f2e20fab7b6d9ec2725c/redo_desktop_01%2020250503%20Migrant%20Remains%20JH%2043.jpg)
![Doña Ana County Sheriff Deputy N. Al-Abayad, left, and Detective Alan Barbosa transport a body bag containing the bones of a migrant, first found by volunteers with Battalion Search and Rescue, on May 3, 2025. The discovery of migrant bodies in the desert has spiked since El Paso joined Texas’ Operation Lone Star.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
As Trump celebrates military, Texans protest president’s aggressive immigration enforcement
Demonstrations in McAllen, Midland, Odessa, Austin and elsewhere in Texas were largely peaceful, as some protests went well into the night. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/32475e9b31927057b363863d8a13df59/0614%20Houston%20No%20Kings%20Protest%20AT%20TT%2010.jpg)
![Beth Vaughan, at center, chants as protestors march up Walker Street during a No Kings protest at City Hall, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Houston.]()
Credit: Antranik Tavitian for The Texas Tribune -
Texas DPS makes arrest after warning state lawmakers of “credible threats” tied to Capitol protest
The agency said there was no additional active threat, as Austin demonstrators took aim at the Trump administration. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e2b6d2fb358d2c3852b200f22a8a0c0a/DPS%20Texas%20Capitol%20MG%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Texas Department of Public Safety vehicles outside of the state Capitol on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Top Texas donor slams Speaker Burrows, House members after legislative setbacks
Texans for Lawsuit Reform is threatening to primary House members who helped kill their major legislative priorities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/81c4ecab4075ed88a7c399d400752806/Texans%20for%20Lawsuit%20Reform%20PPTT%20HChron.jpg)
![After coming up empty in the Texas Legislature this year, the state's biggest political donor, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, put out a blistering statement blaming House members for stifling its agenda. The letter blamed a slew of House members, including Houston Speaker Dustin Burrows, top, and freshman Rep. Mitch Little.]()
Credit: Susan Barber, Houston Chronicle -
Texas clarified when abortions are OK and aligned with RFK Jr. on health this legislative session
Amid a quiet legislative session for health, lawmakers’ priority legislation reinforced the U.S. health secretary’s agenda. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3ff5057d8c8ecf14a04e6903e75528b0/0501%20Measles%20HHS%20Lab%20IPL%20TT%2016.jpg)
![An entire floor of the Texas Department of State Health Services Labortory building in Austin, Texas is dedicated to newborn screening. May 1, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas public health departments brace for another $119 million in federal cuts
Three months ago, Texas lost $700 million in unspent federal pandemic-era funding. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f3fa10472cb075a4026d432b6d7537b7/0501%20Measles%20HHS%20Lab%20IPL%20TT%2035.jpg)
![Mosquitoes are studied and tested for West Nile Virus, among other diseases, at the Texas Department of State Health Services Labortory, on May 1, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
A $20 billion effort to avoid calamity: Here’s what Texas lawmakers did to save the state’s water supply
Among other changes is a new law that says homeowner associations can no longer fine Texans for not watering their grass during a drought. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/41a8ba548a40e37c08740268fe52d574/0305%20El%20Paso%20Water%20JH%20TT%2019.jpg)
![The secondary clarifier at the Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant expansion in El Paso, Texas on March 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Trans Texans brace for life under strict sex definition law
Texas has strictly defined man and woman, leaving trans Texans in legal limbo. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/029c4c44e7d98cb2314259d7852c9fe5/0526%20Trans%20Bills%20LW%2003.JPG)
![Leo Tyler Castillo-Anguiano poses for a portrait underneath an overpass in downtown San Antonio on May 26, 2025. Behind him is artwork of a woman holding a transgender symbol like a rosary, connecting the city’s predominant Catholic faith with a message of alliance with the transgender community.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Undocumented students ask judge to let them challenge sudden loss of in-state tuition
Their filing says the lawsuit that struck down in-state tuition for undocumented students was “contrived” to keep their voices out. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dcc9547b3bf9f1d2c718343c4507b641/Campus%20Voting%20DR%20TT%2055.JPG)
![Students on the University of Texas at Arlington campus in Arlington on Sept. 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
With Rick Perry’s backing and $50 million from the state, Texas set to become a leader in psychedelics research
Lawmakers have approved funding clinical trials for ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and brain trauma. It comes as Texas contemplates banning THC. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bbdf070267ebfcd576811c92bdb7164c/Capitol%20Action%20SP%20TT%2037.jpg)
![The Rotunda seen from the Capitol Extension in Austin on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Here are the new Texas laws that will affect trans and LGBTQ+ people
Of the more than 100 bills aimed at LGBTQ+ people in the state, less than 10 were approved by lawmakers this session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d3d5d0ecefc98f16c347cd78e11c5974/0820%20ATX%20Pride%20Parade%20AS%20TT%2005.jpg)
![Austin Pride Parade attendees wave rainbow flags as they pass the Capitol building, on Aug. 20, 2022.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune -
Amarillo breaks ground on psychiatric hospital, part of the state’s $1.5B investment in mental health
The facility will bring mental health resources closer to the largely rural region that’s home to nearly 436,000 people. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/db370759315f3c3a75cbcb79ab41cc75/Panhandle%20Hospital%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Artist rendering of the new Panhandle State Hospital in Amarillo, expected to be completed in 2027.]()
Credit: West Texas A&M University website -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s push to ban THC in Texas draws rare backlash from the right
It’s an unusual situation for the lieutenant governor, long viewed by GOP activists as a stalwart conservative responsible for driving the Legislature rightward. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c554fe1a4869b0bf62b31be99514c396/0528%20Patrick%20Snacks%20LW%20TT%2001.JPG)
![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks about Senate Bill 3 during a press conference in the Texas Capitol on May 28, 2025. Patrick, joined by representatives from the House and Senate, spoke about the bill and how its passage would be a service to Texans, saving their lives. The bill is set to head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, which Patrick said he wasn’t worried about.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ abortion bans are here to stay despite narrow clarification
Legal challenges have failed, elections haven’t moved the needle and the fight for a narrow clarification shows how immovable these laws are. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/814d71609b8e0b665656412e817097c0/ATX%20Roe%20Overturned%20SF%2024.jpg)
![Protesters chant on Congress Ave. in front of the Texas State Capitol building at a pro-choice rally Friday, June 24, 2022 in Austin, TX. The Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade Friday leading to national protests in response from pro abortion advocates. The announcement of the overturning would trigger an immediate ban on abortions in several states, including Texas. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas foster care agency chief to step down this summer
Two years after Stephanie Muth became Department of Family and Protective Services commissioner, staff turnover is down and the number of children without a placement has dropped. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/884e1500342e2b81b41e87bcd5532f84/0310%20DFPS%20Council%20Meeting%20EG%20TT%2003.jpg)
![DFPS Commissioner Stephanie Muth listens to agency updates during a DFPS Council Meeting in Austin on March 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune