Phelan slightly trailed GOP challenger David Covey in early voting, though neither candidate had the majority…
Category: Texas Blue News
Gov. Abbott’s Border Quagmire
Skip to main content Spotify for Podcasters Texas Signal is a progressive, fact-based media company. Our…
Recapping the Texas Primary
Skip to main content Spotify for Podcasters Texas Signal is a progressive, fact-based media company. Our…
An Election Preview Extravaganza
Skip to main content Spotify for Podcasters Texas Signal is a progressive, fact-based media company. Our…
Daughter of No. 2 House Democrat arrested during clash with Boston cops
Katherine Clark acknowledged the incident in a tweet Sunday that quickly went viral.
In Texas’ first post-Roe legislative session, there’s a new political power dynamic on abortion
While Democrats and the far-right edge of the Republican Party remain focused on abortion, leaders in…
Help us identify what matters most to Texans during the 2023 legislative session
We would like to know more about what you're seeing in your community to help guide…
Dark money group linked to Leonard Leo is dissolved
The conservative judicial activist used BH Fund to facilitate the nominations of conservative judges, but it…
Nikki Haley dismisses Pompeo’s VP claims as ‘lies and gossip’
The Republican former ambassador to the United Nations also teased a presidential run during an interview…
The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills…
George Santos appears to admit drag queen past in Wiki post
A user with the name Anthony Devolder wrote in 2011 that they won several drag pageants.…
The people of New Hampshire vs. Joe Biden
Biden wants to put South Carolina's primary first. But New Hampshire refuses to go second.
RNC chair challenger looks to Never Trumpers for a boost
Harmeet Dhillon is trying to flip votes. And she's looking at interesting factions for help.
Supreme Court says justices ‘actively cooperated’ in leak probe
Unlike clerks and staff, members of nation's highest court were not asked to sign affidavit, marshal…
Conservative lawmakers push for review of school board group’s guidance on transgender students
Texas Freedom Caucus asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to weigh in on school board association's guidance…
New Texas foster care report shows both improvements and continued deficiencies
In a fifth report tracking the state's efforts to remedy its embattled foster care system, federal…
Bill to ban Chinese citizens and government from buying Texas land gains steam among Republicans
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst filed a bill that would ban citizens, governments and entities from China, Iran,…
TribCast: Is bipartisan immigration reform a realistic goal?
In this week's episode, Matthew speaks with Washington correspondent Matthew Choi and immigration reporter Uriel J.…
Texas GOP launches radio attack ads against Republican state House speaker
The radio ad, which criticizes Phelan for appointing Democratic committee chairs, prompted pushback from Republican colleagues…
After 10 days, dozens of Texas prisoners remain on hunger strike protesting solitary confinement practices
Although the number of men refusing food has steadily declined, 38 are still starving themselves to…
Texas jobless rate drops below 4% for first time since pandemic shutdowns
The state has set a record for the number of employed people for 14 consecutive months,…
Montgomery County-owned venue will host Kyle Rittenhouse rally against censorship
The venue change comes days after a Conroe-based brewery faced threats and harassment for pulling out…
State regulators approve controversial Texas electricity market reform
The substantial change in the way the state's market works will first be reviewed by the…
Migrant shot and injured by National Guard soldier patrolling border
It's the first-known incident where a soldier has shot a migrant since the mission began. The…
The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills…
When showing up at the Texas Capitol made a difference
Readers sometimes ask us if the outcomes in governing are predetermined and whether civic engagement makes…
A year after FBI raids Henry Cuellar’s home, no arrests and no answers
One year later, there have been no arrests or charges filed related to the case. Cuellar…
“Who ever thought I would be chief?” Texas’ Alabama-Coushatta tribe elects first female chief
Millie Thompson Williams was elected the tribe's first female second chief, a lifetime appointment, last year.…
T-Squared: Texas Tribune 2022 diversity report shows progress
Varied backgrounds and points of view among staff members help the Tribune to better connect with…
Texas Legislature’s state budget proposals leave more than $50 billion in state funds up for grabs
The preliminary budgets by House and Senate call for $130.1 billion in state spending over two…
Whisper campaign about RNC chair candidate’s Sikh faith roils campaign
Harmeet Dhillon called some fellow Republicans' comments "hurtful."
Santos refuses to resign amid calls from local N.Y. GOP
Local GOP leaders and a fellow Republican congressman told the New Yorker to resign, with some…
Texas universities block access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi networks
Students and faculty will not be able to access the popular social media app while connected…
Gov. Greg Abbott energizes supporters with vows to focus on education and the border as his third term begins
Texans came from all corners of the state to watch Abbott's inauguration Tuesday. Even those who…
Feds won’t seek death penalty against alleged El Paso Walmart gunman
The federal government has largely avoided pursuing the death penalty under President Biden.
Texas teens embark on an idealistic quest to shut down the state’s last five youth prisons
Spurred by reports of inhumane conditions at Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities, Austin-area teenagers are lobbying…
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn eyes the seemingly impossible: a bipartisan deal on immigration
Riding the success of his historic congressional session last year where he helped pass the first…
Texas lawmakers want to end state holiday commemorating Confederate veterans
For the third straight legislative session, state Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, has filed a bill to…
Gov. Greg Abbott says in inauguration speech Legislature will prioritize budget surplus, schools and power grid
Abbott is on track to becoming Texas' second-longest-serving governor, behind Rick Perry, who served more than…
Environmentalists push for tougher oil and gas restrictions to protect rare whale in Gulf of Mexico
Environmental scientists say Rice's whale, discovered in 2021, faces extinction unless the federal government sets tougher…
Conroe brewery receives flood of threats, harassment after canceling Kyle Rittenhouse event
The CEO of Southern Star Brewery said the cancellation was prompted primarily by concerns from local…
As lawmakers begin a new session, Texas mayors want to maintain control of local issues
Mayors from the state's most populous cities presented their legislative wish list, including economic development and…
TribCast: The Texas Legislature is off and running
In this week's episode, Matthew speaks with James and Patrick about the fight over Democrats chairing…
Afghan soldier jailed in Texas for crossing border should receive presidential pardon, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee says
The Houston Democrat said she has sent a letter to the White House asking the Biden…
Conroe brewery pulls out as venue for Kyle Rittenhouse rally against censorship
Southern Star Brewery, which had been listed as the event host, said it "is an apolitical…
A new bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers wants to highlight the state’s fragile water infrastructure
So far there has been an average of six boil-water notices a day across Texas in…
More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices
Prisoners have refused food to protest practices that have kept more than 500 people in isolation…
Texas Supreme Court clears way for state’s education agency to take over Houston ISD
The decision from the state's highest court would allow the TEA to move forward with its…
EPA moves away from Permian Basin air pollution crackdown
The oil industry pushed hard against the proposal to issue an ozone nonattainment designation, which would…
The fringe ideology of “constitutional sheriffs” is attracting believers within Texas law enforcement
Some 50 Texas sheriffs and numerous elected officials have attended trainings on the unsupported notion that…
COVID-19 upended Texas schools’ finances. Now they’re calling for a new funding system.
Districts like Pflugerville ISD, which is struggling with a $12 million deficit and weighing school closures,…
T-Squared: Renzo Downey will write the Tribune’s politics newsletter
Downey, who currently reports on Florida politics, covered the Texas Legislature's 2019 session for the Austin…
Ken Paxton wants more power to prosecute election crimes. These bills in the Texas Legislature would give it to him.
Although no evidence of widespread voter fraud has been found, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has…
Afghan soldier arrested at border while seeking asylum has new lawyers, meets with FBI
Abdul Wasi Safi's physical and mental health are deteriorating as he waits at a detention center…
Texas higher ed leaders optimistic about funding, faculty uneasy about culture wars as new session starts
Community colleges want a funding overhaul this legislative session, and four-year universities are hoping for a…
State agency that oversees Texas power grid needs more money to do its job, Sunset Commission finds
The Public Utility Commission has about 200 employees but needs more to handle shoring up the…
Effort to ban Democratic chairs fails in Texas House, but rule passes to penalize future quorum-breakers
House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, snuffed out a monthslong push Wednesday to end the chamber's longtime…
As Donald Trump mounts his 2024 presidential bid, his support among Texas officials is waning
About two months into his comeback bid, few prominent Texas Republicans have endorsed Trump -- and…
Questions about validity of shaken baby syndrome not enough to give Texas death row inmate new trial, court rules
Robert Roberson was sentenced to death for killing his 2-year-old daughter. Experts have since backtracked on…
Republican Texas House candidate’s election complaint tossed after he fails to pay fee
Mike May was one of more than 20 losing candidates in Harris County who filed election…
Texas Senate votes to take up redistricting again
The redistricting process this year is mostly procedural and is not expected to produce very different…
Texas senators draw lots to determine how long their terms will be
After redistricting, the state constitution requires senators to draw lots to determine which half of the…
Oaths, M&Ms and a historic Quran: Texas’ freshman lawmakers begin their inaugural legislative session
New Texas House members were sworn into office Tuesday, including some who have already made history.
Texas executes Robert Fratta after high courts reject challenges to expired lethal injection drugs
Fratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers unsuccessfully challenged Texas' routine of…
Uvalde DA gets initial state police report on school shooting but doesn’t expect full investigation for months
The preliminary report has not been made public by either the district attorney's office or the…
Texas House selects Rep. Dade Phelan as speaker for another legislative session
Phelan defeated Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, for the House leadership position in a vote, 145-3. In…
A Texas Republican has started the process to impeach the secretary of Homeland Security over border security
Pat Fallon, R-Sherman, filed articles of impeachment late Monday, delayed a week because of the contentious…
Texas universities propose two-year tuition freeze in exchange for nearly $1 billion in additional state funding
The leaders of the state's six biggest university systems are seeking the money to fund instruction,…
Look up your representatives in the Tribune’s elected officials directory
Look up information about every statewide elected official, every member of the Texas Legislature and every…
Texas Republicans tapped to chair four committees in new GOP-led U.S. House
The Texans are poised to chair some of the most important committees, including the appropriations and…