The Trailer: Establishment wins, surging turnout and burning Bushes: Takeaways from this week’s primaries
In this edition: Lessons from all of May's primaries, redistricting madness drags into Memorial Day weekend, and the director of Justice Democrats lays out their new strategy to replace centrists.
washingtonpost.comTexas bar seeks to punish AG Ken Paxton for election lawsuit
The State Bar of Texas sued Wednesday to punish state Attorney General Ken Paxton for his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election based on bogus claims of fraud, raising a new legal danger for the Republican the day after he secured his party's nomination for a third term. The state bar asked a Dallas-area court to impose unspecified discipline on the state's top lawyer, alleging that Paxton's petitioning of the U.S. Supreme Court to block President Joe Biden’s victory was “dishonest.” The formal accusation of professional misconduct makes Paxton one of the highest-profile attorneys to face a potential threat to their law license for a role in former President Donald Trump’s effort to delegitimize his defeat.
news.yahoo.comVideo: Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke clash over Uvalde deaths as governor provides more details on school shooting
Abbott was publicly criticized by his Democratic opponent for governor. Abbot also said he wasn’t sure if he would attend the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting later this week.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, endorsed by Trump, wins Republican primary – Houston Public Media
Incumbent AG Ken Paxton prevailed over Land Commissioner George P. Bush despite Paxton facing a 2015 state securities fraud indictment and an ongoing FBI corruption investigation.
houstonpublicmedia.orgTop Texas Republicans resist gun control and push for more armed teachers and police at schools in wake of Uvalde shooting
As President Joe Biden vowed to enact stricter gun laws following the Uvalde shooting, top Texas Republicans worked to create distance between the shooting and potential gun restrictions.
Takeaways: Trump's big defeat; election denial backfiring
Former President Donald Trump’s crusade for vengeance suffered two devastating blows when Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won their primaries despite rejecting Trump’s entreaties to reverse his 2020 election loss.
George P. Bush’s defeat could be the end of the line for a four-generation political dynasty
Bush’s defeat in the race for attorney general could mark the end of a four-generation political dynasty, and the end of an era of Texas politics that began when the first George Bush moved to Odessa in 1948.
Texas AG Ken Paxton asks court to immediately halt implementation of President Biden’s new border rule
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction Monday to stop the implementation of the Department of Homeland Security’s new rule he says is unlawfully altering asylum and parole procedures at the border.
Seven years later, still no trial for Texas AG Ken Paxton
Not many people charged with felony crimes go seven years without ever standing trial. One of them is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. All the while, other clouds have gathered over Paxton: the FBI is investigating him over separate accusations of corruption, and the State Bar of Texas is weighing possible reprimands over his attempts to baselessly overturn the 2020 election.
news.yahoo.comCornyn: Texas AG Ken Paxton's legal woes an 'embarrassment'
Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas on Thursday blasted one of his party's top leaders back home, calling the mounting pile of accusations and legal woes Attorney General Ken Paxton faces an “embarrassment" just days before a primary runoff election. Paxton, who is within reach of winning the GOP nomination to seek a third term Tuesday, has been under state felony indictment since 2015 on securities fraud charges and is separately being investigated by the FBI after his top deputies accused him of corruption. “This is the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Texas and it’s a source of embarrassment to me that that has been unresolved,” Cornyn told reporters.
news.yahoo.comTexas fires back at tech industry in new Supreme Court filing
The filing escalates a battle between Paxton and industry groups representing some of the country’s most powerful social media firms, which have turned to the Supreme Court after a surprise ruling at the 5th Circuit court last week allowed the law to take effect.
washingtonpost.comIn the Texas AG Republican primary runoff, it’s Ken Paxton’s legal troubles vs. George P. Bush’s family name – Houston Public Media
In the Texas AG's race, Ken Paxton is trying to dodge criticism of his legal troubles while George P. Bush faces a backlash against the Bush dynasty.
houstonpublicmedia.orgTexas Supreme Court questions Gov. Abbott's authority to order investigations into parents of transgender children — but allows abuse probes to continue
Gov. Greg Abbott had ordered state authorities to investigate parents who authorize gender-affirming care for transgender children for abuse.
news.yahoo.comTexas Supreme Court rules investigations into gender-affirming care can continue – Houston Public Media
The state’s high court allowed the investigations to continue but said the Texas Department of Family Protective Services is not bound by Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Paxton’s orders.
houstonpublicmedia.orgGeorge P. Bush’s family name proves to be key obstacle in his race against Ken Paxton for attorney general
George P. Bush is running for attorney general as a Trump-supporting, hard-right social conservative. But voters associate his family name with the party’s moderate wing. That could hurt him in the Republican primary runoff.
Texas AG says bar is suing him over 2020 election challenge
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Friday that the state bar association plans to sue him over his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election based on bogus claims of fraud, raising yet another legal danger as the embattled Republican is locked in a primary runoff. Since last summer, the State Bar of Texas has been investigating complaints over Paxton's petitioning of the U.S. Supreme Court to block President Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump. The group has not publicly filed a suit against Paxton, but it asked an Austin-area court Friday to impose unspecified discipline on a member of his staff for alleged professional misconduct in the election suit.
news.yahoo.comTexas AG sues Biden administration over proposal that would revamp the asylum process – Houston Public Media
The lawsuit is the 11th Ken Paxton has filed over Biden’s proposed immigration or border policies. But the White House’s plans have also raised concerns from legal and immigrant rights groups.
houstonpublicmedia.orgGreg Abbott, Dan Patrick urge Texas Supreme Court to take up Ken Paxton’s appeal to whistleblower lawsuit
The two Republican state officials filed friend of the court briefs asking that the high court take up the case because it is relevant to statewide governance and to the powers of an executive office under the Texas Constitution.
Analysis: The political value of an interruption
A nasty weather system swept across Texas this week, dropping tornadoes, hail, wind and rain in the central and southeast parts of the state before moving east to wreak more damage in Louisiana.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] Opinions San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comTexas appeals court reinstates temporary ban of investigations into gender-affirming care – Houston Public Media
In an order late Monday, the Third Court of Appeals reinstated a statewide injunction into the practice that was previously granted by a state district judge earlier this month.
houstonpublicmedia.orgTexas appeal of ruling on transgender medical care is ‘waste of time,’ veteran lawyer says – Houston Public Media
An appeal of a judge’s order that temporary halted state investigations of transgender care should be tossed out immediately because the state hasn’t followed proper procedure, an expert in administrative law told a state appeals court.
houstonpublicmedia.orgLawyers ask Texas appeals court to immediately block investigations into gender-affirming care – Houston Public Media
Attorneys fighting against a directive to investigate gender-affirming medical care as child abuse have asked a state appeals court to stop the practice as the case winds through the judicial process.
houstonpublicmedia.orgTrump appointees are helping Texas derail Biden’s immigration agenda
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has sued the Biden administration 20 times in Texas federal courts over everything from mask mandates to immigration policies. Trump-appointed judges have ruled in seven of them, all in favor of Texas.
Ken Paxton, lawyers for parents of trans kids disagree on whether child abuse investigations can continue
Paxton tweeted Friday that investigations into parents of transgender children would continue as a result of his appeal. But the state’s child welfare agency won’t confirm the status of the investigations.
A Texas judge blocks the state from investigating parents of transgender youth – Houston Public Media
The judge halted the state from enforcing Gov. Greg Abbott's directive to launch "child abuse" investigations against parents getting gender-affirming care for their transgender children.
houstonpublicmedia.orgJudge temporarily blocks Texas investigations into families of trans kids
District Judge Amy Clark Meachum said the governor’s directive for the state child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children was “beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional.” The statewide injunction will remain in effect until the case is heard in July.
Analysis: Texas officials bully transgender kids for political points
Lucky for them, Texas officials probably can’t be prosecuted for bullying under the state’s education laws. The gist of those laws, however, is crystal clear, and so is the effect of their actions and rhetoric about gender-affirming health care.
Touting ‘Operation Lone Star’ successes, Abbott announces program expansion
Operation Lone Star, the controversial border security initiative implemented by Gov. Greg Abbott last year in response to a historic increase in migrant crossings at the Texas-Mexico border, is expanding into counties far from the banks of the Rio Grande.
myrgv.comTouting ‘Operation Lone Star’ successes, Abbott announces program expansion
Operation Lone Star, the controversial border security initiative implemented by Gov. Greg Abbott last year in response to a historic increase in migrant crossings at the Texas-Mexico border, is expanding into counties far from the banks of the Rio Grande.
myrgv.comPhoto Gallery: Touting ‘Operation Lone Star’ successes, Abbott announces program expansion
Operation Lone Star, the controversial border security initiative implemented by Gov. Greg Abbott last year in response to a historic increase in migrant crossings at the Texas-Mexico border, is expanding into counties far from the banks of the Rio Grande.
myrgv.comFighting care for transgender kids shifts from a fringe issue to a litmus test for Texas Republicans
The issue is no longer contained to just the party’s fringes — and it is unlikely to go away any time soon as the national fervor grows, Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive faces legal challenges and it factors prominently into a slew of GOP primary runoffs.
Parents of a trans child who reached out to Attorney General Ken Paxton over dinner are now under investigation for child abuse
Amber Briggle had hoped inviting Paxton to dinner might soften his views about transgender children. Now, the family is under investigation after he issued an opinion equating gender-affirming medical care with child abuse.
Texas far-right conservatives spent millions to oust House GOP leaders, to little avail
In the Texas House, the biggest intraparty attack on Republican leadership came from the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, led by former state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford. Backed by hard-right donors like Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, West Texas oil tycoons, the group spent at least $5.2 million from January onward.
George P. Bush, Ken Paxton prepare for a bitter primary runoff battle for Texas attorney general
Bush is the underdog in the race. He had fewer votes than Paxton in the primary, and Paxton carries the coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump. But the incumbent is still battling his felony indictment and a newer FBI investigation.