Politics & Policy
February 19, 2021
Ed Hirs Has Been Predicting This Mess for Years
The Houston-based energy economist is our blackout Cassandra. Will state officials finally heed his advice?
Politics & Policy
Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
Latest
601-650 of 7143 Articles
Politics & Policy
February 19, 2021
Q&A With ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness
Texas Monthly talks to the ERCOT chief about why the blackouts happened and what needs to change now.
Politics & Policy
February 19, 2021
The Texas Blackout Is the Story of a Disaster Foretold
Those in charge of Texas’s deregulated power sector were warned again and again that the electric grid was vulnerable.
Politics & Policy
February 18, 2021
Steve and Ted’s Excellent Adventures
Austin’s mayor, Steve Adler, and the state’s junior senator, Ted Cruz, are the latest Texas politicians to take ill-considered vacations.
Politics & Policy
February 18, 2021
13 Curses to Mutter Against Ted Cruz While You Boil Snow to Drink
May you make direct eye contact with your neighbor during your yard pee.
Politics & Policy
February 17, 2021
The Winter Storm, in Photos: How Texans Are Surviving the Historic Freeze
As multiple crises unfold across the state, photographers captured Texans doing their damnedest to keep warm and safe.
News
February 17, 2021
What Went Wrong With Texas’s Main Electric Grid and Could It Have Been Prevented?
An energy expert explains why some four million Texans suffered a barrage of winter storms without heat in their homes.
Politics & Policy
February 11, 2021
What the Newest Lone Star Secessionists Really Want
Some Texans have long argued for leaving the Union. State representative Kyle Biedermann’s recent agitating about doing so is attracting an eager audience.
Politics & Policy
February 11, 2021
Californians Could Ruin Texas—But Not the Way You Might Think
Lone Star State leaders have worried about transplants importing West Coast values and politics here. But they’ve largely ignored the more pressing challenges newcomers are bringing with them.
Politics & Policy
February 11, 2021
There’s One Thing Missing in the Biden Administration: Texans
Lone Star Democrats have almost nowhere to hang their hats in the most diverse administration in U.S. history.
Politics & Policy
February 10, 2021
How Republican Lawmakers Might Redraw the Texas Congressional Map
The state is expected to receive three new U.S. House seats. But those looking to expand the GOP majority in the congressional delegation won’t have an easy task.
Business
February 8, 2021
The Buc-ee’s Stops Here: Why the Iconic Chain Is Facing a Backlash East of the Sabine
Turns out not everyone loves Texas-size gas stations (or 13 varieties of jerky).
Politics & Policy
February 6, 2021
Ted Cruz Is Courting Trump’s Base. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says He’s Doomed to Fail.
Supporters of the 45th president might not forget his contentious history with Texas’s junior senator.
Business
February 5, 2021
Texas Payday Lenders Get Millions in Pandemic Relief Money
Many short-term lenders receive government help even as their ultrahigh interest rates trap vulnerable customers in debt.
Politics & Policy
February 1, 2021
How the Pandemic Is Affecting the First Weeks of the Texas Lege Session
State lawmakers grapple with how to make this year productive, as they lose cherished time forming relationships on the floor.
Energy
January 28, 2021
Can Biden Really Be Any Worse for the Oil Patch Than Trump?
The new president’s energy-related executive actions have stirred opposition in Texas and other oil-producing states. But Biden’s moves are dwarfed by the larger forces that have battered, and will transform, the industry.
Politics & Policy
January 28, 2021
The (Fake) Beto Diaries, Vol. 6: I’m (Thinking About Being) Back, Baby
Our hero contemplates a run for governor.
News
January 25, 2021
The Texas Lege Always Debates Abortion. This Year It Will Do So With More Vigor.
Anti-abortion advocates are getting their hopes up that the U.S. Supreme Court could undo Roe v. Wade, but some are tired of waiting.
Politics & Policy
January 22, 2021
Who Were the Texans Who Traveled to the Capitol to Challenge the Election Results?
A list of some of those from the Lone Star State who gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 6.
Best Thing in Texas
January 21, 2021
The Best Thing in Texas: Bernie Sanders Travels Across the State as a Meme
He’s visited the Alamo, waited in line at Franklin Barbecue, and cheered on the Astros (virtually).
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2021
After Standing Up to Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, Congressman Chip Roy Faces an Uncertain Future in the Texas GOP
Some Republicans expect Roy to pay a political price for upholding the Constitution, and Cruz to emerge stronger than ever.
Politics & Policy
January 15, 2021
The Texas Legislature Made It Just Three Days Without a COVID-19 Scare
Fear of riots and the pandemic dominated the Legislature’s opening week, with some lawmakers venting their frustration with mask regulations, and others going into quarantine.
Politics & Policy
January 15, 2021
Amid a Spate of Late-Term Trump Pardons, Reality Winner’s Name Remains Conspicuously Absent
The president called the five-year sentence for the former National Security Agency translator, convicted for leaking documents about Russian election interference, “unfair,” but he has not granted her clemency.
Politics & Policy
January 12, 2021
The Serious Stuff, the Loud Stuff, the Money Stuff: A Preview of the 87th Texas Lege
Lawmakers will have their hands full with a budget deficit and the pandemic. Here's what else to watch for this session.
Politics & Policy
January 12, 2021
No, the Mandalorian Did Not “Dox” Ted Cruz
Pedro Pascal, star of the Disney Plus series ‘The Mandalorian,’ shared the junior senator’s office number on Twitter.
Politics & Policy
January 11, 2021
How the Legislature Might Address the Less-Than-Dire Budget Shortfall
Comptroller Glenn Hegar projected a nearly $1 billion deficit—far smaller than lawmakers feared.
Politics & Policy
January 11, 2021
The Texas GOP Returns to Its Favorite Pastime: Infighting
With state government more firmly in Republican hands, the next year will feature a return of the Republican civil war. Here are the skirmishes to watch for.
News
January 9, 2021
Greg Abbott’s Politics Create a Vaccine Stampede
After his denying local authorities tools to combat community spread, it’s no wonder Texans are desperate for vaccinations to save us from COVID-19’s renewed surge.
Politics & Policy
January 8, 2021
American Democracy Survived Ted Cruz’s Demagoguery—This Time
Texas’s junior senator shares responsibility for inciting the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol. That’s brought him scorn from much of the country—but might win him fresh support from Trump Republicans.
Politics & Policy
January 7, 2021
These Texas Congressmen Fought off the Mob. Then They Voted With Trump.
Several members of the Texas delegation stayed on the House floor to help defend against rioters, who they say had nothing to do with the righteous case of overturning the election.
Politics & Policy
January 6, 2021
“Love Bombs” vs. “Hang Traitors”: Pro-Trump Protesters Rally for Their Man in Austin
As the president’s supporters launched a violent insurrection in Washington, D.C., about three hundred demonstrators gathered at the Texas Capitol to call for the election results to be overturned.
Politics & Policy
December 22, 2020
A Rural County Battling COVID-19 Faces a Difficult Obstacle: the Local Walmart
The retailer sits 200 yards from Deaf Smith County’s largest hospital. Local officials and public health experts worry that the store isn’t enforcing safety precautions.
Politics & Policy
December 22, 2020
“You See So Much in Our Field You Wouldn’t Believe”: San Antonio School Bus Drivers Have Become Relief Workers
Food insecurity has soared during the pandemic, but Alamo City bus drivers came up with a solution: get food to the hungry.
Politics & Policy
December 19, 2020
The Shelley Luther Reality Show Is Canceled After Just Seven Months
The rebel salon queen beat Governor Greg Abbott once, but on Saturday, he had the last laugh.
Politics & Policy
December 18, 2020
Houston’s Most Famous Pollster Reflects on Five Decades of State Politics, as His Career Winds Down
A fixture of Texas political punditry, Richard Murray retired from teaching at the University of Houston this month.
Politics & Policy
December 17, 2020
2020 Has Been Awful, but It Was a Good Year for State and National Parks
Two major conservation funding victories could create a brighter future for Texas's public lands.
Politics & Policy
December 16, 2020
The 2021 Bum Steer Awards
Let’s face it: this was no one’s favorite year. Here are a few dozen reasons why.
Politics & Policy
December 16, 2020
2021 Bum Steer of the Year: The Texas Democratic Party
Because it grew so overconfident about its ability to win Texas that it didn’t bother to figure out how to win Texas, the state’s Democratic party is our Bum Steer of the Year!
Politics & Policy
December 16, 2020
Bum Steer Awards, 2021: Get Ready for the Amazing Adventures of PAXT-MAN!
Can you help Texas's attorney general escape the long arm of the law?
Politics & Policy
December 16, 2020
Bum Steer Awards 2021: The COVID Nineteen
The not-quite-twenty Texans who spectacularly disgraced themselves during the pandemic.
Best Thing in Texas
December 16, 2020
The Best Things in Texas, 2021: Lina Hidalgo and Chris Hollins
In Harris County, two public officials fought off legal challenges to hold a successful election in the middle of a pandemic.
Politics & Policy
December 16, 2020
Gladden Pappin Wants to Make Conservatism Great Again
The University of Dallas professor is urging Republicans to build a post-Trump, big-tent, big-spending party that’s economically populist and socially conservative.
Politics & Policy
December 15, 2020
Meet the Three Texas Judges Trump Named to the Fifth Circuit
Young and ideologically aggressive, James Ho, Andrew Oldham, and Don Willett are already making their mark on the nation’s most conservative appellate court.
Politics & Policy
December 14, 2020
Texas Electors Cast Votes for Trump—and for Tossing Out the Results in Key Battleground States
A resolution calling on four other state legislatures to override the will of their voters passed after electors in those states had already confirmed Biden’s win.
Politics & Policy
December 14, 2020
Asylum Seekers in Matamoros Celebrated Joe Biden’s Victory. But the Final Weeks of the Trump Administration Are Bringing Fresh Anxiety.
Following the election, many migrants were hopeful the incoming president would quickly ease the U.S. immigration process, but he has to unravel new restrictions imposed by his predecessor.
Politics & Policy
December 11, 2020
Ken Paxton Takes His Texas Grifting to the National Stage
Facing a bribery allegation and criminal fraud charges, the Texas attorney general is tossing his supporters fresh red meat by leading an attempt to overturn the will of American voters.
Politics & Policy
December 8, 2020
The Arrival of Winter Texans Threatens the Rio Grande Valley’s Hospital System
An estimated 50,000 seniors from northern states are heading to Texas for the warmer weather despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Border & Immigration
December 7, 2020
These Texas Landowners Hoped Trump’s Loss Would Halt the Border Wall. Instead, They Say, Things Are Worse.
With Trump ramping up efforts to construct the border wall, South Texans say the effort has been stripped to its essence: “It’s basically just big government taking Texas land.”
Politics & Policy
December 3, 2020
Cabo San Doofus: Why Did Steve Adler Think It Was a Good Idea to Go to Mexico?
Austin’s mayor, already a punching bag for his state’s powerful right wing, lectured his city’s residents to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19—while on a beach vacation.
Politics & Policy
December 3, 2020
What Was Behind Greg Abbott’s Bullet Train Flip-flop?
Rural Texans have long accepted that strips of their land might be acquired to build oil pipelines and highways. But the prospect of a high-speed rail line has sparked a whole different level of outrage.