Analysis: The noisiest branch of Texas government goes into overtime
Special sessions are tempting for governors, but they’re risky. Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest attempt — starting Thursday — might go better if it’s relatively short. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks with lawmakers on the House floor during the legislative session on May 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Allen West announces he is running against Gov. Greg Abbott in Republican primary
The Texas GOP chairman made his campaign official Sunday. Full Story
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![State GOP Chairman Allen West speaks at a Texas Republican Party rally on the east side of the Capitol Grounds on January 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Special legislative session is packed with controversy but not clarity, Tribune reporters say
The list of questions is as long as the list of issues for the new session. Full Story
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State museum canceled book event examining slavery’s role in Battle of the Alamo after Texas GOP leaders complained, authors say
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confirmed on Twitter that he called for the event to be canceled. Abbott, Patrick and other GOP leaders are board members of the State Preservation Board, which oversees the Bullock museum. Full Story
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![The Bullock Texas State History Museum in Downtown Austin on Oct. 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
2,100 state workers caught in the crosshairs of Gov. Greg Abbott’s veto of Legislature funding
The legislative branch budget includes funding for House and Senate lawmakers, their staffers and those working in nonpartisan legislative agencies. In total, there was more than $410 million allocated in the 2022-23 fiscal budget. Full Story
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![A staffer passes out papers while state Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, speaks during session on the House floor at the state capitol on May 25, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says more apprehensions, drug seizures justify a border wall. Advocates say he's misrepresenting the numbers.
The governor said Texas needs to build a border wall to reduce migrant apprehensions and fentanyl seizures. But immigration and drug treatment experts say Abbott's oversimplifying the issue. Full Story
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![Asylum-seeking migrant families walked to turn themselves into the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico in Roma on June 9, 2021.]()
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"Everything is on the table": Democrats mull options for special session, including another walkout
After killing Republicans' priority voting bill during the regular legislative session, Democratic lawmakers are mulling how to try to stop it in the special session that starts July 8. Full Story
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TribCast: Donald Trump and Greg Abbott visit the U.S-Mexico border
In this week's episode, Matthew speaks with Ross, Patrick and Reese about the politics surrounding Donald Trump's trip to Texas and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on student learning. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump during a border security briefing in Weslaco on June 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images via POOL -
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to build a border wall. South Texas landowners are divided over whether they want it.
Some landowners who sued the Trump administration say they aren't "just going to roll over and give up" now that Abbott has taken on a border wall project. Others say a wall is needed to protect people and property on the border. Full Story
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![Gerardo Vargas stands on his favorite cliff overlooking the Rio Grande River on June 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Jessica Nicole Rodriguez for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: On the border with Trump, Abbott and an enthusiastic GOP base
Gov. Greg Abbott’s proposal to build a wall between Texas and Mexico taps into a lasting preoccupation with immigration and border security among Texas Republican voters — and one of former President Donald Trump's favorite issues. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump makes remarks as he meets with Gov. Greg Abbott in the Oval Office on Thursday, May 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Sipa USA via Reuters Connect/POOL -
Donald Trump visits Texas to tour “unfinished border wall” on U.S.-Mexico border with Gov. Greg Abbott
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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![Texas Lt Gov. Dan Patrick, left, Gov. Greg Abbott, and former President Donald Trump attend a border security briefing to discuss further plans in securing the southern border wall on June 30, 2021, in Weslaco.]()
Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images via POOL -
Texas voters split over Gov. Greg Abbott’s job performance, but he remains popular among Republicans, UT/TT Poll finds
The June 2021 poll shows that 44% of Texans approve of Abbott’s job as governor, while 44% disapprove. His approval rating from Texas voters is better than those of Joe Biden, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and House Speaker Dade Phelan. Full Story
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Analysis: A majority of Texas voters isn’t enough to sway a Republican state government
The Texas Legislature has a Republican majority, and knowing what most voters want isn't the best way to predict what lawmakers will do. You have to know what Republican voters want. Full Story
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Immigration and border security remain top concerns of Texas voters, UT/TT Poll finds
Immigration and border security continue to top Texas voters' list of most important problems facing the state. It is a particular concern of Republican voters. Full Story
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![Raymond Lewis at his home in Galveston, Texas on Thursday, October 12, 2017. Lewis cast his first ballot during the 1968 presidential election when he was a college student at Huston-Tillotson University. Photos by Shelby Knowles]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats and legislative staffers take Gov. Greg Abbott to court for defunding Legislature
The governor had vowed to veto the Legislature’s funding in the final hours of the regular legislative session in May after House Democrats broke quorum and left the chamber to prevent passage of a controversial elections bill. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3 at the Texas Capitol on June 8, 2021. The omnibus power grid bills will change the state’s power grid and the people who oversee it.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
In first trip to U.S.-Mexico border as vice president, Kamala Harris focuses on causes of immigration
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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![U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with members of the U.S. Border Patrol as she visited an El Paso central processing center on June 25, 2021.]()
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TribCast: Looking ahead to the Texas Legislature's special session
In this week's TribCast, Matthew speaks with James, Cassi and Isabella about lawmakers' planned return to the Capitol in July, Gov. Greg Abbott's executive powers and the fight over critical race theory. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott speaks with lawmakers on the house floor during the legislative session on May 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The most influential non-voter in Texas
The most important voter in Texas politics in 2022 doesn't even live in the state, but he's popular with Republican voters. Donald Trump's influence is already changing next year's GOP primary. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump makes remarks as he meets with Gov. Greg Abbott in the Oval Office in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2020. Gov. Greg Abbott's latest order requires Texans living in counties with more than 20 COVID-19 cases to wear a face-covering over the nose and mouth while in a business or other building open to the public, as well as outdoor public spaces.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott is using a disaster declaration to help fund a border wall. Democrats say it’s an overreach of executive powers.
The disaster declarations give the governor broad power to suspend state laws and regulations that hinder a jurisdiction’s recovery from a disaster and to allow the use of available resources to respond to the disaster. Full Story
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas border wall project receives over $450K in donations, a week after Gov. Greg Abbott announced plans
Gov. Greg Abbott pledged $250 million in state funds for a Texas-Mexico border wall and is soliciting donations to fund the rest. Full Story
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![A section of the border fence in the Rio Grande Valley.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune
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