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James Barragán is a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune with a focus on accountability reporting. Prior to joining the Tribune, James worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News and had previous stints at the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Reporting for his coverage of Texas politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. James was selected as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in 2023-24. A Southern California native, James received his bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA. He is based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker.
Despite promises from Abbott that transparency in the crowdfunding process for the border wall would be paramount, donor information released to The Texas Tribune for the first week of collections was bereft of any way to verify the identities of the majority of the donors. Full Story
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The plane will be on standby at Dulles International Airport, and Dade Phelan’s team said his political campaign, not taxpayers, will pay for the flight. Full Story
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Moody, one of House Speaker Dade Phelan's closest Democratic allies, is the first Democrat to suffer political backlash after the quorum break. Full Story
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If the House Democrats who skipped town to block voting legislation don’t return before the special session ends, the Senate bills will languish without becoming law. Full Story
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A number of House Republicans indicated that they would support what’s known as a call of the House, a procedural move that would allow law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled the chamber. Full Story
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The House Appropriations Committee voted on Friday 21-0 to move forward a bill that would reinstate the funding after Abbott vetoed it to punish House Democrats who broke quorum in the final days of the session to kill two of his priority bills. Full Story
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Miller is running for a third term. Full Story
![Rep. James White, R-Hillister, speaks at the Women's [In]Justice Day rally on the south steps of the Capitol on March 8, 2019.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/QS6lPNOLq4rH6nnluM-VwuzAVRU=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/73f9792e693faec14bc3e1bdfc12c237/06%20Women%20Prisons%20March%20TT%20MG.jpg)
The former president is touring the border Wednesday with Abbott, who has promised to build a state-funded border wall. Full Story
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Harris toured Border Patrol facilities in El Paso and met with local groups that aid migrants, but Republicans continued to attack her for not visiting the Rio Grande Valley, where a large number of border apprehensions are happening. Full Story
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The Legislature gaveled out at the end of month after passing bills on abortion, guns, police budgets and the Texas power grid. Here's how Texas voters feel about the results. Full Story
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