U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales defiant as he faces censure for breaking with Republican Party
The censure resolution cites Gonzalesโ rejection of a border security proposal by fellow Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, and his support of a bill for same-sex marriage protections and a bipartisan gun safety law.
As his district gets redder, Uvaldeโs Republican congressman faces heat for votes on guns and gay marriage
Gonzales broke with his party to support sweeping gun safety legislation that passed after the cityโs tragedy. He drew backlash from GOP activists again after he voted to protect same-sex marriage.
Texas congressman Tony Gonzales, who represents Uvalde, breaks with House Republicans to vote for gun bill
The U.S. House passed the legislation Friday afternoon. Nearly all Texas Republicans voted against it. The bill is widely viewed as a series of modest changes to current gun regulations, falling far short of proposals pushed by House Democrats and President Joe Biden.
Biden administration speeds up deportation flights for Haitians in growing Texas migrant camp
The situation in Del Rio spiraled this week as more than 15,000 migrants, many of them from Haiti, arrived at the border in recent days, settling in a makeshift camp as they waited for CBP agents to process their petitions to stay in the U.S.
Lawmakers are seeking common ground on DACA, but comprehensive immigration reform will be a challenge for Democrats
AdโFor the past four years, the DACA program has been under attack, so itโs been a lot of stress and trauma for me. Despite Democrats controlling Congress and the White House, the U.S. Senate filibuster stands in the way of comprehensive immigration reform. President Bidenโs policies are not the immigration reform Americans desperately need,โ he said in a press release in late February. Thats why we havenโt had success.โGonzales said he thinks the best approach to immigration reform is not comprehensive, but rather piece by piece and targeted. โI do think thereโs an appetite for immigration reform if we do it in the proper manner.
In blue and red states, milestone wins for LGBTQ candidates
According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which recruits and supports LGBTQ candidates, that leaves only Alaska, Louisiana and Mississippi as states that have never elected an LGBTQ legislator. With the addition of Jones and Torres, there will be nine openly LGBTQ members of the House as of January. Two other Democrats became the first openly transgender people to win seats in their statesโ Houses: Taylor Small in Vermont and Stephanie Byers in Kansas. And in New York, Jabari Brisport, a gay math teacher, became the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to the legislature. And in southwestern Michiganโs 6th District, Jon Hoadley, seeking to become the stateโs first openly gay congressman, lost to 17-term GOP Rep. Fred Upton.
Raul Reyes seeking recount in Republican runoff against Tony Gonzales for U.S. Rep. Will Hurds seat
Raul Reyes, left, and Tony Gonzales are running for the Texas Congressional District 23 seat being vacated by Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd. Raul Reyes announced Friday night that he will seek a recount in the razor-thin Republican primary runoff to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, in his national battleground district. Reyes' announcement came after the Texas GOP certified the results of his July 14 runoff against Tony Gonzales. The campaigns said the final margin was Gonzales by 45 votes, though the party had not confirmed that as of late Friday night. But Reyes held firm against conceding and began fundraising for a potential recount while waiting for the state party canvass.
Texas congressional candidate backed by Donald Trump remains in too-close-to-call runoff with Ted Cruz's pick
From left, Tony Gonzales and Raul Reyes are running for the Texas Congressional District 23 seat that is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas. Texas TribunePresident Donald Trump's choice to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, was in a too-close-to-call runoff Tuesday night against a candidate endorsed by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. The Trump-backed Tony Gonzales was trailing Cruz's pick, Raul Reyes, by just 11 votes out of 24,533 with all polling locations reporting, according to unofficial results. Gonzales, a former Navy cryptologist backed by Hurd and House leaders, nabbed Trump's endorsement earlier this month, just three days after Cruz endorsed Reyes. Trump had endorsed another candidate in the Texas runoffs, Ronny Jackson, the former White House doctor running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon.
Donald Trump makes last-minute pitches for Tony Gonzales, Ronny Jackson in Texas congressional runoffs
Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson, left, and Tony Gonzales both received a push from President Donald Trump at a tele-town hall Monday evening. Less than an hour before Trump did the call with Gonzales, Cruz appeared on a tele-town hall with Reyes. "She is well-equipped to defeat either of them in a district President Trump lost and will lose again," said the spokesperson, Sharon Yang. He's loyal, he's brave, he's a leader, and he'll never let the people of Texas down." In the robocall for Gonzales, Trump tells voters that "Tony will work for you in Congress, and by working for you, he's working for me."
Donald Trump, Ted Cruz back opposing candidates in competitive GOP runoff to replace U.S. Rep. Will Hurd
But in an interview after Trump's endorsement, Gonzales maintained he is still the strongest candidate to do that, and the president's backing only reinforces it. A day later, Cruz made the Reyes endorsement official, saying the district "deserves strong conservative representation." Cruz's Reyes endorsement was not entirely a mystery, though. An already nasty runoffThings were already bitter and personal between the runoff candidates before Cruz and Trump got involved. "I'll face off against a Trump puppet who will support the Trump administration's extreme agenda regardless of how much it harms Texas families."
Donald Trump endorses Tony Gonzales to replace U.S. Rep. Will Hurd
Tony Gonzales announces in San Antonio that he is running for the Texas Congressional District 23 seat being vacated by Will Hurd. Robin Jerstad for The Texas TribunePresident Donald Trump on Friday endorsed Tony Gonzales in the Republican primary runoff to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, three days after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz shook up the race by backing Gonzales' opponent, Raul Reyes. Cruz endorsed Reyes on Tuesday and launched a TV ad buy for him through his leadership PAC. While the Trump endorsement gives Gonzales a big boost in the primary runoff, it is likely less helpful for the general election. Trump lost the perennial battleground district by 4 percentage points in 2016, while Hurd carried it by 1.