Food aid cuts and other changes: What the U.S. House spending bill could mean for Texans
Many low-income families would see cuts in health care and food benefits. The state hopes for a big reimbursement for border security spending. Full Story
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![A volunteer loads a box of groceries into a truck for delivery to a nearby community in the the panhandle.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
$12 billion added to congressional spending bill to reimburse states like Texas for border spending
The U.S. House approved the budget reconciliation bill, which also includes preservation of 2017 tax cuts and changes to Medicaid and SNAP. Full Story
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![A member of the Texas National Guard looks down at his rifle ahead of the arrival of Gov. Greg Abbott and several other states leadership ahead of a press conference at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass on Feb. 04, 2024.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz introduces bill incentivizing K-12 scholarships
The bill, titled the Universal School Choice Act, would provide a tax credit to match an amount donated to organizations that provide K-12 scholarships. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, arrives for the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee nominations in the Russell Senate Office Building on Tuesday, May 13,2025.]()
Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
A Texas teen was the victim of fake AI nudes. Now a new law requires platforms to remove such content.
A high school victim was one of the victims, but she and her mother fought back, with the help of Senator Ted Cruz. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump signs the the Take it Down Act into law during a ceremony at the White House in Washington on May 19, 2025.]()
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John Cornyn says tax and spending bill must reimburse Texas $11 billion for border security
Texas Republicans are pushing the federal government to pay the state’s costs of Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg’s Abbott’s border security initiative. Full Story
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![A member of the Texas Army National Guard patrols the Rio Grande from atop a line of shipping containers in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Sen. John Cornyn announces leadership team, including Trump pollster, for 2026 reelection campaign
Cornyn’s move to stockpile his campaign team with seasoned GOP operatives signals he is digging in for a serious fight against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn talks to reporters after Gov. Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 2, the voucher bill, into law at the Governor's Mansion in Austin on May 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democratic Party considers sanctioning Henry Cuellar over federal indictment, votes breaking with party
The Laredo congressman could be blocked from party campaign resources and social events if the party sanction is passed. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, R-Laredo, at a Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 10, 2024.]()
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Mayra Flores to challenge Henry Cuellar in the 28th District
Hours after the announcement, the Flores team said that the new candidate had been hospitalized and is now recovering. There were no details about her condition. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and former Rep. Mayra Flores. Flores briefly served in Congress in 2022 after winning a special election.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
U.S. House passes SAVE Act, led by Rep. Chip Roy, to require proof of citizenship to vote
Democrats argue that the bill places unnecessary hurdles on voting and could cause issues for people who have changed their name — like millions of married women. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during a press conference on legislation that would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship to vote, Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2024.]()
Credit: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via REUTERS -
Texas AG Ken Paxton officially joins U.S. Senate race challenging John Cornyn
The attorney general positions himself as a disruptor against the Republican establishment embodied in the longtime Senate fixture. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference outside the Supreme Court building in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025.]()
Credit: Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
National Democrats to target GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s South Texas district in 2026
The battlefield for both parties is again converging on South Texas, where De La Cruz scored one of the GOP’s high-profile wins last year when she secured a second term. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, waves to supporters after declaring victory against Democratic opponent Michelle Vallejo at an election watch party in Edinburg on Nov. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott sets Nov. 4 special election to fill U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s seat
The decision to wait until November means a narrowly divided Congress will be down a Democratic representative for most of 2025. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the Federalist Society during an event at The University of Texas Law School in Austin on April 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Cruz says a trade war would cost jobs, spur prices and be terrible for Texas
The Texas senator also highlights a potential “upside,” saying the Trump tariffs could entice other countries to negotiate lower trade barriers. Full Story
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![Chairman U.S. Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing with CEO of Boeing Kelly Ortberg in the Dirksen Senate office building in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2025.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott showing no rush to replace late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner
Republicans hold a tiny majority in the House, creating an incentive for Abbott to hold off on calling an election for Turner’s seat, which would likely be filled by a Democrat. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at "Parent Empowerment Night" at San Antonio Christian School, in San Antonio on February, 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
Ratcliffe, the CIA director, defends group chat that inadvertently included a journalist
The former Texas congressman says his communication in the chat was lawful and did not include classified information. Full Story
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![CIA Director John Ratcliffe testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on global threats to the United States and U.S. interests in Washington on March 25, 2025.]()
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Federal investigators were preparing two Texas housing discrimination cases — until Trump took over
The government spent years probing allegations that a Dallas HOA created rules to kick poor Black people out and that Texas discriminated against minority residents in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, only to suddenly reverse course under Trump. Full Story
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![Housing advocates say a FEMA decision to end hotel stays for Texas renters displaced for Harvey doesn't account for difficulties in finding affordable units in the neighborhoods they left.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Amanda Edwards to run to succeed the late-U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner
Edwards unsuccessfully ran for the seat twice last year. She faced off against U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the 2024 Democratic primary. Jackson Lee won the primary but died before the general election, opening the party’s nomination anew Full Story
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![Houston City Councilwoman and U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Edwards outside of 919 Congress Avenue in Austin on Feb. 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
National Republicans target South Texas Democrats for 2026 election
Reps. Cuellar and Gonzalez are moderate Democrats who represent border districts that increasingly vote Republican. Full Story
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![U.S. Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Sylvester Turner eulogized as a man of faith, family and public service to Houston
The former Houston mayor’s funeral drew more than 1,000 mourners on Saturday, including 20 of his congressional colleagues from both political parties. Full Story
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![Mrs. Ashley Paige Turner Captain, Sylvester Turner’s daughter arrives at her father, the late Congressman Sylvester Turner’s funeral service at The Church without Walls in West Houston, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Houston. (Lexi Parra / Houston Landing)]()
Credit: Lexi Parra/Houston Landing -
U.S. Rep. Keith Self cuts short committee hearing after colleague objects to him misgendering trans member
On social media, Self later wrote “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.” Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Keith Self, R-McKinney, leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA via REUTERS