Why Are So Many of Our Reps Quitting Congress?
Some seem tired of working in a place where so little gets done.
Some seem tired of working in a place where so little gets done.
For a long time, Texas Republican chairman Matt Rinaldi couldn’t win elections. Now he wants to decide them—by exacting revenge on opponents within his party.
In lieu of fall foliage and chilly weather, at least we get to turn back the clocks.
In the latest showdown over immigration restrictions, Texas representatives got into a heated confrontation on the floor.
Republicans need a win after a summer of infighting. But party leaders are ignoring several potential consequences in moving hastily on this issue.
The Houston exurb offers cheap land to hardworking families. But some in the GOP see the benefit in demonizing the migrants who’ve moved there.
Ahead of a special legislative session, the governor has implied there will be political consequences for those who get in his way.
The attorney general’s acquittal affects an upcoming legislative session on school vouchers—and the civil war within the Texas GOP.
Through anger, calm, and even some tears, former aides testified about the attorney general's alleged corruption.
Before sunrise, journalists and eager onlookers gathered at the gates of the Capitol grounds, awaiting the start of the attorney general's historic impeachment trial.
We heard testimony on Paxton's affair and watched the defense make one of the prosecution's key witnesses squirm.
The Texas Senate did not dismiss any charges, Paxton will not have to testify, and more we learned from day one.
HB 2127, which strips municipalities of regulatory authority, was intended to target liberal cities. So why are conservative mayors so upset?
Everything you need to know about the alleged adultery, bribery, and abuse of office. Plus: Big-time lawyers! Billionaire donors! And burner phones!
The film by right-wing activist Michael Quinn Sullivan is a warning to Republicans who might vote for Ken Paxton's impeachment.
A state district court judge narrowed Texas’s abortion ban, but the state’s appeal complicates access to the procedure.
The state Senate’s vote on Paxton’s impeachment will proceed independently from his criminal case. But the outcomes are interlinked.
Policy changes aimed at reducing the number of children who end up in foster care—many championed by progressives in blue states—are being passed by Republicans in Texas.
After Governor Greg Abbott signed a law blocking gender-affirming care for minors, some have fled the state. Others have no choice but to stay.
The Legislature took a big step Monday, but further efforts could come with great costs: a sky-high sales tax, decimated public schools, and defunding the police.
The governor has long suffered from the reputation that he’s a policy lightweight. He’s turning it around this year in five easy steps.
On property taxes, school funding, and more, “Democrats are not even in the conversation,” Dallas representative John Bryant says.
As celebrity lawyers feud in the press, Republican groups have launched an influence campaign in the Texas Senate.
Our scorecard of the Eighty-eighth Texas Legislature’s noisy scoundrels and quiet heroes.
Texas Republicans have been in the midst of a cold war with one another for much of the 2023 session. The impeachment vote simply caused it to heat up.
The state’s top attorney will be suspended from duties, pending a trial in the Texas Senate.
The Texas House has voted to impeach the attorney general. After nearly eight years under indictment—during which he won two elections—why now?
The attorney general, under indictment since 2015, now faces potential impeachment from the Texas House.
Depositions in a recent lawsuit reveal that state rep Tom Craddick, his wife and son, and his daughter, Christi, who leads Texas’s oil and gas regulating agency, profit from industry deals not available to just anyone.
Rarely are special-interest bills in the Texas Lege quite so special as in Brooks Landgraf’s bill targeting the tiny town of Volente.
An unusual number of lawmakers have crossed the aisle to support Republican bills this year. Party operatives are furious.
Legal sports gambling in the state still faces a long and complicated path that would require a constitutional amendment.
The gun bills most likely to pass aren’t restrictions but those that further protect firearm ownership.
These benefits could be ours, if the Lege would just help insure a million more Texans.
Progressive faith leaders and women’s health advocates are adopting the messaging to push for a 12-month Medicaid extension for postpartum care.
A pair of bills at the Lege seek to help Texans compete for real estate against these deep-pocketed companies.
Scientists have figured out how to grow meat in a lab. Cattle farmers insist it’s not the real thing.
Update: An ethics complaint against Representative Bryan Slaton, who skipped the session’s most consequential debate, has been filed alleging an “inappropriate relationship.”
This week, the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs advanced two bills that would criminalize many drag performances. The bills, both filed by Republican Bryan Hughes of Mineola, take aim at men or women who use “clothing, makeup, or other similar physical markers” to “exhibit” as
Menstrual products are subject to a sales tax, and Democrat Donna Howard has tried to change that since 2017. With support from powerful Republicans, this could be the year.
As lawmakers consider bills targeting their livelihoods, queer Texans say more members of their community intend to defend themselves.
The lawmaker from Frisco has rallied right-wingers by promising to remove “sexually explicit” books from shelves. But he may lose them by targeting a beloved Texan classic.
Two bipartisan bills would make it easier for judges to incarcerate defendants before trial. Criminologists say that’s bad for public safety.
Taking a cue from authoritarian leaders, state representative Bryan Slaton has proposed property tax relief for some large families. White, straight, property-owning couples would be the primary beneficiaries.
The governor has promoted “school choice” at seven religious academies around the state. Why there?
Senator Paul Bettencourt’s proposal would hand the Harris County Flood Control District over to unelected bureaucrats appointed by the governor.
The lieutenant governor has consolidated power in the Legislature and exercises near-total control of his chamber. Will anyone challenge him?
Former House Speaker Tom Craddick and his family—including his daughter, Railroad Commission chairman Christi Craddick—earned about $10 million last year from oil and gas rights.
After banning almost all abortions in the state post-Roe, GOP lawmakers have proposed eighteen new ways of limiting access to the procedure.
Texas lawmakers say they won’t let the attorney general settle a lawsuit using taxpayer money, but they’re letting him avoid oversight.