The latest Greg Abbott news from The Texas Tribune.
On Wednesday, Abbott issued the order, allowing Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to reroute civilian vehicles back to their origin point or a port of entry, or seize the vehicles, if police suspect the driver is transporting migrants who have COVID-19. Full Story
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The governor's decision to go all in on border security is evolving rapidly, and many of those on the ground don't know how it's going to work. Full Story
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One day after Abbott told state troopers to pull over vehicles with migrants suspected of having COVID-19, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the governor's order violated federal law. Full Story
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A partial shutdown of state government wouldn't do anyone in state politics any good. Lawmakers still have time to erase the governor's veto of the Legislature's budget — but not a lot of time. Full Story
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The executive order allows DPS troopers to reroute vehicles back to their origin point or a port of entry. Immigration rights advocates say the governor's action is an invitation for racial profiling. Full Story
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Both Republicans in Austin and Democrats in D.C. have engaged in the political drama over the past two weeks, with the two camps battling it out on cable news interviews and social media over the quorum bust and who is to blame for it. Full Story
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The bill is largely symbolic, as the Legislature is currently at a standstill, unable to move any legislation because House Democrats broke quorum two weeks ago when they fled to Washington, D.C., to block GOP voting bills. Full Story
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Texas Republican state leaders held their ground against allowing local schools and governments to require masks. The CDC guidelines are not mandates and have no weight of law. Full Story
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In a letter to the major general of the Texas National Guard, Abbott said “more manpower is needed” at the border. Full Story
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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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Four prominent lawmakers — one each with ties to Baylor University, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University — met with Gov. Greg Abbott’s staff Thursday, one day after news broke that the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma had reached out to the Southeastern Conference about joining. Full Story
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Members left Texas about 10 days ago and have said they plan to stay out of state until after the special session ends Aug. 6. Full Story
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Texas and other states are seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases, one that’s preying disproportionately on unvaccinated people. Full Story
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Border-crossing immigrants are being arrested by Texas troopers on state charges like trespassing, and they’re starting to trickle into a prison emptied to house them. Full Story
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The state’s highest civil court has been asked to decide if Gov. Greg Abbott has the power to cut off funding for legislative staff, a move Abbott hoped would keep Democratic lawmakers from leaving the state and shutting down a special legislative session. Full Story
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Abbott reiterated Tuesday that Texas schoolchildren will not face mask requirements as they return to school later this summer. Full Story
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The Texas House Democratic Caucus, which has said it plans to not identify lawmakers who test positive, has started additional precautionary measures, such as providing daily rapid tests. Full Story
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The move comes after bills to do so were unsuccessful during the regular legislative session — and after Abbott did not include them on his agenda for the ongoing special session. Full Story
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The legislative Democrats who decamped from Texas to Washington, D.C., to block a voting bill need public attention to pull the argument their way — and that's going to be harder to get after last week’s first news of their quorum-busting. Full Story
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State officials and virologists say the highly contagious delta variant is causing the rise — and is particularly impacting unvaccinated people. Full Story
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