Donald Trump has built close ties to many Texas Republicans, from judges to elected officials to policy experts.

House hearing focuses on a curriculum plan and on school vouchers.

As administrators scramble to comply with new limits on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, students and faculty worry more tumult is coming.

Republican lawmakers may try to force Texas cities to allow greater housing density as the state faces a housing crunch.

Abbott called on supporters to push through the primary runoffs to deliver the final pro-voucher members needed to pass his legislation, plus some padding.

In court filings Tuesday, the secretary of state’s office argued that the plaintiffs in the election contests “never served a citation” properly. But there’s no guarantee it’ll work.

Though lawmakers have drafted a bill to increase public school funding and teacher salaries, it cannot pass during the special session unless Abbott adds those issues to his agenda.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to prepare the state’s response resources ahead of anticipated impacts from excessive rainfall and flash flooding threats from a storm system moving across Texas.

Abbott notified lawmakers of the decision in a letter this week.

greg-abbott-texas-legislature-school-choice-vouchers This third special session comes as a rift between the Texas House and the Senate grew following Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, raising questions about the chambers’ ability to compromise on education issues.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a federal judge’s previous injunction that barred the college from charging out-of-state American citizens more than undocumented immigrants living in the state.

Gov. Greg Abbott has thrown his weight behind the idea being pushed by an influential conservative think tank. Many school leaders are worried.

On this week’s episode, we speak to the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s James Quintero, who has been at the center of the debate over property taxes this week.

The governor stands behind his support of the Texas House tax plan despite Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s insistence that the Senate has a better deal for homeowners.

This comes two days after Gov. Greg Abbott voiced his most explicit support yet of a new school choice policy at a Parent Empowerment Night event in Corpus Christi.

More than two-thirds of Texans support Medicaid expansion. But on the eve of the midterm elections, the subject is still taboo for the state GOP. Why?

The lawsuit against the University of North Texas argues out-of-state American citizens shouldn’t pay more than undocumented Texans. A federal judge agreed.

Scientists say a study that estimated far more golden-cheeked warblers in Texas than previously thought has been attacked and taken out of context as the state and federal government battle over the bird’s endangered status.

The order followed a joint petition filed by a handful of states, including Texas, plus several businesses and advocacy groups that argued overreach by the administration.

After high-profile clashes with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a fellow Republican, Seliger suspects members of his own party are trying to oust him.

The fight over critical race theory is thriving in Texas, and could make an appearance in the special legislative session that starts next week.

Lawmakers didn’t succeed in curtailing the governor's power during a disaster, but they did pass bills that prohibit so-called vaccine passports and ban the mandatory closure of churches and gun stores.

The federal moratorium on evictions is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Texas ruled Thursday, siding with property owners in the state who have argued that the U.S. government does not have the power to stop evictions. Ad"The federal government cannot say that it has ever before invoked its power over interstate commerce to impose a residential eviction moratorium," Barker wrote in his ruling. "The federal government has not claimed such a power at any point during our Nation's history until last year." “The Department of Justice takes the position that it will adhere to a judgment without having to have an injunction against it.”He called the CDC eviction moratorium harmful toward landlords and property owners. Tens of millions of people could lose their homes if the eviction moratorium is overturned, she said.

Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas TribuneDemocrats are headed back to the White House, and Texas Republicans are gearing up to go back on offense. With a Republican in the White House, Texas found more success in its lawsuits against the federal government, many of them challenging Obama-era laws or administrative rules. Most notably, the Trump administration lined up with a Texas-led coalition of red states seeking to end the Affordable Care Act. Beaumont Republican Dade Phelan, who was recently elected speaker of the Texas House, struck a more conciliatory tone in an interview last week with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith. "Whether others want to work with D.C. or not, I don't know, but I think here in the Texas House, we're willing to do whatever works for the people of Texas," Phelan said.

Right now, Senate rules require 19 members, or three-fifths of the body, to vote to bring legislation to the floor. Four GOP senators’ offices said Tuesday they were unavailable to discuss the topic of Senate rules going into the session. And when it comes to the hot-button issues that could benefit from a rules change, state leaders have largely held back on detailing their agendas for the time being. “If we lose one or two seats, then we might have to go to 16 next session," Patrick said. Democrats denounced Patrick’s January comments, saying the rule change would bring a Washington, D.C.-style gridlock to Austin.

Dr. Vance Ginn, chief economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Texas Public Policy FoundationVance Ginn, the chief economist for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, is facing fierce backlash for a recent racist tweet that said schools should open since most of the people dying from coronavirus in Texas are elderly or Hispanic. Public health experts have said schools that reopen in areas with high and fast-rising rates of community spread are likely to exacerbate the effect of the virus. In recent months, the Republican Party has faced criticisms for appearing to prioritize reopening the economy over public health, while research shows that COVID-19 disproportionally affects Black and Hispanic people. Disclosure: Texas Public Policy Foundation has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.

The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020. The ordinance which required most private employers to allow workers to accrue 64 hours of paid sick leave per year never went into effect, and has been in conservative crosshairs for more than two years. During the 2019 legislative session, Texas Republicans proposed a state law that would have prevented cities from requiring paid sick leave protections. San Antonio and Dallas have also passed paid sick leave ordinances, though San Antonios never went into effect amid a similar legal challenge. "Todays denial by the Texas Supreme Court is a clear signal that cities across Texas should withdraw these unconstitutional ordinances."

President Donald Trump is slated to name Brooke Rollins, the former CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and now longtime White House official, as acting domestic policy adviser, The New York Times reported Thursday night. In that role, Rollins reportedly will help oversee Trump’s domestic agenda as the president encourages several states to relax existing restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. She will succeed Joe Grogan, who said two weeks ago he planned to step down in May. She took a job in the White House Office of American Innovation — which is led by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser. According to the Times, White House staff secretary Derek Lyons was also floated as a potential successor to Grogan.