Tag Archives: Greg Abbott

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House gave initial approval early Thursday to a bill that would create a $1 billion private school voucher program, crossing a historic milestone and bringing Gov. Greg Abbott’s top legislative priority closer than ever to reaching his desk. The lower chamber signed off on its voucher proposal, Senate Bill 2, on an 85-63 vote. …

NBC News reports: Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday said he had selected Nov. 4 as the date for the special election to fill the House seat that had been occupied by the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, who died unexpectedly in March. The decision means the deep-blue, Houston-based congressional seat will be vacant for roughly eight months. House …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: When asked why he has not called for a special election to fill the vacant seat left by the passing of former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Governor Greg Abbott said Harris County will need “adequate time” to conduct the election after “repeated failures” in the past. But Democratic lawmakers at the state and federal level say …

The New York Times reports: Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic House leader, on Monday accused Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas of deliberately delaying a special election in a solidly Democratic district in Houston in order to cushion the House Republicans’ slim majority. Mr. Jeffries said in an interview that Mr. Abbott had been “feverishly working to deny …

The Texas Tribune reports: Three weeks after U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death and just over a month before the state’s next uniform election, Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet called a special election to fill the seat representing parts of Houston, a Democratic stronghold, in Congress. Turner, who previously served in the Texas House for nearly three decades before becoming …

Fox News reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hit back at a Democratic lawmaker Tuesday who appeared to mock him for being in a wheelchair, saying such remarks will only leave the party “in the dust” come future elections. “It’s another day and another disaster by the Democrats. The reality is they have no vision, no policy. They have nothing to …

Via press release from the watchdog group FIRE: A federal judge today upheld the First Amendment rights of a Texas A&M student group by blocking an attempt by officials to prohibit the group’s upcoming drag show on the College Station campus. In her ruling, Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas held …

The Dallas Observer reports: A freshly filed bill brings the topic of furries in Texas schools to the House. The bill, Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education Act, pet-named the F.U.R.R.I.E.S Act, would ban students from observing “non-human behaviors,” which include, but are not limited to, meowing, barking and hissing; wearing a tail, collar, or ears; and licking oneself …

CNBC reports: Texas is continuing to stake a claim as a rival to Wall Street as a key financial hub in the United States, with Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday saying his state has a “stronger brand than New York.” “Capital markets are realizing that the place to be is Texas,” Abbott said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” The Texas Stock …

Newsweek reports: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has not ruled out the possibility of deploying bounty hunters to assist law enforcement in apprehending suspected undocumented immigrants. “Governor Abbott fully supports law enforcement using every tool and strategy to aid in the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal immigrants,” Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said. Republican lawmakers in Mississippi and Missouri have proposed …

The Guardian reports: The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, and, later, Elon Musk showed support on Wednesday for the firing of a state employee who refused to remove his pronouns from his work email signature. Frank Zamora, 31, was let go from his job as a program manager at the Texas real estate commission (TREC) last month because he refused to …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Friday passed a resolution banning all drag performances from taking place on its 11 university campuses. This means that Draggieland, a beloved annual event scheduled for March 27 at the Rudder Theatre on the College Station campus, will have to find a new venue. The resolution also …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas is facing its worst measles outbreak in decades, as cases have jumped from two to 146 in just one month. A child is dead, 20 more are hospitalized and the worst is likely still ahead, public health experts say. But neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor lawmakers from the hardest hit areas have addressed the outbreak …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott said he demanded that the state’s education agency investigate a Houston high school whose teachers were accused by a local conservative activist of “transitioning” a student they were calling by the student’s chosen name and pronouns. Denise Bell, who leads the Moms for Liberty chapter in Harris County, spoke at a school board …

The Texas Tribune reports: A coalition of legal organizations on Thursday called on Texas school district leaders to reject the adoption of a recently approved state curriculum heavily infused with references to Christianity and biblical teachings. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Center for Inquiry and the Freedom From Religion Foundation …

CBS News reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed that American flags on state property be flown at full staff to mark President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, bypassing the national mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter. The move has sparked both praise and criticism on social media. On Dec. 29, President Biden ordered flags across the country to …

Austin’s ABC affiliate reports: Gov. Abbott’s office released a full statement on Sunday shortly after news of Jimmy Carter’s passing. In the statement, Abbott said Americans owe Carter gratitude for his service as the 39th president of the United States and extended prayers and condolences to the entire Carter family. But Abbott mistakenly extended condolences to Jimmy Carter’s late wife, …

Law & Crime reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to take away funding from a children’s hospital if it fails to follow his executive order requiring medical care facilities to ask patients about their immigration status on intake forms. Abbott made the post on X in response to a doctor’s viral video on TikTok telling patients they were under no …

“You are absolutely breaking the law All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S. and he would see he’s breaking the law. But, look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail. “It’s a felony if you knowingly harbor and conceal an …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas’ top elections official told the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday its election monitors aren’t permitted in the state’s polling places after the federal agency announced plans to dispatch monitors to eight counties on Election Day to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws. The Justice Department regularly sends monitors across the country to keep …